Page 98 of Claimed By Fangs and Darkness

I forced myself to follow Lord Aster into the next room, a grand drawing room where close to twenty guests stood in far dressier attire than I currently wore.

It was silly to suddenly feel embarrassed or out of place when I obviously didn’twantto fit in. But still, my casual, youthful summer dress stood in noticeable contrast to the lavish, sensual gowns and suits around me. And the elites in the room were not shy in showing me that they noticed our differences too.

One born woman nearly spilled her flute of alcohol laughing. She lifted a brow and whispered loudly to the man next to her as they stared.

“Don’t mind them,” Lord Aster said, far too close to me now as he led me deeper into the glittering, opulent space. “You’re as perfect as I remembered. Your innocence is a gift, my dear.”

The nausea grew thicker, and I had to make a conscious effort to keep my power at bay.

We stood in a corner of the room by a bar cart, and I noticed the men from before hovering nearby. Lord Aster handed me a flute of what I now recognized to be elixir.

I stared at its shimmering, golden depths and then into his nearly red, amber eyes.

Maybe he really did think I was a fucking idiot.

I made no move to drink, and I waited for Aster to speak first. That was one of the main things we’d hammered home in deliberations. I was to speak as little as I could get away with, letting the born guide the conversations.

“Your eyes are piercing,” he said, pretending to be mesmerized.

Oh, you have got to be joking.

Before I could find something to say that didn’t get me into trouble, the lights flickered, and furniture rattled. I frowned, reining in my power before I realized it hadn’t been my power that surged.

Lord Aster sighed. “We talked about this, kitten.”

Confusion overtook my nausea. I followed his gaze with a turn of my head.

Behind me, a tiny woman my height but thinner stood in white lace that appeared to be more of a nightdress than an evening gown. She had wide gray eyes like mine, but dark brown hair that fell just past her shoulders. We seemed to be close in age.

She worewhite.

Horror knocked me off my axis as everything fell into place all at once.

The girl smiled. Lord Aster stepped closer to me.

“We finally get to play,” she said as she slowly stepped forward.

She was referencing the note a figure in white had left for me after Etherdale University’s massacre. At the time, I’d been so sure the attacker was a man. Clearly, I’d been wrong.

Her smile was giddy. Her voice matched the squeal of excitement and cackle I’d heard earlier. But in her eyes was a haunting, churning darkness I knew all too well.

The witch who killed Princeton was a born vampire’s bride. Or slave, to be more precise. A girl who’d been born to a cult and auctioned off as livestock,just like me.

My gaze swept from her to Aster and the fading pink scratches on his skin.

“Quite the conundrum, isn’t it?” Aster said, watching my face carefully. “I may have had my suspicions, but how was I to know my dearest Evelynn had been alive all this time?” He raised a hand, lightly placing it on my shoulder as I went stock-still. “Apologies.Evie, I should say,” he corrected.

I slowly panned back to the brunette version ofme.

She covered a giggle with a hand over her mouth. “You look terrified! Don’t worry, I’m not the jealous type.” She beamed at the born at my side, her eyes filled with adoration and…

Insanity, if I had to put my finger on it.

“Wait, but… ” The words tumbled out of my mouth as my mind spun. I shrugged out of Aster’s revolting touch. “That means you were here in the city before I?—”

The girl giggled again. “She’s so cute!” She extended a hand. “My name is Juliette, by the way.”

When I refused to shake her hand, she scowled.