Page 62 of The Vampire's Mercy

Bollocks.

The snake slithered out of the dark. A python covered in emerald scales made its way toward me, big enough to squeeze the life out of a body three times my size and swallow them whole.

By Aidan, the creature was a bejeweled ornament sliding across the floor.

Hiss. Hiss. Hiss.

It stopped a few feet away, lifting its top half, the rest of it coiling into a swirl beneath it. Its tongue flicked at the air, those eyes creeping me out.

“Leave me alone,” I warned it.

It stared, not moving, no signs of aggression.

The door opened behind me. “Good morning.”

I turned and dashed past the figure standing there, slamming into a wall. I fell onto my arse then rolled to the side, springing to my feet.

“Are you okay?” a man asked.

I didn’t look at him, taking in my surroundings instead. A corridor of onyx with circular crimson lights in the ceiling. Long stretches running east and west with no ending in sight on both ends. No windows, no other doors, no way out.

Damn.

“Hello?” The elf man closed the bedroom door.

Man, he looked so clean, so put together in his green jacket with leaf-like brocade patterns, a white lace shirt, and green leather trousers. An emerald choker around his neck looked super expensive.

“Good morning,” he said with a smile. “I’m Elio, fellow thrall and here on behalf of King Silvanus while he day rests.”

I slid my hands into my pockets. “You’re a thrall?”

“Yes.” He offered me his hand, rings decorating his long, tapered fingers. “Nice to meet you.”

I rejected his handshake. “What’s going on? Why is there a snake in there?”

He dropped his hand. “I’m here to guide you through the day.”

So, it was morning.

“As for the snake,” he added, “her name is Medusa and she is beloved by His Majesty.”

“I see.” I rocked on my heels, checking around me again for anything I might have missed, but came up empty.

“What happens next?” I asked Elio.

“You bathe, you dress, you take the tour.” He flashed me a friendly smile I immediately didn’t trust. My instinct wasn’t to trust easily, but something about this guy strengthened that distrust. Like he was hiding something behind his formal kindness.

But a tour would be good. I’d get to know the lay of the palace for potential escape routes.

Give me any secret tunnels and all that awesome stuff, please.

“Okay,” I said. “Lead the way.”

He looked me up and down. “Are you okay?”

I caught myself tapping my foot. “As well as I can be after, well, you know.”

He steepled his fingers under his chin. “I don’t know the full story yet. But I know it’s been a difficult night.” He shook his head. “Our poor king. Those rebels are a disgrace.”