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Her gaze faltered. “My brother said you blame the vampires for that.”

“‘Tis but a theory, lass. The truth is we just don’t know. The Curse originated a thousand years ago, when humans still believed bathing could open the body to evil spirits. We may never know what caused it, just as the Razroth demon who delivered my sister and me was mystified as to how my mother conceived a female in the first place.”

Halina’s eyes had widened at my mention of the Razroth. “My uncle always said you can’t trust the demonkind.”

“He’s not alone in that.” The demon tribes had a reputation for being dirty fighters, preferring to sneak up on enemies and kill them from behind rather than face an opponent openly on the field of battle, where they were certain to lose against an immortal. They resorted to such tricks so frequently, some claimed the term “backstabber” had originated with them and eventually made its way into the human world.

“But the dragons trust them?” she asked.

“There are honorable tribes.” I gave a rueful smile. “And we dragons don’t have many allies. When my mother died, my fathers were alone. And heartbroken.”

Sympathy filled her gaze. “And that can kill a dragon.”

I nodded. “The Razroth offered to take me in, but dragon tradition calls for orphans to be raised at Castle Beithir, where King Cormac holds court. He’s a true ancient, possibly the oldest living creature in the world. He found his mate, Niall, long ago, but they have no female. The loss of our women threw the king into a sort of madness. He rarely takes human form, and his dragon is… Well, it’s something to behold. When he’d fall into one of his rages, the whole castle would shake.”

“Not a place for a child,” she said softly.

I rubbed a hand over my mouth, remembering. “I don’t know how he discovered it—dumb luck, maybe—but Niall found that Cormac grew calmer when I was around. So I joined the Sovereign Guard as a lad.”

She paled. “They forced you to keep company with an unstable king? At sixteen years old?”

“It was a different time, lass. A lad of sixteen was an adult back then. And I didn’t have to do much. Just sit in the throne room for a few hours a day.”

“That must have been boring.”

“Aye. I suppose that’s where I learned to keep quiet. But there’s something to be said for observing. Courtiers and emissaries would visit from all over. Representatives from the Firstborn Races. Other magical creatures. Someone was always waiting to speak to Niall or the king. If you’re patient and you let people talk long enough, they’ll tell you everything you could ever want to know about them. Even their secrets.”

“And then you met Fergus.”

I didn’t even try not to smile. “We were twenty-five. I haven’t known a moment of silence since.”

Her laugh was full and rich. “I used to think you were scary because you were so quiet. Now I realize you just never get an opportunity to speak.”

I chuckled with her. “Fergus is a force of nature, but he saved me in a number of ways. I never had a family. Never knew my parents.” I held her gaze. “I believe you ken how that can shape a person.”

Her smile faded, and then she looked down at her lap. “Yes. I had my father, but I was only ever a disappointment to him.”

“What of your other relatives? You mentioned a brother.”

She grimaced. “Aleksander is a complicated male. There’s also my Uncle Grigory, but he probably hates me more than my father and brother combined.”

“Whatever for?” Anger rose hot and swift at the thought of her own relatives mistreating her.

Her chest lifted as she sighed. “All vampires honor the Blood, but Grigory worships it. He perceives any sign of weakness as a threat to the throne. Everything about me offends him.” She ticked items off her fingers. “My inability to channel, my awful fighting skills, my distaste for blood—”

“You dislike blood?” I’d never heard of such a thing. The vampires’ bloodlust was legendary.

She flushed and looked away. “I don’t know why. I just never liked it.” A frown marred her otherwise smooth brow. “Although, I enjoyed it when I fed from Fergus.”

My dick went instantly hard. “Aye, he mentioned that.”

“D-Did he?” She swung back to me.

And my breath caught.

Because her gaze was focused on my neck.

And now her eyes glowed a brilliant, unearthly blue.