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“Really?” I chirped. The praise surprised me.

“I don’t give empty compliments, and I can’t lie,” he said dryly.

I grinned. “Right.” Praise from the king’s general was high praise indeed.

“You came to us nearly emaciated and barely able to hold a stance, now you’ve managed to take down a vampire,” he continued. “Remind me how that went down, again?”

I shivered at the memory, tucking my hands under my arms protectively. For some reason, I wished I had thegrimoire with me, but there was no way I was taking it in front of other vampires after everything.

“It was fast. Honestly, most of it was instinct, the training paying off.” The memory of the ancient librarian lunging for me played in my mind. “He said some weird stuff, taunted me. Then he charged. I was able to cast the wasp card, and I used the blade like you taught me. He was dust before my mind really caught up.”

“Battles do tend to go fast,” Demos acknowledged. “They can feel prolonged in the moment, especially for vampires who move at faster speeds, but in reality, even among mortals they rarely go more than five minutes.” A pause. “It’s surprising he didn’t use his thrall on you.”

Right. The terrifying power that let vampires compel mortals.Why hadn’t the librarian done so?I had focused on translating the book as fast as I could and avoided thinking about that battle. Or… was it possible he had? He’d told me to stay still or something, but I’d thought it was some patronizing language since he was so confident he could kill me.

“Maybe he wanted to play with his prey, and underestimated me?”

Raphael had told me his thrall didn’t work on me before. I’d thought that was justhim, some quirk.

With the way Demos was probing, I decided not to volunteer that.

“Perhaps.” He looked like he wanted to say something more, then shook his head. “In any case, you should beproud. When you leave the kingdom, you’ll be a fearsome foe in your own right.”

When you leave. “You sound like you’re almost looking forward to it,” I teased, ignoring the pang in my chest. Iwantedto leave. I was working tirelessly to, and with this, I might be able to. So why didn’t the thought fill me with joy?

“Or at least, you must be looking forward to having your afternoons back,” I continued.

That broke through the ice around the general. He rolled his eyes. “At least Amalthea’s been preoccupied with you. Once you leave, she’ll be back to meddling with everything.”

I hid a grin. Maybe Demos was wishing he could keep Amalthea training too. He was much harsher with her than me, but the oracle gave as good as she got—on the days she showed up. She mostly kept to their bargain, but as she reminded us both, she did have important work to do.

The hallways grew more crowded, the carpeting more ornate, as we neared the throne room. We passed a few offices, with those Raphael had mentioned he delegated work to, concentrating on different tasks. Some were vampires, but a few were humans in those ghastly vampire disguises.

Still not used to that.

“Just be warned, the king’s been in a bit ofa mood,” Demos said.

I frowned. “Why?”

He looked at me like not only had I sprouted that second head, but it was a very stupid head. “The librarian attack.”

“Oh. Right.” Of course Raphael would be stressed—someone who had held an important post had gone insane. No doubt he was worried others might follow.

Demos led me through a side door rather than the main entrance, and explained we’d wait for court to adjourn, at which point I could talk to him. I had dressed in proper clothes rather than the training leathers Amalthea had fitted me with. The dress was vivid blue and slightly low-necked, as was appropriate for my “station” as Raphael’s Chosen, and as ornate as I could manage for something I could put on myself.

I was woefully underdressed compared to most of the court.

We were a little to the left and in front of Raphael, standing back. He didn’t look at us when we entered, so I took a second to study him. He sat on an elevated dais upon a high-backed throne made of solid silver. His crown was a matching metal, with rubies dotting the edge, his hair tamed back by the crown. His fingers were steepled on the arm. The only sign of boredom was his fourth finger tapping to a staccato. His posture was rigid, his expression not interested, but not insultingly bored. Dispassionate, perhaps.

The room held at least ten rows of long seats, mostly filled with nobles dressed in finery.

Two were standing towards the front of the room, petitioners seeking some resolution. Across from Demos and me were three vampires seated behind a slightly elevated bench: two vampires, and a human to the side. Their clothes weren’t as ornate as the petitioners, but rather uniforms. I quickly surmised these were something akin to a jury that heard petitions. The first few petitions were surprisingly mundane. When matters escalated up for Raphael to deal with, he was collected, he let both parties speak. His rulings seemed generally fair, but of course, no one dared argue with their king.

I thought about how he’d confided he’d never wanted the crown, yet he was involved as a ruler. Though the first I’d seen had been wealthy nobles, as time went on I realized there were others who also sought resolutions. The process wasn’t riveting, exactly, but it was a fascinating look at the kingdom. It had due process, a far-cry from the chaotic frenzy I’d always feared. Yes, some vampires were crazy—hence the recent attack on my life—but the kingdom had another side to it. I wasn’t so blind I couldn’t acknowledge that.

A human came forward. Unlike the others who roamed the halls, this one didn’t disguise his species. He had hair the color of wet dirt, with silver flecks speckled throughout that complemented the sagging lines around his eyes and jowls. A pair of spectacles balanced on the bridge of hisnose, so short and narrow I wondered how he didn’t go cross-eyed. A vampiress who looked years younger, but could have easily been centuries older, stood at his side as if presenting him.

The court secretary cleared his throat. “Janessa of the Ash-Sworn clan petitions King Raphael to allow her to turn Crowley Adinamos to one of the night people, and live as a member of her clan.”