I walked the corridors of the castle, no real direction in mind. I needed to get out of my suite, but didn’t want to go so far that I’d attract the attention of the Council—or my mother.

They were always hounding me to take a mate, and I was in no mood for that conversation tonight. Something was itching at the back of my neck, a nagging feeling that something wasn’t quite right.

I’d learned never to doubt my instincts, but I didn’t know what they were telling me right now.

Something had happened—or was going to happen. Something big. And I needed to be ready for it.

But I had to figure out what it was, damn it.

“My lord!”

A call from behind me had me slowing to a stop and turning to face whoever needed my attention.

I was King, and while many would think that meant I had all the freedom in the world, in reality I was a prisoner of the people. Whatever they needed, I had to secure for them.

“Yes?” I resisted the urge to let out a sigh.

Decorum, at all times. The world of the vampires was a political one, and every action had to be carefully thought through, weighed, considered. There was no room for a single misstep.

Certainly not for me.

The man ran toward me and stopped a few feet away to catch his breath.

“The Council...” He panted. “They need you.”

Of course they did. They never seemed to get anything done without me, though that was exactly what they were supposed to do: take care of the little things so I could focus on what was important.

But to them, everything was too big for them to handle on their own. Or at least, that was how it felt.

“Thank you. Dismissed,” I said, and the man fled.

No one wanted to be alone with the King if it could be helped. A lapse in decorum in front of me... Well, let’s just say it wouldn’t end well.

I made my way through the castle to the Council rooms.

Everyone I encountered made sure to clear the way for me, some of them bowing, some inclining their heads. It all depended on the status they held.

A moment later, I was in the Council room, taking my seat at the head of the table.

We waited for the rest of the Council to filter into the room.

What would it be this time? No doubt something perfectly simple that they should have been able to take care of on their own. I was bored already.

“My Lord.” Councilman Jameson spoke first, his head bowed in deference.

“You may speak.”

“General Graves is no longer with us,” he said.

What he meant was, the man had been murdered, but no one would ever be so blunt.

I was still for several moments, choosing my words carefully. My initial instinct was to demand how it had happened, but I couldn’t do that. Couldn’t allow myself to fall prey to my most basic reactions.

It wouldn’t look good.

Inside, I was seething. How had a general been killed? That should have been impossible. It was true that the hunters had become more aggressive of late, but none of them had dared to touch one of the inner circle before.

This had never been a problem when my father was sitting on the throne. The worst he had had to concern himself with was a minor vampire disappearing here and there, one of the many who were too weak to defend themselves against the hunters. One who was probably better off dead if he couldn’t keep himself alive.

At least, that’s how it had been until Raoul died. After that night, things had gotten so much worse.

“And his partner?” I asked at last, keeping my voice soft. No need to alarm them with my thoughts.

There was silence in the room. No one would meet my eyes.

The implication was clear. His partner hadn’t been with him when he was killed.

“Where was his partner?” I asked again.

“He was...indisposed,” Jameson said at last.

I fought the urge to lock my jaw, knowing it would only serve to alert them to my frustrations. Indisposed?

That could mean any number of things, but knowing Graves’ background... He’d likely been indulging himself, and that was why he’d been alone.

Idiot. He should have known better than to allow himself to be alone in the under city. He should have known that with the increase in attacks, now wasn’t the time to indulge.

The man had always been sloppy, but he had a good head on his shoulders, and that was why I’d kept him around for so long.

And no one wanted to speak out against his indiscretions. It was unusual for a vampire to share the bed of anyone who wasn’t their mate, but Graves was newly widowed.

Everyone dealt with grief differently. At least there wouldn’t be a mate to bring this news to. The loss of a mate was a crushing thing. A mate was quite literally the other half of your soul, and to lose that part of yourself...

It was unbearable.

“If we had increased the hunts as I recommended, My Lord...” Carlsson had the nerve to say those words.

To suggest that this was my fault. That I hadn’t protected my people in the way I was supposed to.

Yes, it was entirely my fault that Graves had been fool enough to go into a brothel alone when he knew the attacks had increased. I should have…what? Had a blood mage from the dungeons control him?

Mentally, I rolled my eyes at the thought.

They knew as well as I did that there was no way I could have stopped this from happening.

But they were scared, like younglings. They didn’t like to think that death was lurking around the corner for any of them.

“We can’t increase the hunts at this time,” I said. “We’ve been over this.”

Small murmurs filled the chamber. I was near to losing my temper, but I held on to it, just barely.

Inwardly, I was fuming that they would dare to suggest I wasn’t doing my job properly.

“Enough. What of the hunter? I assume they have been taken care of,” I said.

More silence.

Really? The hunter hadn’t been dispatched after Graves was killed?

His partner had been that far away from him? If the man had to go into a brothel, his partner, at the very least, should have been outside the door. He should have heard the scuffle, should have been alerted to the kill.

And come to think of it, how had a hunter bested Graves in the first place? There would have had to have been a group of them for him to be overwhelmed. The man was an adept warrior. He wouldn’t have made general if he had been anything less.

“How many hunters were there?”

“We don’t know, My Lord.”

“And how is that?”

“No one saw the hunter.”

I closed my eyes, praying for patience. “The hunter?”

“It’s assumed that there was only one, My Lord. There were no signs of a struggle.”

None? No, this I couldn’t believe. Graves wouldn’t have gone down without a fight.

And what did they mean, that there were no signs of a struggle? A stake through the heart was a very clear sign of a struggle. Graves would have been cut in the fight; of that I was certain. He wouldn’t have had time to heal fully. The signs would have been clear to anyone who saw him.

“We should increase the hunts. This cannot go unavenged.”

We were back to that again. They knew we couldn’t do that. It hadn’t been that long ago that I’d been on the other side of this table, arguing the same things that they were fighting for right now.

Before I’d assumed the throne, I’d made the same assumptions.

But with the crown came the genetic memory of our lineage. This wasn’t a new time, not really. There had been days, not that long ago in the grand scheme of things, when we’d been hunted, when the blood mages had kept us under their thumbs, before we had the collars necessary to control them.

I knew that if we increased the hunts, we would only be providing more targets for the hunters. I knew we’d be sending them to their deaths.

No, we couldn’t increase the hunts. We had to think of this strategically, rather than obeying our knee-jerk reactions.

“We will not increase the hunts,” I said firmly.

“My Lord...”

“My word is final,” I said. “But this won’t go unavenged; of that you have my promise. I will find and destroy whomever has taken Graves from us. I swear it.”

In truth, I only swore it to get them to shut up. I didn’t have time for their ramblings, not when the proof was in front of me that we were nearing a war the likes of which we hadn’t seen in centuries.

Somehow, some way, the number of deaths had increased to a level that was only rivaled by the time when the blood mages were free.

I’d find a way to stop it.

Peace would return to my people.