Page 35 of Dhampira

My cry of outrage caught in my throat. Alon jolted when Lorcan struck, but now he gazed at the sky. Leaves fell faster in his eyes. More vines crept through his hair, and the lines in his skin deepened.

Lorcan’s throat worked as he drank. Without warning, his smooth voice echoed around me. Don’t show compassion. He’ll see it as a weakness, and weak things don’t survive long in this court.

My lips parted. I stared at Lorcan, shock pounding through me. He’d spoken. I heard it. But it was impossible. He couldn’t talk while he drank. And yet, I’d heard him clearly.

Because he’d spoken in my head. And there was no mistaking the “he” Lorcan referenced.

Rasimir.

Lorcan had given me a warning. I was still grappling with the revelation when his voice echoed in my head again.

Say nothing after I finish. Keep your mouth shut and do as you’re told.

Alon’s chest rattled. Moss-green eyes found mine. Thank you, he mouthed. The leaves in his eyes faded, then disappeared.

Lorcan wrenched upright, blood spilling down his chin. Drops fell to his jacket and sank into the fabric.

Most of the court prefers to wear black, Delphine had said. Of course. It hid the blood.

I let my shoulders slump as Lorcan stood and withdrew a black cloth from his pocket. He was dabbing his lips when Rasimir and Vander approached. Vander stopped just behind the king, his hands behind his back and his handsome features arranged in the same emotionless mask he’d worn when Rasimir toasted me over blood-wine and cake.

I lowered my gaze, but I held my chin high enough to keep the men in view.

Rasimir flicked glossy black eyes from me to Lorcan. “Did you get anything?”

Lorcan gave Alon’s body a look of mild distaste before lowering his head and wiping smears of blood from his hands. “An affinity for tree bark. Nothing of value. Hopefully it’ll pass quickly.”

My father turned to Vander. “You said she was capable.”

Vander kept his gaze straight ahead. “The princess had a long journey, Majesty. And she’s new to Nocta.”

Somewhere in my mind, I knew I should be begging for my life. Rasimir was likely to kill me for failing to drain Alon. But as I huddled on the forest floor with Alon’s blood seeping into my skirts, I couldn’t bring myself to plead for mercy. I wasn’t capable. I wasn’t even a vampire. Rasimir would have to find another heir. And my head would probably end up on a pike, just like the pixie woman warned on the road.

Unless I managed to escape. A wise woman builds her house away from the cliff’s edge. Even if Rasimir had a change of heart and decided I was competent after all, I wanted no part of Nocta. I would never be his bloody heir.

Rasimir’s gaze fell on me. He stared for a moment before looking at Lorcan. “Your gallantry is admirable, my prince. And appropriate, given the circumstances.”

Lorcan still wiped his hands, and he replied without looking up. “I am your servant, Majesty.”

The king turned to the courtiers behind him and spread his arms wide. His voice boomed. “I was going to wait until tonight’s feast to make this announcement, but I find myself too impatient to delay. In three months’ time, when summer ends and autumn is upon us, we shall celebrate a wedding in Nocta.”

I jerked my head up. My heart skipped a beat.

“Prince Lorcan will wed my daughter, Corinthe of Nocta.”

The courtiers erupted in cheers and applause.

Icy dread slid down my spine. Slowly I looked at Lorcan, and at last he lifted his head. His eyes were solid black, with no trace of white. As I held his stare, I knew my father had been honest about something else.

Rasimir wasn’t the only vampire who courted madness for power. Lorcan drained immortals to death, too.

And in three months, I had to marry him.

8

The village had seen rain. Derryton’s roads always turned into mudslides during the spring.

My nape prickled, and a little voice urged me to turn back as I neared the bend in the road. But the sun already loomed over the trees. I was late.