Page 7 of Until the Heart Stops (The Oylen City #1)

T he hum of voices around me was like the buzz of insects, the image made even more real by the splendor that accompanied it.

Those in attendance at Eamon’s ball were jeweled beetles skittering here and there, fine silks and gemstones fluttering in the winter breeze.

His estate was on the edge of Oylen near the swamplands, barely out of reach of the Covenant more due to the owner of the estate than geography.

But his grand mansion was the height of opulence with its marble halls and gilded columns, lit with so many candles the light and smoke almost hurt my eyes.

Music poured out from the ballroom, the quartet placed within an alcove to magnify the sound until one would think they were in every corner.

I ran a hand down the threadbare gown I reserved for such occasions.

Eamon invited me almost every month, but I only accepted the invitation twice a year.

This sort of celebration was too much after a time and I found I could enjoy myself on the rare occasions I came, but not too often.

Adrienne, however, joined him almost monthly, like a flower pinned in his jacket.

She was here already within the mansion.

I knew if I waited on the outskirts she would find me eventually.

The gown had been my mother’s and a few years ago we’d tailored it for me, since I was a bit bustier than she had been.

I could still remember those nights when she would leave the house in it to come to this ball as well, the slide of the dark red silk against my palms as she passed me in our townhome.

Now it made my throat ache to wear it, especially because when I looked in the mirror, it felt as if she was staring back at me without a word.

“There you are!” Adrienne called, sliding through the crowd spilling into the ballroom.

Her gown was exceptional, as I’d known it would be. Eamon had told me about it before he’d left on his last trip. The sapphire silk caught the blue of her eyes and made her peach complexion even more lovely.

Around us vampires eyed her speculatively.

They knew she was a staple on Eamon’s arm and a few guessed she was his blood giver in the den, though it was never confirmed publicly.

Even here on the edges of the Covenant we could not openly speak of what we did.

But they gave her a wide berth all the same out of respect for their host.

“You wore the necklace!” Her excitement was palpable and obviously increased by the wine passed out in ornate chalices to the humans in attendance.

I touched the ruby that brushed the valley of my breasts. It had seemed a waste not to wear it, especially with how it complemented the gown. Before I could reply, she grabbed me by the arm and drew me further into the melee toward the dais where Eamon stood looking out over the crowd.

His golden skin gleamed in the light, ochre eyes fixed on Adrienne with a soft smile on his lips. I wondered if she could see how in love with her he was or if she was still in denial.

“Lilith.” He beamed, taking a step down the dais toward us with outstretched arms.

I gave him a small curtsey, pressing three fingers to my mouth. “Thank you for your hospitality, my lord.”

His lips were soft against my brow, followed by the press of his thumb to the spot. Vampires were steeped in ancient custom and this was no different—the action was a sign to all those in attendance that I was welcomed as a member of his household and therefore under his protection.

“There are a few friends I’d like you to meet,” he began, holding out his hand toward a group of males on the other end of the dais.

A wave of tension rolled through the crowd, conversation dying out alongside the music. Eamon took a step higher on the dais while Adrienne and I turned. People were moving off to the sides, creating an aisle for the newcomers who had garnered so much attention.

There in the doorway stood Callum, flanked on either side by Henry and Gabrielle.

A tense silence followed. Henry winked at a few who gaped openly, while Gabrielle appeared to note the crystals hanging from the chandelier.

Callum, however, looked only at Eamon, and took the first step toward the dais.

As one the crowd moved another step back, a few bowing or curtsying while others glared with open hostility.

But none spoke as he approached, Henry and Gabrielle only a half step behind.

“Lords and Lady Auguste,” Eamon greeted warmly with a dip of his chin. “Your presence honors me.”

Callum did not smile, but he did raise three fingers to his lips. “I apologize for the sensation our arrival has caused, Uncle.”

Uncle. I frowned. Familial relations between vampires were confusing to say the least. Fledglings most often referred to their maker as parent and any subsequent fledglings as siblings, save for those ancient times when a vampire changed a human lover.

It made sense there would be other types of relations between them, but I could not imagine who it was who had sired Callum that he would refer to Eamon in such a way.

The elder vampire’s smile did not waver as he leaned down, brushing his lips to Callum’s brow just as he did mine, followed by the touch of his thumb. “No need for apologies,” he murmured.

Callum took a step back as Henry and Gabrielle moved forward to receive the same treatment.

His gaze flicked from Adrienne to me before falling to the ruby around my throat.

Gray eyes hardened into stone and a muscle clenched in his jaw.

Did he know this necklace had been a gift—or even who it was who had sent it?

But he turned away before I could read anything else on his face, slipping into the crowd with a murmur to Henry, who turned to me with a bright smile.

“Mademoiselle Searah! You must do me the honor of allowing me your first dance.”

Before I could answer, he swept me up into the crowd while Eamon gestured to the quartet to begin their music again. Henry’s hand slid to my waist and he pulled me closer. He waggled his eyebrows. “Any answer for our mutual friend?”

I had not given any response to the note he’d brought last night, but the words still rattled through my skull with each breath.

Tell me, my darling, what do you need? When he’d seen the note, Henry had the good sense to ask permission to read it, unlike Gabrielle, who had merely snatched it from me.

But Henry had laughed for a solid minute before he’d wiped his eyes and begged me to write out a reply.

I’d had none. Even now I didn’t know what to say. So I shook my head as he guided me into the beginning of the dance, aware of eyes that lingered on us.

“Why are they staring at you?” I asked instead.

His grin grew impossibly wider. “How do you know they’re not staring at you?”

I huffed a laugh. “Because it’s not me who made an entire party stop with my mere entrance.”

Henry hummed, expertly turning me out beneath his arm and drawing me back.

Adrienne was out on the floor near us with Eamon, closer than was customary, her cheeks flushed pink with wine.

I thought I’d caught a flash of white-blond hair in the crowd, but it was gone in the next moment. “Our maker is Mael Auguste.”

I blanched, stumbling over the next step, but he caught me easily, smoothing over the mistake with a smile at a passing couple.

Mael Auguste was one of the seven leaders of the Covenant—older even than Eamon.

No one knew the exact age of the leader, only that his life could be traced back since before the written word.

I had never seen the male, but it was said he was terrifying to behold: a true monster who paraded as a king.

“When you say our… ” I hedged.

His smile faded slightly. “I mean myself, Callum, and Gabrielle. We were made about eight hundred years ago within decades of one another. Callum, then me, and finally Gabrielle. We have an elder brother who is near to us in age, Mateo who you might be acquainted with, but he was indisposed tonight. ”

I frowned as he turned me out once more, dipping beneath his arm. “I don’t know what to say.”

His laugh was a surprise. “Most do not. Why do you think I didn’t lead with it?”

If this vampire was the fledgling of Mael Auguste, it meant he literally lived within the motherhouse of the Covenant and each morning they took their rest within its womb. And I lived each day in defiance of their decrees, spitting in the face of the reformation they’d created within our city.

For the very first time, Henry’s playful edge evaporated. “You have nothing to fear from us, I swear it.”

My throat clicked with a swallow, but I nodded, even if I could not completely trust his words. I thought again of the gifts, the letter, the necklace. “Henry… Who is the male sending me gifts?”

His gaze did not move even for a second and he did not speak either.

“Is it—tell me truly, am I in danger?”

The question appeared to unsettle Henry, who drew me closer until his lips brushed the shell of my ear. “The only thing you are in danger of tonight is making half of this room fall in love with you, Mademoiselle Searah.”

Over his shoulder, Callum’s gaze pierced the back of Henry’s head, a muscle working in his jaw. I wondered if perhaps he only accompanied Henry on these adventures out of a familial duty—perhaps he objected to this fraternization as much as their maker did.

The music ended and Henry withdrew with a bow, brushing his lips across my knuckles while I curtsied. Immediately another male took his place, a Vyenur I recognized who fought alongside Noah but whom I had not often spoken to. His smile was wide, white teeth bright against his dark brown skin .

“May I have this next dance, Mademoiselle?” he offered with a bow, his braided hair spilling across one shoulder.

I accepted, attempting not to notice the furrow in Callum’s brow or the words he spoke to Henry when they reunited.

The Vyenur did not seem to notice, however, as he guided me through a much faster dance.

He was not as graceful as Henry, but he laughed easily, shaking his head each time we fumbled. “I admit I am not the best at dancing.”

With a squeeze of his arm, I offered him a smile. “We cannot all be as graceful as our nighttime kindred.”

A dimple popped on one cheek. “Noah speaks quite highly of you.”

“I think quite the same of him.”

The Vyenur clumsily turned me beneath his arm. “You two are…?”

It was my turn to chuckle. “Friends, siblings even, if you like.”

His eyes slipped down my throat, lingering at the ruby, but unlike Callum his gaze was much more alive—hungrier than the vampire’s had been. But the dance ended quickly and I could not say I mourned our time together when another Vyenur stepped in with a bow.

On and on it went, mindless conversations with unfulfilling endings only for another to take their place. By the fourth partner my feet ached and I eyed the exit through the gardens.

“Are you acquainted with Lord Auguste, Mademoiselle?” my current partner inquired.

He was tall as many vampire males were, and the only one of them to ask for a dance, as the rest of my partners had been Vyenurs or humans.

A surprising number of freckles splattered his cheeks—as they aged, any blemish in their skin tended to smooth.

I rarely encountered vampires with freckles or scars unless they were quite young, as this male must have been.

“Only just,” I replied as he guided us toward the outskirts of the dancers.

The hand on my back flexed, dragging me just a little closer. “He is not courting you?”

“Courting me?” I laughed. I had a feeling Henry would flirt with anything that breathed. “Such a thing is against the rules of the Covenant, you know this.”

Vampires were made deliberately and usually by the Covenant leaders themselves or those within their employ. Centuries ago, courting had been a way of life between vampires and humans, but not any longer.

“It is only…” He cleared his throat. “If I had such a beauty in my arms, I would not let her go.”

I froze for an instant before I forced myself to follow as he guided me in a twirl, pulling me much closer into his embrace than even before.

His nostrils flared. This male, I realized, was much too young to his new life.

Young ones were usually not allowed at mixed gatherings without the watchful eye of their maker for this exact reason.

The hand around my own tightened, his chest pressing against mine.

“Sir, you forget yourself,” I breathed. “The Covenant?—”

“Appears to turn a blind eye to such things. I know what you do, Mademoiselle Searah. Who you are. A madam of a blood den who peddles such delights for a fee.” His next inhale was ragged, crystalline nails digging into the fabric of my gown. “I am willing to pay for a moment, for merely a taste.”

I bit the inside of my cheek. “My lord, you are hurting me. ”

And he would kill me if he got just a taste.

As if it would make any difference, I attempted to quell the thrumming of my heart in my chest that was a beacon to his thirst. But his grip on me only tightened and, as we turned, the exit I’d been longing for only minutes prior whirled into view.

I dug my heels into the ground, twisting my wrist in his grasp even as my skin protested.

Pain skittered down my arms and a gasp slipped through my teeth.

He might have been young, but he was stronger than I was, even with my magic slipping through my veins.

I sent shocks across my skin—depleting my small bit of magic instantly—but they made no difference to a creature like him, even if they would have felled a human of similar size.

Frantically I looked around to see if anyone noticed, but all were engrossed in their own partners or companions.

Adrienne and Eamon were nowhere to be found.

A pale hand shot out, long fingertips wrapping around the young vampire’s throat, a silver ring glinting on the index finger.

Callum appeared as if from smoke, squeezing tight enough the young male’s eyes widened in fear, the bloodlust leaching from his face. He stepped closer, towering over us both, fangs sharp and glittering as his lip curled into a snarl.

And I could only stare in a mixture of horror and wonder as his voice rumbled low.

“Let her go.”