Page 41 of Our Sins in Shadows (Coven of Sin 2)

“Lord Dagon left you something.”

I looked to see Lavinia standing beside one of the vanities and followed her line of sight to what sat before the mirror, its blood drop-shaped rubies glittering in the light. My chest tightened, seeing the silver tiara Sterling had made for me.

Lavinia pulled the vanity stool out and gestured for me to sit. Numbness filled me as I did, looking blankly at my reflection in the mirror as she brushed out the tangles and flakes of blood with the teeth of my tiara. When she was done, she fixed it on top of my head.

“I admire you,” my friend said behind me. I caught her gaze in the mirror and managed a smile. “I can’t imagine being in your place right now. I’d be a nervous wreck.”

“I am nervous. But I’m not afraid.” Which was the truth. Anyone in my position would be nervous about sharing that stage with a hungry, brutish vampire, especially given the plan I was insane enough to try. Somehow I wasn’t scared. Of all the emotions tangling inside me, fear was not among them.

No, if anything, all I felt was lust.

Lust for revenge.

Lust for power, if only to hold it over my evil brother’s head and show him who was the superior sibling.

Lust for blood.

Lust for Feral to claim me so I could finally bear his mating mark for all to see and scent and know that I more than survived the savage hybrid that was Vincent Feral. That I thrive with him.

I wanted them to see me take him inside me and not break, but bend his power to my will so I could use it like a weapon.

The joke would be on them.

Because they had no fucking idea how hot my dark and feral knight and I burned together. And all these assholes were about to get caught in the flames.

The stool scraped back as I got to my feet, smoothing my dress down over my body. I looked terrifyingly beautiful, dressed in swathes of red fabric and the blood splatter of my enemies.

I smirked at my reflection in the mirror one last time before making my way for the door.

“Good luck.”

“Thank you, Lavinia. Really. You’ve become important to me.”

The girl rolled her eyes, but there was no missing the smile lurking at the corners of her mouth.

I opened the door and stepped into the spotlights.

When Lavinia had mentioned a stage, I’d imagined a typical theater layout, with the dressing room leading to the stage and the audience beyond that.

This was nothing like that.

I was standing in an aisle with rows of empty seats on either side. In front of me, at least two dozen rows away was a circular stage with spotlights shining down on it.

At the center of the stage was a large black bed that could easily hold a sizable orgy, let alone two people. It was fitted with black silk sheets and had a simple but incredibly sturdy-looking headboard.

At the foot of the bed was a square marble basin.

With my breath coming in shallow pants, I slowly edged closer to the stage to see what was inside the bathtub.

Every single seat on this level was empty—a wise move on their part—and as I eased my way into the glowing ring of stage lights, I realized there was a balcony that created a second level, wrapping all around to give the audience a 360 degree view of the stage below.

The moment I came into the audience’s view, a symphony of murmurs rippled over the crowd. I glared up into the darkness but couldn’t decipher any faces past the brightness of the spotlights. Maybe that would make it easier. Now they were merely whispering shadows and a barrage of clashing scents.

Foisting my attention away from them, I approached the bathtub with caution, feeling hundreds of eyes on my back as I peered down at the red water.

No, not water.Blood.

Why had they filled a bathtub full of blood? How many people did this take to make? Did they expect me to drink this or bathe in it? Or maybe it was some kind of vampiric foreplay ritual.

---