Page 3 of Royal Bite
She had never seen this amount of rogues before in one place.
“Are you crazy? Get away from the windows!” Melissa screeched, but Stormey ignored her.
The windows of the Jade Inn were enforced and could withstand tons of pressure. There was something deep down inside her that had made her go to the window. There was something she had to see. She didn’t know why, but her gut was telling her to stay where she was. The royal guards were winning. Bodies of the rogues lay strewn around on the streets and sidewalks.
Stormey’s breath caught in her throat as a certain figure caught her eye. It was the princess.
The heir to the vampire throne.
Hegna Riskel.
And she was every bit of the badass warrior they said she was.
The vampire princess was dressed in black fighting leathers, her dark hair scraped back away from her face in intricate plaits. Her expression was cold and hard. Her speed and skills fighting hand-to-hand were breathtaking.
Stormey’s face was pressed against the glass while Hegna slid her duel swords out from their sheaths at her sides and engaged with the foolish vampires who thought they could take on the princess. Stormey bit her lip, watching the woman.
She was powerful.
Lethal.
And Stormey was infatuated with the vampire.
“Stormey, get away from the window,” Jack, her manager, snapped.
He grabbed her by her arm and dragged her off. Stormey resisted for one slight moment to get one last glimpse of the princess.
Stormey pulled her coat closed and slid her gloves on. She noticed small holes on the tips of the fingers and frowned. She would have to go and see if she could fix them later. She couldn’t afford to purchase new ones, and these she’d had for a few years. Grabbing the shovel, she walked outside the front door of the Jade Inn. Jack had asked for a favor.
She should have known it was something that wasn’t in her job description, but what was she going to say?
No?
She snorted.
It was hard to find a good-paying job. Stormey wasn’t going to risk him telling her to pack her bags and go. There would be at least ten people lining up to take her job and probably for less money.
So, if he wanted the stairs cleaned off from the snow, then that’s what she would do. It wasn’t that much, and she did enjoy the biting fresh air. She inhaled sharply and took in her surroundings. It was a beautiful day, and there were even some people ambling down the street.
Stormey blew out her breath and giggled at the sight of it in the air. The crisp winter chill would set in soon. Her coat wasn’t the thickest, and she sensed the cold already settling in her bones.
“Let me hurry,” she muttered.
The small shovel was balanced against the wall near the door. She grabbed it and got to work. Her shift would be ending soon, and she had plans that included stopping by the orphanage. The winter was hard on the children, so she made sure she put in extra time to help cheer some of them up. Adoptions were down, and the place was getting a little crowded. She worried about some of the older children who would be aging out soon.
She paused and straightened. Her back muscles protested slightly at the manual work. She made her way to the bottom stair and glanced across the street. A tremor snuck through her at the memory of that night she’d almost lost her life.
But then she had shown up.
The princess.
The rogue vampires had been dealt with.
The people of her city had wondered when the princess was going to do something with the overpopulation of rogues who were flooding their city. It had become extremely dangerous to be out after the sun went down. There were so many missing person reports filed every day. The news held daily segments showcasing the photos of the humans who had disappeared.
Since the war, humans had become dependent upon the protection of the vampires. The human governments around the world were in shambles. The United States government officials answered to the vampire king and his wardens. There were human police departments, but they had no jurisdiction over the vampires, nor did they have the ability to fight them.
Stormey tore her eyes from the site where she had been cornered and turned back to the inn. The stairs were now free and clear of the few inches of snow that had covered them. She walked back up the stairs and placed the shovel back where it was. She went inside and stomped her feet on the rug.
