Page 45 of Bonded By Blood

Jasen suddenly grabbed hold of her hair in a tight fist. “Tell her.”

This seemed to pique Trista’s interest. “Oh? Tell me what?”

Jasen released Matilda’s hair, causing her to wobble. “I don’t think she’s our traitor. I think she’s just fucking stupid.”

Silence held in the room as the vampires waited for Matilda to catch her breath and tell her story. “I,” she began with a watery gasp, “I set out two glasses, per my instructions, and filled them with the usual amount for an evening meal. I had just enough left in the bottle. It was the same bottle I’d used earlier today. But since Lady Brianna prefers her blood closer to room temperature, I left the glasses on the counter while I put the empty container in the recycling bin.”

Joe knew next to nothing about their blood-keeping system, but so far no one seemed too perturbed with the things that raised the biggest questions for him. So he kept quiet. It was possible he just didn’t understand their terms.

“But, I … I thought I heard something, just outside the kitchen,” Matilda continued, her voice becoming quieter. She slumped and her eyelids drooped. “I stepped into the hallway to look around, but I didn’t see anything strange. I didn’t see anyone at all, actually. So I went to the freezer, to ready the next bottle for use. Then I returned with the tray to carry the glasses to the library.” Her eyes widened again. “Oh, but, there was a … a spot…”

What?

“A spot?” Trista repeated carefully.

Matilda nodded and slowly dared to raise her eyes, having to tilt her head back to do so. “Yes. On the counter, beside one of the glasses. A single drop of blood. I thought I must have spilled and not noticed before, so I just wiped it up without thinking.”

Oh. That kind of spot. Joe could see where she’d make that kind of assumption—and why it was a problem.

Trista hissed and shot out a hand, slapping Matilda across the face. Droplets of blood splattered across the floor and Matilda cried out, falling back and to the side. “How careless,” Trista snapped, curling her hand into a fist slow enough that each knuckle cracked in turn. This time, though, no blood dripped from her nails. “You took your eyes off the very meal meant for the Princess when you knew there was a traitor in this house!”

Matilda sobbed, carefully pushing to her elbow, and shifted to cradle her face. “I-I’m so sorry, my Queen. P-please, don’t kill me!”

“Kill you?” Trista repeated. “Do you realize the severity of your crime? The penalty for what you’ve done, what you almost did, is so much worse than mere death.”

Matilda seemed to go pale and her already erratic breathing faltered. “I … I don’t understand…”