Page 130 of Dhampira

Nerves in tatters, I sat in my chamber, my fingers throbbing and my ears pricked for the thump of approaching boots. Any time footsteps sounded outside my door, I expected knights to appear and drag me to the great hall, where Rasimir would make good on his threat.

But as the day faded into evening, my only visitor was a quiet woman named Yuliette. She brought me dinner, then curtsied and said the king was “occupied.” She returned later to clear the meal and help me get ready for bed.

And she was back again this morning, her face blank and her movements efficient as she pulled a brush through my hair. I kept my hands in my lap and tried to ignore my aching fingers. The phantom pain had kept me up most of the night, leaving dark smudges under my eyes.

Delphine would have fixed them. Yuliette had delivered breakfast and presented me with a choice of gowns.

A knock on the door startled us both. Out of habit, I met Yuliette’s eyes in the mirror, part of me wondering why she hadn’t announced the arrival in advance.

But of course, Yuliette didn’t do such things. Delphine did, and she was a statue in the courtyard.

“Princess?” Lorcan said through the door. “It’s time to go.”

He didn’t speak as we made our way through the Drakhold. By the time we reached the forest, I was ready to explode. A dozen steps into the trees, I looked at him.

Quiet, he said in my mind.

Anger rushed up so swiftly I almost tripped over it. “You could have spoken in my head this whole time?” I asked through gritted teeth.

A muscle jumped in his jaw. You’re truly terrible at following instructions. When I opened my mouth again, he let his fingers brush mine, and his voice softened in my head. Ten more minutes, Corinthe. It’s too dangerous to speak in the open.

I bit my tongue, and I tried not to think too hard about how that simplest of touches made tingles rise all the way to my shoulder.

A few minutes later, Vander stepped from the trees. And seconds after that, we stood in the Everless.

Lorcan rounded on me immediately, his fangs flashing as he grimaced. “What were you thinking, letting Rasimir know you possess a vor?”

For a second, I was too shocked to speak. “Are you serious? He was going to kill me!”

“He baited you, and you let him.”

“How can you think that?” I looked at Vander, expecting his outrage to match mine. Instead, he nodded.

“Lorcan has the right of it. Rasimir played you for a fool.”

It couldn’t be true. And yet, the mix of disappointment and disapproval on their faces was real. They were Rasimir’s closest advisers. Had known him for hundreds of years.

“I…” I began, only for words to desert me. As I struggled for a way to defend my actions, fresh pain bolted from my fingers to my elbow, the agony so intense I cried out.

Lorcan and Vander rushed forward at once, concern on their faces.

“What is it?” Vander asked, grabbing at my hand.

I snatched it from his reach. “Nothing. I’m fine.”

Lorcan had my hand in his before I finished the sentence. “You are, without question, the worst liar I’ve ever met,” he murmured, peering at my fingers. “I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.”

My breath hitched as more pain radiated up my arm, the throbbing concentrating in my elbow as if I’d knocked it against a piece of furniture. “I lied well enough yesterday to convince Rasimir.”

Lorcan’s expression sobered as he lifted his dark eyes to mine. “And now he thinks you have a vor, with many others to follow. That’s not the victory you think it is, Corinthe. The gifts in the vials aren’t permanent. What happens if Rasimir discovers you’ve been training to challenge him?”

Frustration and pain made my voice sharp. “What should I have done?”

“For starters, you should have stayed out of the fucking maze!”

I jerked my hand from his. “Don’t swear at me!”

Lorcan opened his mouth, then snapped it shut. He shoved a hand through his hair, dislodging his careful queue. Vander stared at him as if he’d seen a ghost. Lorcan noticed and cut him a disgruntled look.