Page 34 of Queen of Vampire Hearts

Instead of answering, Cassandra laid on her back on the floor next to me, singing softly, “Twinkle twinkle, little snitch, mind your business, you nosey bitch.” She finished the rhyme with a double middle-finger salute at the ceiling.

I looked up at the blank, black ceiling. Wasn’t it still morning? My brows furrowed, and I glanced back at Cassandra. It was the fate of oracles. If they survived into immortality, the persistent nature of the future made them lose their grip on reality. After another moment frowning at Cassie, I lay down next to the blonde and silently let the tears fall.

“I was the one who found them.” I reached up to wipe away the tears from my face, eventually giving up on stemming the flow, letting them continue their silent journey down my cheeks. “I remember the silence.” The silence had been so complete. I could still hear it, that yawning, aching, hauntingemptiness.“Our house wasneversilent. My parents were always singing, bickering, or casting spells. Never silent.” I pushed back my hair from my face, my arms barely supporting their weight as I glared at the ceiling, the tears endless, emotion clogging my throat as the memories played in my mind. “The Council said it was demons, that my parents had found something they wanted and got in the way when they’d tried to take it. They never gave me a name.”

No name, which left me alone. Just me. Me and the silence. If I closed my eyes and focused, I could see it. There had been so much blood. The white shiplap walls were coated in it, a macabre display of viscera. I remembered slipping on it when I opened the front door, finding my mom reaching out sightlessly for my dad, destined to never make it to him.

“It wasn’t demons,” Cassandra said distantly.

My tears dried at the statement, the silence dimming in my mind as I turned to look at Cassie. “What?”

The oracle’s eyes were a swirling molten white. All traces of the vibrant blue had vanished. The white consumed everything, iris and pupil. Did she see the future as she lay on the floor of the castle with me? Her voice was layered, three unique tones merging and becoming one. “It was never demons.”

I turned on my side, facing her. I waited for her to continue, but she didn’t. Did Cassandra hold all the answers to my questions? Would she answer them if I asked? Or would she only create more questions?

I opened my mouth to ask, but Cassandra bolted to her feet. “I’m starving, and so are you,” she declared. She pulled me to a stand with a powerful grip on my hand, yanking me down the hall.

I dug my heels in, forcing her to spin to face me. I grabbed Cassandra’s arms, demanding, “Who was it?”

Her eyes were blue and blank. “Who was what?”

Did she really not remember, or was she playing me?I scanned her face, looking for some hint that she was lucid enough to answer my questions, but found nothing. I would have to wait for another lucid moment to question her more. That meant I had to stay here until I did. I released Cassandra, and she took my hand again before turning away, guiding me through the labyrinth. An infusion of pleasure hit me at the idea that I now had an actual excuse for postponing escape.

Cassandra led me into the massive castle kitchens, and my eyes shot wide to see that the human staff was in a flurry of activity, preparing a massive feast. I shifted uncomfortably when the cooks paused in their duties to curtsy to me before resuming their duties. I wasn’t sure what to do about that, unfamiliar with being the focus of anyone’s attention. Cassandra ignored it, moving forward to the massive wooden island where various snacks were laid out. She slid onto one stool and patted the seat beside her for me. I took it gingerly, my eyes tracking all the strangers in the room, trying to prevent my heart from racing in my chest.

Overwhelmed by the buffet of choices, I watched Cassie from the corner of my eye, prepared to follow her lead. I wasn’t sure what I expected her to grab to eat, but the Red Vines were most definitely not it. She crossed her legs and placed the massive tub in her lap, eating the red candy tubes with almost alarming speed. So following the oracle’s example was out.

I studied the offerings, feeling the pointed gazes of the various staff members watching and waiting to see what I was going to pick. I made a big show of sampling various plates,oohingandahhinguntil everyone returned to their various duties. Once the focus was off of me, I sighed in relief. Being the center of attention went against Rule No. 4. I hunched my shoulders, trying to make myself smaller and more dismissible.

A dour-looking woman with a large key ring hooked to her waist approached us and curtsied. “Princess, my queen, my name is Adelaide. I serve as the housekeeper for Întuneric Castel.”

I followed Cassandra’s example and nodded politely, waiting until the human stood. “Please call me Phoebe.”

Adelaide’s mouth opened, horrified at the suggestion. “I could not, my queen.” The woman appeared so offended. It was like I’d suggested that she strip down and run through the halls of the castle naked.

I sighed heavily, imploring the housekeeper, “Why not?”

Adelaide huffed. Her dark black hair was wound so tightly at the top of her head. It was shocking that she could show any emotion at all. “It’s not the way we do things here.”

The housekeeper curtsied deeply again, and I smothered an annoyed groan. This was already getting to be a pain. Fuck these formalities. It is 2022, right?

I glanced over my shoulder as I heard another pair of footsteps approach. Elijah took the seat on the other side of me as a member of the staff poured blood into a goblet for him. I narrowed my eyes at his profile. He was a vampire and probably hadn’t seen the inside of a kitchen since he’d been turned.Which meant...

“Lucien sent you to spy on me, didn’t he?” I hissed at Elijah, making him choke on the blood. I allowed him a moment to compose himself but glared at him, waiting for his response.

Elijah cleared his throat after a moment, carefully putting the goblet back on the island before turning to look at me. He lifted a white handkerchief from his suit pocket, dabbing at his lips.

“He sent me to check up on you. He would have come himself but said that you needed space.” His formal tone was light with amusement.

I rolled my eyes at him, scoffing. “This is his idea of giving me space? Sending you to spy on me?” The man did not know the meaning of the word.

“You’re the mate he never expected to have. Can you blame him?” Elijah asked, which was anannoyinglygreat point. “Vampires are already arrivingen masseto catch sight of the immortal who brought him to his knees.” Elijah smirked, making his bright white teeth flash.

The longer I stayed, the higher the chance the Witches Council might send an emissary to see the new Queen of the Vampires.Immortal kings didn’t just stumble across queens every day. It was kind of athing. If I had a seat on the Witches Council, I would have come. You had to know your enemy to know their strengths. Knowing the enemy was part of rule two. I had to get out of there.

“I haven’t brought Lucien to his knees,” I grumbled.

“You will,” Cassandra said, her annoyingly cheery voice drawing my gaze. A bubble of laughter formed in my throat when I looked at the all-powerful, all-seeing immortal.

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