Page 25 of Break Her Heart
It was my scent.
I was their prey.
Several figures offered nods or brief bows to August as we passed, murmuring greetings I couldn’t make out over the whispers. He returned none of them. His hand hovered near mine, not touching, but close enough to herd me forward.
At the far end of the room, a grand staircase rose in a sweeping curve up to a high platform that overlooked the entire chamber. At the top, two thrones waited—one carved from obsidian and trimmed in blood-red velvet, the other smaller but no less imposing, silver laced with dark engravings. More guards stood at the bottom and the top of the staircase.
That was ridiculous.
We climbed the stairs slowly, every eye still on us.
The music never stopped. The revelry never paused. But I could feel their hunger shifting. It was less toward blood, and more toward what August and I represented now.
Power.
A union that was never meant to happen.
I sat in the smaller throne, feeling like an impostor cloaked in silk and resentment. The silver markings curled cold and unfamiliar beneath my fingertips, and my gown pooled around me like a shroud. I was meant to be their queen, but all I felt was trapped.
“What is this?” I asked, the edge to my tone impossible to miss.
“I told you they indulge. This is the great room, and they do this every night. And we have to be here,” August replied without looking at me. His tone was flat, almost bored, like he’d explained it before and didn’t care to again.
From here, the details were even starker: bodies intertwined on cushions, bare skin flashing in the candlelight; the glint of fangs as one vampire sank teeth into a throat; the way the music surged when blood spilled.
Laughter erupted from somewhere below, wild and unrestrained.
I saw a vampire dancing alone, covered in fresh blood, twirling as if in a trance. Another fed from someone who looked all too willing, their hands tangled in each other’s hair. In afar corner, a group lounged on a velvet circle of cushions, their limbs tangled lazily as they passed a silver chalice from mouth to mouth. A low, musical hum drifted from their circle, hypnotic and strange, as if they existed in a dream separate from the chaos around them.
I leaned forward, narrowing my eyes through the candlelit haze. Halston stood with a woman with dark hair. She had her hand on his arm as she whispered something in his ear. He smiled, not like the malicious smiles he had given me… it seemed genuine.
Movement below caught my attention. One of the men being passed between vampires looked familiar. Light brown hair, tousled from too many hands. Pale skin, growing paler with every greedy bite. Then I recognized him.
It was the man who helped me out of the carriage only hours ago.
He had looked so content then. Proud, even. Had he known what awaited him?
Another vampire gripped his jaw gently, almost affectionately, petting his face like one would calm a trembling animal. He leaned in close, whispered something I couldn’t make out.
Then, without hesitation, he bit into his own wrist. Thick blood welled instantly, and he pressed it against the man’s lips.
My heart dropped.
“What—”
The gasp tore out of me as the vampire snapped the man’s neck with an audible crack.
I shot to my feet, the throne scraping against the stone floor behind me. My hands trembled as I walked toward the edge of the perch, breath catching in my throat.
In an instant, August was beside me.
“What is it?”
I pointed to the broken body lying in a heap on the marble below.
“Oh, that?” August said, unfazed. “Give him a moment.”
“A moment? What do you mea—”
