Chapter 1
Amber
Letmejustmakesomething perfectly clear.
I donotlike basements.
Cramped dark spaces where creepy things can hide are the stuff of nightmares. Honestly, whatever my sister was thinking when she decided to suddenly snatch me up from our perfectly fine cottage in our perfectly fine clan with our perfectly fine contracts is simply beyond me.
We have good feeders. We have decent food. We have warm clothes.
What’s out there that’s more important than that?
Eternal life.
According to her.
My brain pings with the thought as I meander down another darkened hallway. This one has moth-eaten tapestries and rotten carpet. The smell of mold lingers in the air. I feel some ancient disease developing in my lungs the longer I stand there.
I know I’m lost because the hallway I left behind was nothing like this. Lavish, properly tended, and brimming with signs of life. The stuff made for more celebrated souls. Wherever those souls might be. I heard they were replenishing their stock.
And I guess they started with me.
I hug my shoulders and hold back a sob. So much for getting away from court for just two seconds. I got myself turned around in the basement. Or the dungeon. Or wherever the hell I am.
Honestly, anything is better than being near those vampires.I know one of them is to blame for Seline’s death.I glare ahead.
What’s the use in having eternal life if I wouldn’t have both sisters with me?Yeah, right. Eternal damnation is more likely to happen.
I sigh again. I reach for the tattered wallpaper. I lean against it.
A sob escapes.
It takes every ounce of strength in me to keep it from overflowing. Much like losing control of a raft on a raging river, I succumb to the flood of tears, horror, terror andsorrowgripping me harder than anything I’ve ever felt in my life. I hang my head as grief takes over.
Sweet release, come find me. I’m not meant for this adventurous life. I’ve been at Rodin Manor for all but three days and have managed to turn myself aroundtwice. Not a damn soul was in sight when I got down here. Maybe that was a sign to turn back around.
My nose twitches. Another rotten stench enters my awareness. I’m trying not to think about moldy mummies when I lift my head to stare ahead.
Tessa might be looking for me. Or her oafish brother-in-law. What’s his name?I shake my head.Derrick. Or was it Darius? I don’t really care. He didn’t greet me when I walked into court to meet the king my sister has been raving about.
Granted, welcome mats aren’t thrown out for bloodbags back home.
My face contorts.Not home. Not anymore. Not with Tessa totally changing the mission.Not with Seline beingdead.
I try not to think about what King Marr will do to us when he finds out she’s abandoned her blood oath. Dreadful things happen to people who break their promises, especially with vampires.
And considering I house the same blood, that punishment will include me too.
My hand instinctively finds my side. What King Marr alreadydidto me lingers. It feels like there’s a balloon under my ribs. But that’s just how the bruise feels. I got beaten for something my sister did—and then for something my other sisterfailedto do.
Imagine what that bastard of a ruler will do to us when he discovers I’m missing?
If he hasn’t noticed already.
I force myself to breathe. It’s stupid how much my emotions are getting out of my control. It’s not like I’m back in that tower...
Just find the damn stairs. Find some way to get out, you magnificent idiot—