Page 54

I almost wished it had been.At least then I could hide under the annoyance of following a spoiled princess around instead of the…pity? Guilt? I didn’t quite know how to describe the feeling that weighed down my chest and only got stronger as the day went on.

The vile vampire had hit the princess so hard that there was a dark purple bruise immediately forming on her cheek. I counted the seconds it took for it to disappear.

Eight.

Twelve.

Thirteen.

It took fifteen. More time than it took when I bruised her skin, and the entire room sat through the silence as we all watched it fade away.

There were other guards here, some leaning against the doors, and even more outside. All of them kept a cold face in response to the abuse they witnessed. I looked at them, attempting to see into their minds.

How often did this happen? Was this the norm?

Their faces gave no answer to my question. They merely stood there, their black uniforms blending into the dark-red walls and black doors.

But this is my first time coming face-to-face with it.

I had been so desensitized to the murdering of people for contracts and had seen more than my fair share of fucked-up creatures and humans alike.

But there was still something so raw about the way the princess just took the abuse.

“I told you thenext day,you insolent brat,” the stepmother hissed. “What about that did your brain interpret as almost a whole fucking week later?”

“It’s been four days,” Princess Aurelia said, her tone bitter. She threw her hair behind her shoulder. A defiant move that caused my chest to swell.

She looked down at the small table next to her. It held hardened blood cubes that shined like rubies. She took a few, popping them into her mouth as her family looked at her, enraged.

“Your father has gone soft on you. Because he thinks no matter what, this deal will go through. But I know better,” her stepmother said. There was an air of seniority in her tone. Like she was the true mastermind behind the vampire family she got lucky enough to marry into. “You’re lacking. The prince is unhappy.”

“The prince seemsveryhappy here,” the princess answered, reaching for another blood cube. “At least that’s what I can tell from the dozens of feeders who have been summoned to his room in the middle of th?—”

It was the stepsister who stepped forward this time. She raised her hand and brought it down quickly, smacking the blood cube out of her hand.

“Do you know what he told us?” she spat, a wicked grin pulling at her lips. “He told usexactlywhat he plans to do to you when you’re shipped off to his family home. You have no room for that attitude of yours there, and if you’re lucky and please him enough here, he said thatmaybehe’ll be good to you when the time comes.”

I expected a slap. I wanted to see it. But Princess Aurelia raised her hand but paused. The little demon flinched, her reaction pulling a smile from the princess before she wiped her fingers on the girl’s white dress, staining it with blood.

“And here I was, thinking you knew all about it the whole time.”

“Remember the time Father almost pulled out your fangs?” the stepsister said with a smirk. She was trying to keep as much power as she still could. “Maybe we need a reminder. After all, it’s a fitting punishment. Can’t run your mouth without being subject to the shame of it all.”

“Don’t be so jealous,” the princess all but purred, unfazed by her threat. “I’m sure if you begged on your knees and flashed him a bit of that rotten cunt of yours, he’d bed you in a heartbeat. Maybe then you’d finally learn your place here.”

“Aurelia—”

Her stepmother tried to intervene, but the princess wasn’t done. She stepped forward, grabbing the girl’s dress and yanking her closer.

“Because I’m his blood daughter, I get married off to the wealthy and powerful,” she said. “But you? No one knows what sewer you and your bitch mother crawled out of. No one wants you. No one will pay for you. So here’s a bit of advice: say some shit like that again, and I will make sure none of the vampires in our circle willeverbid on you. Meaning you’ll have to spend the rest of your life begging for attention from a lowly, poor vampire who probably got you for half price.”

I couldn’t hold back a snort, nor could the guards at the door stay totally silent. They shifted, one even trying to conceal his laugh with a cough.

“Aurelia, you will go and do whatever it is you need to do to make the prince happy!” her stepmother raged. If vampires could die of an aneurysm, she would certainly be close. Her eyes were wide, and her entire body was shaking with the intensity of her anger. “Now go, before I make you regret ever stepping foot in this room!”

Princess Aurelia paused for a moment. I could see her mind whirling, but her facial expression remained neutral. Then, the smallest smirk pulled at her lips.

It was the kind of smile that told me she was ready to end everything. Told me that what she had said was just the beginning, and if she wanted to, she could burn this entire place down with just a couple more sentences.