Page 11 of The Star's Sword

Zadis frowned. “That’s just it. A well-fed vampire is an anomaly. Only the very powerful even survive, but to have extra blood?” Zadis looked at Mark again. “That means people either really want to feed him naturally, or he’s good at making them.”

Mark’s smile widened just enough to show one menacing fang which caught the light from an overhead chandelier, and then he pushed into the crowd, managing to somehow disappear from sight.

“Just don’t be alone with him,” Zadis said.

“But if he’s a courtier, isn’t he someone I should impress?”

“He’s a duke, I believe,” Zadis said. “If Simon says the power of a prince, then I believe him. Prince is the rank where a ruler becomes more a title of protection than privilege.”

“Ah,” I said, glancing around the swirling ballroom to see where Mark had gone. As my eyes scanned, a figure in black with a flash of red moved behind a pillar. I squinted to look as Zadis spun me, and I found myself barely able to keep my breath or surroundings as he moved me to the emptiest corner of the ballroom and behind some curtains and onto a balcony.

“I need you to focus, Cleo,” Zadis said. “I can’t stay by your side all night or you won’t look trusting. But I don’t like how Mark is looking at you. Our bond is strong, and fae take bonds seriously. If you feel tense, merely call for me. Even quietly. I’ll be in the ballroom, pretending to make nice, but listening for you.”

I blinked. “There are other gorgeous women here.”

“None compare to you,” he said, smiling somewhat bitterly. “I’d rather hope for a sliver of something with you than any amount of anything with others.” He held my hand, lifting it to his lips, and I felt the heat between us reaching an apex. A moment where it felt like something should happen, and then—

“Can I steal her?” A deep voice spoke as I felt a shadow fall over both of us, and looked up to see Mark moving over to us, having appeared silently out of almost nowhere.

His suit was made of rough cloth and severely cut, but thick and somewhat elegant in its all-black coloring. His body was huge, muscled, stocky, powerful.

So this was an elder vampire who wasn’t like Simon. I now understood why everyone called Simon emaciated.

I wondered why Simon was a king, if he wasn’t built like this.

Zadis’s smile was polite but warning as he let go of my hand. “I can’t very well not introduce the next Morningstar to an elder of the court, can I?” He bowed lightly. “Elder Mark, it is my pleasure to introduce—”

“I haven’t made a decision on who I will vote for as Morningstar,” Mark said shortly, reaching out to try and move Zadis out of his way. “I can introduce myself.”

Zadis shoved his hand away, glaring at him. If Zadis got angry and went into his larger, fiercer warrior form, I was sure a fight that would be very bad for crystal chandeliers was about to break out in here.

“I’d be delighted to dance with you,” I said quickly, hoping to prevent bloodshed, given the way Zadis was tensing up.

Clearly, I wasn’t the only one getting a bit possessive.

Maybe Sam was onto something.

“Eyes up here, gorgeous, on mine,” Mark said in that deep, gravelly voice that seemed to shake the air around us, yet comfort me deeply.

There was the sense of pure power about him, heady and odd, as he took my hand in his, making me feel tinier than I ever had.

This man was gorgeous, too, I thought, looking up at him.

As Mark swept me onto the dance floor, moving slowly in formal circles, keeping my hand and waist in his, I could see Zadis moving around the outside of the crowd, until Simon pulled him away, scolding him about something.

I felt a hand in my hair and jumped slightly, as Mark removed his hand, looking amused by my reaction.

“It’s a bit surprising you can still watch others, when in the arms of an elder vampire bent on seduction,” Mark said, emitting a low hum as he pulled me in closer, inhaling the scent of my hair. I jerked back and he allowed me, moving back into smooth dancing as if nothing had happened.

But I was a bit shaken by how easy it was for him to move me. His pure strength.

I was sure I could take him, based on Cayne’s training, but I wasn’t here to fight for once. I was here to make nice.

“Stop worrying, I can smell your sweat,” Mark said. “I said bent on seduction, not rape. And you should know how your Simon Card feels about consent-based feeding.”

“Consent-based?” I blinked up at Mark, my hand still feeling imprisoned, albeit safely, in his huge grip.

He pulled me in slightly against him, letting me feel the sheer height and size difference between us. “Some vampires feel that anything an apex predator can claim is theirs.” His eyes appraised me and I flushed as I tested his strength lightly, seeing how serious he was about keeping me there.

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