Page 90 of A Vow of Shadow and Blood

“So, the prince is worried that some of the nobles are going to leave his court?”

“Not just some. If a head of house decides to switch courts, then everyone tied to that line must leave too.”

“The entire bloodline? They have no say in it?” I ask.

She shakes her head. “No, and it’s not just the direct bloodline—it includes every vampire that their line has ever sired and every pureblood human their house owns.”

I suck in a breath.

“That’s insane.”

The Court of Shadows has always been the most powerful of the seven courts. I’ve never even questioned that this could change. But if too many nobles were to leave, then the court would be completely depleted, leaving it open to an attack from a stronger court. I may hate things as they are now, but there are rumors of far worse courts, and the last thing we need is to be invaded by one of them.

“A court could be weakened overnight,” she says. “It’s why the vampires are all on edge right now. The ceremony is sealed by magic. Whichever court a house is sworn to, they must remain in for the next century.”

I gasp, finally understanding the gravity of the situation. No wonder Karius was so angry when some of the council members suggested that they would be exploring other courts.

“And that’s not all,” she says as though she has been longing to get this secret off her chest. “Swearing a vow to a court not only shares in the court’s magic but it binds every member’s life to its crown too.”

I can’t have heard her right. “Their life?”

She simply nods.

“You’re telling me that if the crown prince dies, then every vampire in his court does too?”

“Yes.”

I sit back, the realization finally sinking in. Did Julian know this? Is this why he sent me to kill the prince?

“How do you know this?” I ask, my suspicion rousing.

“You’ll be surprised at what you learn when the vampires forget you are there.”

I give her a small smile, but I doubt it. No vampire is stupid enough to divulge that kind of information in front of a human, not when they have so much riding on it. She’s lying, I just don’t know why.

“You won’t tell anyone that I told you, right?”

Her eyes pierce into me, and I see something oddly familiar, but I cannot put my finger on it.

“I won’t tell a soul.” And I mean it because, as much as I hate Karius, our lives are bound, and that means that killing me is now the easiest way to take down his entire court. If a single vampire in this court were to learn that their lives rest on the survival of a human, then they wouldn’t hesitate to abandon it and take up residence elsewhere, and only the gods know what horrors that could bring about.

I’m lost.Both Ajax and Iza were busy doing jobs for Karius this morning, so that left me with nothing to do but sit cross-legged on my bed thinking about everything that Ember told me yesterday. Knowing that my life is tied to every single vampire in this court makes me feel sick. The prince already has enemies, if Julian is anything to go by, and if even one of them learns of our connection, then it won’t be long before I become their next target. That’s why I left my room to explore the castle—my own thoughts were starting to suffocate me, and now I actually have no idea where I am.

I told you that you were lost five minutes ago, but alas, you thought you knew better.

How exactly is this helping, Athriel?

Just pointing out the facts.

Well, don’t.

An annoying chuckle fills my head, and I roll my eyes. I’ve been walking around for at least two hours, and at least forty minutes of that have been me trying to find my way back to my room. I’m pretty sure that one of these hallways has got to lead back to it, eventually.

My stomach grumbles in the quiet, making me keenly aware of exactly how hungry I am. Surely in a place this big, they should have some kind of special button or something that you can press when you’re lost, but then I guess they don’t need it with their heightened senses. It is so convenient that the prince’s powers only appear when I don’t want them to, but when I could actually use them, they’re nowhere to be found. I curse under my breath as I stand in the middle of a corridor, hands on my hips, looking around.

The entire place looks like I’ve been here before, but then so did the last five hallways I turned down. I decide to try the handle on the large wooden door I’m standing in front of. If there’s a window inside the room, I can at least tell if I’m on the right side of the palace, and that would be a start. I try twisting the knob, but of course, it’s locked. I tilt my head back in frustration before moving down the hallway and trying several other doors. All locked. Of course.

I’m just about to give up when I notice a door that is slightly ajar at the far end of the hallway. I move slowly toward it, unsure whether I’m even supposed to be down here, though the prince didn’t give any strict rules about where I could go, only that I shouldn’t escape.