Page 61 of Darkest Heart

The grounds roared with crowds of vampires as the next tournament was about to begin. A suited man with white hair danced his fingers, turning the leaves on the trees red. My father had brought in sorcerers. Just what we needed. More Azia types walking around.

Grimacing, I turned as red leaves floated around the field, the pink and purple blotched sky creating the perfect ambience for this next round. Cold gusts whipped around us as the ribbons hanging from the branches surrounding the field swirled in the air. Hundreds of rows of seats had been erected, as if we were attending a wedding. In the center of the grounds, five mortals stood in a large, metal dome with long bars reaching up to a point. One rubbed his arms, another girl shivered, but tried to stand tough as she stared at her larger, fiercer competitors. Another girl, shivering up against the bars, gazed teary-eyed at the crowd, probably wondering how her luck got so bad that she ended up here. I’d bet all my stagma that the oversized-dome cage was funded by the lords, or Malum Dominor.

A boy, no older than nineteen, stood in the center. His eyes were filled with an eeriness of calm that could compare to Azia. He didn’t look at the competition, many of which paced the large circle.

I recognized some of them as the ones from the bus, brought in from Salvius. Others were new mortals who’d come, either voluntarily or were trafficked. But from what I’d seen, the Blood Knights would be put out of work soon.

A vampire opened the metal door to the cage, holding a tray with ten daggers. The meek girl at the back bawled when she saw them. Meanwhile, the calm guy grabbed the biggest one. Stagma passed hands between the sangaree as we all watched. A string quartet started to play under the darkening sky, and cheering rose as the vampire with the tray locked the door.

I strutted through the hordes of people, most bowing when they noticed my crowd. Others too preoccupied with the show, I shoved out of the way. Champagne mixed with blood was handed around on silver platters, the mortals serving them acting as if nothing was wrong. Other servants, dressed in the finest dresses and suits, stood to the side of Sanmorte’s elite, ready to be fed on.

It was decadence of the highest type. Excitement sizzled in the air as the shivering girl was the first to be slaughtered. The calm boy headed for the other biggest competitor first. Smart. I grabbed a glass from a tray as a server passed by.

I’d missed the first round, distracted by Elizabeth. I shouldn’t have cared about her. She was a mortal, and Gwen was right. Yet, I couldn’t shake the idea of her. Whatever that meant. There was something pulling me toward her, and no matter what I did, I couldn’t stop thinking about our time together.

I touched the area where Gwen had bitten me yesterday. While the bite had healed completely, my head still spun at her reaction. She’d never seemed to care much about monogamy, or us. I was the chaser, and even when she submitted, she still seemed to care for Astor. Yet the jealousy I saw was unlike anything I’ve seen before. I wouldn’t have strangled her if she hadn’t tried tearing down the door to get to Elizabeth, who I’d moved to another room.

Kalon and Velda sat up front on makeshift thrones under a tent. Her hair was unbraided for once, moonlight curls falling around her shoulders. Gwen’s eyes caught mine as I made my way to them. My father barely watched as the mortals tried to kill each other. I was happily surprised to see Penelope was not in attendance.

“Majesty,” I said, bowing my head because we were in public.

“Come.” He gestured to join him at his side, and I took the shorter chair. Red fabric walls sheltered us from the rest of the public. I purposely didn’t look at Gwen again, although I could sense her glaring at me in my peripheral vision.

My father leaned in. “We have another problem.”

“Which is?”

“We need to talk in private,” he whispered. He made a signal to the string band, who played faster as the larger guy’s heart was carved out. The calm boy threw it through the bars to a waiting vampire.

Velda touched his arm, and he jerked away. “Don’t leave,” she pleaded, her blue eyes sparkling as the lamps we lit, and the night came. “It’ll look bad.”

“Don’t,” he warned, then nodded in my direction. I took the hint and followed him out. I glanced behind at the cage one last time. There were only two left, and the boy was winning.

He’d do well here, if he made it.

That was if my father kept to the deal of making the winners into vampires. I’d never seen the castle so full. I was certain this would become an annual event, like it used to be.

I made a mental note to check on Elizabeth’s sister. She was with the Blood Brothers, but with the amount of people here and lack of rules, she could be in danger.

Once we were out of earshot, he tugged me toward Azia’s cottage, standing us by the pond. “We found a demon board.”

“So?”

“This is the fifth one we’ve come across.”

I looked at him, noticing the fear flickering in his green eyes. “Where was it?”

“In Velda’s room.”

“I thought you shared a room?”

“We share a bed,” he said. “I don’t share my chambers with anyone.”

“Then ask her why she has it?”

“She said it isn’t hers.” He shifted, peering around for any signs of eavesdroppers. I’d never seen him like this. He was beginning to get the same, paranoid twinkle to his eyes that Sargon had. “I thought we were at war with the other kingdoms, but I’ve been…misled.” His nostrils flared and he let out a long exhale, his breath fogging between us. “I can’t trust anyone, but you. More mortals are being found pregnant, and not with their own kin.”

“Demons.” I shook my head. Aniccipere were only born when a demon mated with a mortal. It happened on occasion. “Mortals from the castle?”

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