Page 12 of House of Blood and Roses: Vol. 1

Bella scoffs. "What are we, Uncle?"

"A drain on my resources," he responds without looking at her.

The expression on Bella's face sours. Despite not knowing her, I imagine she hoped she'd be seen as Lord Fallmartin's heir.

"It's been ten years since the death of my son, and now I have two grown children, ready to take their place in vampire society," Lord Fallmartin says, a proud expression on his face. "You will both be true assets to our House."

"I'm sorry, but I don't want it," I say. "I don't want to be a vampire."

He flashes me a wicked grin. "It's too late, dear. It was the moment you stepped into the castle on the night of the Golden Moon."

I blink a few times. "What?"

"The Golden Moon ceremony unlocks the true potential of any dhampir who enters these halls and partakes in refreshments."

I think back to the insistence that we drank the wine when we first arrived. The entire evening is a trap.

I look over at Bastian, but he doesn't look in the slightest bit surprised by any of this.

"You knew," I whisper, but it's loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.

"We can take what we're due," he responds, his head high. "This is what we were born to."

"No." I shake my head and stumble backwards, almost tripping over Pip in the process. She lets out a yip to remind me she's there. "It isn't. Mother..."

"What did mother know?" Bastian bit out. "We were brought up in poverty, Beatrice. That's not protecting us. How could it be when we could have had this?"

"I don't want any of this," I say back to him. "I want to go home."

Bastian gets to his feet, a menacing expression on his face that makes me step back further. "The deal is done, Beatrice, this is our home now."

"Your brother is right," Lord Fallmartin says. "You can't return to the town. You won't be able to go out in the sun, and you won't have anything to feed off. You'll turn feral and attack anyone who comes near. Do you want that?"

My eyes widen and fear takes hold of my heart.

Eliza gets to her feet and steps between me and her uncle. "You're scaring her. Let me deal with this."

For a moment, I think the lord is going to argue with her, but he nods sharply instead.

Eliza turns around and offers me what appears to be a friendly smile. "Why don't you come with me?"

I want to say no, but the alternative seems to be staying in this room with my angry brother and a man who is definitely capable of far worse things than anything I can even imagine him doing.

"All right," I say quietly, all the while thinking that I need to do everything I can in order to get out of here.

SEVEN

I look around as I follow Eliza, hoping I can find a way out, but so far, there's nothing that looks promising, especially because I'm not entirely sure where I am in comparison to the castle doors. And even if I get back there and manage to step out of the front door, there's a chance I'll get lost on my way through the woods.

"I wouldn't bother if I were you," Eliza says.

I jump, not having expected her to say anything.

"Looking for an escape," she continues. "I tried to do that when I was first brought here."

"You were a dhampir?" I ask, the word sounding foreign on my tongue. I'm not sure if I truly believe that's what I am, but I'll give the whole situation the benefit of the doubt.

For the moment, at least.