Page 25 of Our Sins in Shadows (Coven of Sin 2)

“Are you well, Princess?” Lavinia asked in a whisper so low I had to strain my ears to hear her even though she was barely a foot away.

“What kind of question is that?” I seethed beneath my breath. I didn’t mean to be short with the girl, especially since her question suggested that maybe she was here at Sterling’s behest and not Sharpe’s.

But no.

I wasn’t well or fine or anywhere close to okay at all.

I was scared. And there wasn’t an emotion in the world I hated more than being afraid. It made me feel small and helpless. The night I’d been freed from my bedroom in Quincy, I’d resolved to never let myself feel that way ever again. Yet, here I was, fear crawling its way under my skin like a flesh-eating parasite, slowly devouring my nerves and causing me to fray and crumble until my whole body shook.

My knees gave a violent wobble, and I pressed my back against the wall to keep myself from falling over. Lavinia flung a look down both ends of the hallway to make sure we were alone before she stepped forward, gripping my arm to help keep me steady.

“I know you’ve experienced a great shock, Princess. But there isn’t time for this now. Not here. Follow me to where it will be safer to talk and collect yourself.”

My eyes narrowed. “My psychopath of a brother just instructed you to prepare me for some fucked demonstration where he’s going to force Vincent to mark me, assumingly in front of the entire Boston Coven. So why the hell should I trust you?”

Lavinia’s lips pressed into a taut line that was neither a frown nor a grimace. Her expression was completely unreadable. “Then you understand how he intends to use you and Prince Feral to show his power to the Boston vampires?”

“Yeah, I put the pieces together.”

My heart thundered, picking up pace with the rush of anger that swept through me as the conversation between Dagon and me played back in my head.

The memory of Dagon’s voice as he’d called me “baby sister” sent a chill so cold through my body, the heat of my anger fizzled away, and a numbness filled my limbs.

“I have every intention of making this showcase of my power as entertaining as possible, so put her in something that will be easy for the monster to tear off.”

“Why?” I found my raspy voice asking Lavinia on a choked whisper. “Why are they doing this?”

Lavinia’s physiognomy finally took on a discernable expression, a grave look that was unsettling on the face of a child. “Because he wants to demonstrate how capable of a king he’d be. Vampires see their king or queen as more of a god, someone to worship, someone powerful. With his ability to control most of the vampire population, he’ll be viewed as a god alright, at least by the Boston Coven. Which would win their support when he goes through with his plan to eliminate all the other Knight heirs using dark magic.”

“Are you really joining the Boston Coven?”

The blonde’s brow creased with a slightly irritated frown. “If I was, would I be having this conversation with you?”

“If my trip to Boston has taught me anything, it’s not to get my hopes up in case the universe fucks me for it later.”

The little girl sniffed and flipped her flaxen curls over her shoulder. The doctor’s apprentice fit so well with the Knight Mansion, with her frilly Victorian dress and doll-pale skin. She didn’t belong in this stark skyscraper with the empty, evil creatures who inhabited it.

“Lavinia, are you working for Sterling?”

“I’m not working for him. I’m doing him a favor.”

“But if you help me escape, you’ll be an enemy to the Boston Coven. Why would you betray your master of over three centuries for Sterling?” I already suspected the answer, but I wanted to hear it straight from her mouth. I trusted Lavinia’s ability to lie through her teeth, but she’d already proven she couldn’t control her facial reactions when she spoke of Sterling.

“We shouldn’t be talking about this here. We have to get you to my room. It will be safer to talk there.”

“I’m not trusting you enough to follow you anywhere until you answer me.”

The girl gave a sharp sigh. “Are you always this stubborn?”

I straightened to a full standing position and folded my arms over my chest. “Pretty much, yeah.”

Lavinia scoffed. “Why Prince Sterling finds you so beguiling is beyond me. But if you must know why I’m choosing you and the crown over the Boston Coven and their rebellion, it’s because I find the prince a far better man than my master. In the three hundred years I’ve known Sterling Knight, he’s never led the coven astray. He cares for us, he cares for all our people. I trust his decisions. And if he’s chosen you for his mate and queen, then I believe it’s for a good reason.”

“But what about Sharpe? Isn’t he like...a father to you?”

“I would think you of all people would understand that the family we choose is far more important than the family chosen for us, Princess.”

I barely knew Lavinia. The first time I’d met her, she’d kind of given me the creeps. Okay, the second time, too. This third time? I had to admit, the immortal thirteen-year-old was kind of badass.

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