Page 70 of Dhampira

He left it at that, no thank-you to be heard.

“Can you always speak in people’s heads?” I asked. He’d spoken every word aloud the previous night. And he hadn’t used telepathy at all in the forest.

“No. But it’s a useful gift.” At last, he looked at me. “I steal it whenever I get the chance.”

I pressed my lips together.

Vander touched my arm. “Remember, Corinthe. You’re playing a role now. We all are. If Rasimir believes we’re working together, he’ll kill all three of us. If you want to live, you have to pretend.”

My throat tightened. It wasn’t just my life on the line anymore. Then again, it never had been. All of Nocta serves the king. Now part of Nocta depended on me to defeat him. The other part wanted me to share his demise.

Vander watched me, waiting for a response.

I swallowed. “All right.”

He motioned me forward, and we moved past the pool at the statue’s base. Lorcan started around the other side. “Rix,” Vander said between strides. The ruined garden winked out of existence, the sudden shift bringing me to a halt. The scent of pine rushed into my lungs as trees soared around me.

Lorcan stopped and gave me a cold look over his shoulder. “Let’s go, Princess. Our guests await.”

14

The dragonstone gown glittered in the candlelight. The stones pulsed over my lap and legs as I sat before the mirror in my chamber. The soft strains of stringed instruments drifted from somewhere in the fortress. Outside, the sun had just slipped below the horizon. It was almost time for the ball to begin.

“This style suits you,” Delphine said, pinning a jeweled comb in my hair. Decorated with small rubies, it held one side of the long strands away from my face. The rest spilled down my back in loose waves. “Such a pretty color.” As she smoothed her fingers over the shining mass, flyaway pieces lay down like enemy knights falling under a sword.

I met her gaze in the mirror. “I always longed for pale hair like yours.” An unfortunate experiment with lemon juice had convinced me to abandon that quest. It’s like you washed it with rust! my mother had exclaimed. It would serve you right if I refused to fix it.

She’d opened her herb cabinet even as she’d delivered the threat.

Delphine shook her head. “Oh no, Your Highness, this black is gorgeous.” She drew a glossy length over my shoulder. “It’s like a raven’s wing. And so striking with your eyes.”

They did appear brighter, but that was probably due to the dark paint she’d smeared over my eyelids. “You don’t think it’s too much?” I asked. “I don’t want to draw attention.”

Delphine’s eyes crinkled at the corners. “I don’t think it’s the paint, Your Highness.” She tilted her head abruptly, her smile fading. “I’m needed elsewhere. Prince Lorcan will arrive shortly, and he’ll escort you to the ballroom. Can I get you anything before I go?”

My stomach flipped like I rode atop a wagon bumping over a sudden hill. “I have everything I need. How many guests are attending the ball?” Would I be expected to dance? I hadn’t given it much thought. Returning from the Everless, I’d waited for guards to spring from the forest and accuse me of conspiring against Rasimir. When it didn’t happen, I focused on playing the role Vander and Lorcan had given me. Wiping all expression from my face, I’d trailed the men into the Drakhold, my nerves fraying with every step. But no one stopped us, and no shouts went up.

So far, so good. But pretending loyalty to my father was one thing. Dancing was something else entirely.

“Not to worry, Princess,” Delphine said, bustling around me as she put away hairbrushes and little pots of paint. “I believe it’s a small group.” Curtsying, she left.

The chamber was quiet without her, the only sounds the muffled music and the occasional crackle of the banked fire. The mirror reflected a large vase of fresh flowers on the table behind me.

Red drew my gaze, and I smoothed a hand down the dragonstones scattered over my bodice. They would have looked pretty in green.

Even as I thought it, change swept down the dress. In a wave, each stone’s center changed from red to emerald.

Awe shivered through me. Standing, I turned sideways and examined my reflection in the mirror. Green burned in the center of every stone, each pulse like an emerald heartbeat. The red comb glittered in my hair, the color a sharp contrast to the green.

Pressing a hand to my stomach, I looked down at the layers of silky skirts spreading around my ankles. “Please—” I clamped my mouth shut, my eyes going to the nearest flower arrangement.

In Nocta, everyone whispers.

In a swirl of silky black skirts, I went to the balcony and opened the doors. Stars twinkled in the violet sky. The mountains in the distance resembled jagged teeth. A full moon bathed the courtyard’s statues in a silver glow. At this height, the forest was like a thick, green carpet, the scent of pine competing with Nocta’s sweet, mysterious aroma.

Curling my fingers around the railing, I closed my eyes and concentrated. I love the green, but I think it’s safer to stick with red.

My heart thumping, I opened my eyes. Red filled my vision, and relief sagged in my chest.