Page 5 of Cruel Vampire King

“Your own kingdom, huh?” Greyson laughed as he straightened. “Not going to lie, that’s more ambitious than why I signed up.”

I folded my supplies back into my rucksack and swung it onto my shoulder. Didn’t want anyone pilfering from it while I wasn’t paying attention. “Why did you volunteer?” I askedGreyson, my interest piqued despite myself. I might not have an electrical attraction to him, but he was handsome, and I was curious about him.

Greyson laughed. “Oh, I just want a little mansion by the sea. Some land to go with it. And immunity to slice my brother’s throat open.”

Thessa gasped.

“Don’t be too scandalized,” Greyson told her. “He’s a terrible person. He murdered my mother—he’s only my half-brother—and killed more people than I will ever be able to prove. But he was turned into a vampire when we were boys. And vampires, as we all know, protect themselves. None of them are punished for the murders they commit.”

I thought of Luken and nodded my agreement. Vampires treated themselves above the laws they created. It didn’t surprise me that Greyson would have to risk his life to get the justice he sought.

Greyson’s eyes turned to me, and he arched one manicured brow, waiting for me to speak. I pretended not to notice.

“What about you?” he finally asked. “Why did you join the Blood Trials, Elara?”

“I want to be given shares in the Abalone Trading Corporation,” I lied easily. The less they knew about me—and by extension, the less the people watching us knew—the better. “Enough to buy a mansion or two every year. Enough to pay for the surgeries, but I need to get rid of this.”

I gestured to my face. Kael and Ysara both nodded. Greyson shrugged and turned away, starting to work throughsome easy stretches. But Thessa’s eyes filled with tears again. She approached me without any sign of hesitancy.

“How did it happen?” she asked.

Really, I should look at this gentle, sweet persona she had and think it was an act. If the vampires wanted strong warriors in the Trials, Thessa had to show something to have been thought of as worthy. Unless it really was simply an execution. Maybe every team was given a weak link like her. Maybe it amused the vampires and gods to watch these teams fight to protect a helpless member.

Regardless, I wasn’t about to tell her the truth. The more truth these people knew, the more they could use it against me.

“It was a fire,” I said flatly.

“How did it start? When did it happen?” She reached as though to touch my cheek, and I slapped her hand away. Her eyes widened, and she backed up a step. “Sorry. It’s just that… never mind. I’m sorry.”

***

That night, we decided to all sleep. Since the Trials wouldn’t start until dawn, there was no need for a watcher. I briefly wondered about the beasts of the forest, but the gods wouldn’t want to see us dead before their Trials could begin, so I stretched on the ground and slept.

It was midnight when I woke to a hand covering my mouth. I reached for my staff, but another hand grasped my wrist. My eyes snapped open, and I found myself staring into the silver glow of Marissa’s eyes. I kicked out at her, but before I could make contact, she’d lifted me in her eyes. Thewind whooshed into my face, stealing my breath away as she gracefully raced across the night-black land. What was going on?

I twisted my head to put my mouth near her shoulder, where a slight air pocket finally allowed me to pull in a breath. “Where are you taking me?” I demanded.

“King Luken wishes to see you,” Marissa replied easily, showing no sign that she was running out of breath. “So I’m taking you to him. To the palace.”

Chapter 3

We were at the palace before I could fully wrap my head around what was happening. Luken had recognized me. Emotions surged through me, distracting me. We were already there before I could remember that I should be fighting back.

It wasn’t the palace within Holakas that Marissa brought me to, but it was grand nonetheless. Domed turrets lifted toward the sky, and every window glinted with an inner light, bathing the grounds in a myriad of colors. It seemed that Luken had decided that all his windows needed to be scenes of stained glass.

Marissa zipped through the front doors and up the stairs before I’d gotten more than a cursory look at the grounds. Tapestries, portraits, and what no doubt were priceless antiques whizzed by in a blur before she’d slipped through a set of massive ebony doors and deposited me.

My lungs were burning for proper breath, and as I sucked in the air greedily, my head started to spin. How long had the wind been stealing the oxygen away from me?

“Why am I here?” I asked, fighting against the shakiness of my legs.

Marissa threw open another set of doors, leading into a walk-in closet bigger than most apartments. “I told you. The king wishes to see you. Now come along, Miss Tideborne. You must get dressed. It would be best if you could bathe first,” she said, casting an unhappy look over her shoulder at me, “but the king insisted you come to him as quickly as possible.”

“I’m not going anywhere near him,” I snarled.

She pulled a sleek blue gown from the closet and held it up, eyeing me critically. “Blue would look good on you. But I think maybe something less…”

She dropped the gown to the floor and pulled out a forest-green jumpsuit. With a click of her tongue, she dropped it as well. With a satisfied cry, she grabbed a simple A-line dress made of a jewel-toned purple. She strode toward me.

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