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You will carry this family’s legacy, Vesper.My father’s words played through my head during the times when hatred started to seep into the cracks. When my body started to feel like it was on fire and my jaw clenched so hard, my teeth threatened to crack. When only thoughts of murder and pain brought me comfort.

They centered me. Reminded me of what my job was. Mylastjob.

One that would forever change the fabric of this society, or so the seer had foretold. It was what I was born to do. What I existed for. My family had given up so much to ensure thatIwas the one who would be able to bring honor to the family’s contracting business.

Not my brother. Not my father.Me.The seer had chosenme.

The truck stopped abruptly, causing many of the men to jostle into each other. Their grumbled complaints were muted underneath the sound of footsteps exiting from other vans around us. The double doors were pulled open, and we were forced out with shouts from our superior.

I was the first due to being near the exit. It was strategic. It forced me to the front of the line as they positioned us behind the prince and his personal staff.

The gravel crushed underneath our booted feet, the guards choosing not to let us on the brick patch before the prince. He looked at the palace without even trying to conceal his glee. His stance oozed a cocky confidence that I’m sure vampires of his status loved.

My eyes wandered over the trunks of gold and jewels as they were carried out of his car. There wasn’t much stacks of cash could do for a family like the Castles. They were rich, old, and powerful. The prince would need something more concrete to make him look good in their eyes.

After all, what else could they even think to ask for?

Though I’m sure in their world, this would cause any vampire princess to swoon. To be lavished and handed more money than she could ever need.

And blood.

His personal staff showed the wealth, and the guards?

They showed the blood. We were here to be of use to the princess. Protect her as an extension of the Solei family. But those men had been right. The princess’s family could protect her, we were here for her bloodlust. As a show that the Solei family was willing to give fresh humans. But not any humans.Strong andhealthyhumans that would drop in a moment’s notice and offer her their neck.

And I would be just that.

It was why I was first. Why I had freshly washed and styled my hair. Why I had soaked my uniform in a lavender wash two days before. It was why I had a witch enchant the tattoo of my family’s crest on my neck.

So maybe I would entice the monster just enough that she would be willing to have me on her staff.

I let my gaze wander to the palace beyond. A power show. Something that looked to come straight out of a dark fairytale rather than vampire royalty. It spanned stories with shimmering windows, but the blackness of the bricks and the shadows the forest around us cast showed its true nature, no matter how many shiny embellishments the family made to it.

“Follow the prince,” one of our leaders said as they motioned us forward. “Step out of line, and your first job is as a blood bag.”

The already silent guards had nothing to say about this threat. Their nerves were palpable, filling the air and causing a tenseness to run through the crowd.

The prince led us up the long brick entrance and between the hundreds of rows of red roses. Their overpowering smell tickled my nose. The pounding footsteps of the guards walking in sync echoed throughout the courtyard but softened when we reached the expensive marble steps.

The doors were open for us. There were people already waiting with their heads bowed and lined up to lead us down the long outdoor hallway to the throne room.

A welcoming show that none of us would have gotten to experience if we had not given our bodies to these families.

I tried not to be amazed by the inside. Tried not to let the awe rise in my chest as I took in the carefully crafted space. The inner courtyard was filled with black roses, trimmed bushes, andmarble pathways. Columns carved with images of the vampire goddess Krae were everywhere, all in different renditions but beautiful nonetheless.

The walls surrounding the inner court were tall enough to cast wide shadows over the palace.

Making it an easy place to hide.

I caught a few glowing red eyes in the dark corners, watching me exactly like I had been watching them. They were in all-black uniforms, much like we were, but there was something about them that made me believe they probably weren’t the normal guards the family employed.

The prince was the first to walk into the throne room. We followed him shortly, filing into the room that barely had enough space to fit us all.

Just like the Solei family, the throne room was for show more than anything else. Stairs led up to the single throne. Stained glass with more depictions of Krae stood behind them. And right in the very middle, there they were. Poised, well-groomed, and ready for political matchmaking.

The vampire obsession with royalty was nothing I ever understood.

In modern day, they held the wealthy, and even some countries, in a chokehold. But the crowns? The thrones? The extravagant ball gowns?