I didn’t wait for them to agree with me. I simply stood and exited the Council chambers. That was message enough for them that this session was at an end.

It was all I could do to keep myself from storming away from them. Instead, I moved at my normal gait, as if their words hadn’t affected me. As if they hadn’t insinuated that I was failing at my job.

I knew I shouldn’t blame them for feeling like this. They didn’t know what I knew; they only recalled that under my father’s rule, this hadn’t been a problem, and now that I was ruling, people were dying.

They didn’t seem to connect the dots back to the night that Raoul had died. They didn’t seem to be aware that the problem had started while my father had been King, they preferred to dissect things into the time when he had ruled and the time that I now ruled.

It was easier for them to do that. They needed a scapegoat, something to make them feel better when in truth they knew that death haunted them.

It wasn’t an easy thing for a vampire to fear death, especially when centuries had gone by since the blood mages had hunted us. They had been the only threat to our existence. The hunters had been present, yes, but they hadn’t been more than pests in comparison. Even after the mages had been contained and only the hunters remained, they hadn’t been enough for us to concern ourselves with.

Now, they must be growing in numbers.

The only possibility I saw was that the wolves were turning people. It had been wolves who had killed Raoul—something that should have been impossible. We’d thought the wolves had been eradicated, but that night had proven to me that that was no longer true.

After that night, I’d been aware that there was a threat to my people that had to be contained as quickly as possible.

I still hadn’t found a way to do that.

It was impossible, when we couldn’t ferret out where the pack was living. If we could find them, we could crush them again as easily as we had originally.

But it was as if they didn’t exist. They were ghosts within the city.

They’d adapted with the times, while we remained the same.

That was unacceptable.

Lost in my thoughts as I was, I didn’t see Alex until he grasped my shoulder, grabbing my attention.

Alex was my oldest and dearest friend. He’d faced the centuries with me, and I knew I could count on him for anything should I need him.

Well, as much as any vampire could trust another. I couldn’t trust him with my innermost thoughts. Even he played the political game.

“Gray,” he said with a cheerful grin.

He was the only one I could count on to use my given name instead of my title. It had been that way as long as I could remember, and it was something I appreciated. It made me feel a little more like a person, which was something I didn’t get to enjoy...well, at all anymore.

“Alex.” I clasped his shoulder, both of us squeezing at the same time in greeting, then our hands dropped to our sides. “Do you have time for a run?”

“Is that wise?”

“Truth?”

“Always.”

“I don’t care, at this moment.”

I didn’t doubt that I’d be able to defend myself if the situation called for it. I’d dispatched the wolves who had killed Raoul. Hunters weren’t a concern to me, though try telling that to the rest of the vampires.

I understood their fear.

If something happened to me, it would mean the end of the vampire line.

A little faith would have been appreciated, though.

“Very well. Let’s run.”

He grinned at me almost savagely, and a wave of relief rushed through me. For a moment, I’d thought he might deny me.

We exited the castle as quickly as we could, avoiding anyone who might think to bring a concern to me at this moment. It wasn’t a good time—I had no patience just now.

As soon as the night air embraced us, we took off.

We coursed through the city, passing humans left and right, enjoying the freedom that came with the run.

It had been so long since I’d been afforded the time to relax, to enjoy myself. I’d had so much excess energy rushing around inside of me as of late, and this was the only way I could safely vent it.

“Enjoying yourself?” Alex called to me, raising his voice to be heard over the rushing wind.

I laughed, a carefree sound that I hadn’t heard in a long time. “For the first time in ages.”

“I haven’t seen you smile in a long time. What I’d give for the old days, when you were quick to smile.”

I, too, longed for the old days, for the freedom of my youth. I’d cherished it when I had it, but now it felt like I hadn’t appreciated it enough. I’d always known that when I took the crown, it would bring with it new responsibilities, but I hadn’t known how heavy it would weigh on me.

I hadn’t known that I’d never have a moment to myself.

Even now, I didn’t have the freedom to run on my own. No one was allowed out of the castle without a partner at their side, lest they run afoul of hunters. Normally, I’d be required to have an entire retinue with me.

No one knew that we were out running, though. No one knew where I was.

I thrilled at that thought. No one could come after me, prattling about some insignificant thing or other. I was free, in this brief moment in time, to enjoy myself.

I gave myself over to the run entirely, enjoying the feeling of my blood beating heavily through my veins, of the air pressing against my face and tousling my long white hair.

The time passed too quickly, but even I knew it was time to return to the castle. No matter how much I might yearn to remain, we had to go back.

I signaled to Alex, and we turned back, moving a little more slowly than we had before. He didn’t want to return any more than I did. Or perhaps he was taking pity on me, knowing that once we returned, I’d have to face one demand after another.

He’d always been good at knowing what I needed, when I needed it.

There was a reason he was my best friend.

All too soon, the castle came into view, and we slowed to a brisk walk.

As I stepped into the castle, I was greeted by the sight of a group of potential thralls. Volunteers for a position in the castle, for the protection it would afford. They knew they’d be fed on, but they would also be well cared for, and they would never want for anything.

It was a position that some coveted, and there was always competition for a spot. Which was good, because they didn’t know there was a rather heavy turnover in the job. Some vampires lost control and couldn’t be stopped, and a thrall would need to be taken care of.

It was an unfortunate situation, but not one I could do anything about. All I could do was try to train the young vampires better, push them harder to learn the control they needed.

They were always so full of their youth, always wanting more, never understanding what it meant to be a part of this world. It took time, but they all learned eventually, and I only wished that the process could be sped up.

I spared only a glance for the group of thralls, moving past them with the intention to leave them as they were. I didn’t care for the practice of taking a thrall—I fed either on blood that was brought to me, or on the hunt. The idea of someone who existed only to feed me turned my stomach.

I never told others that, though. To them, my reason was self-sacrificing, that the thralls were put to better use serving my people instead of me.

But when my gaze moved over them, one of them caught my eye.

She had striking brown eyes, tawny skin, and long brown hair. Everything about her said she should be insignificant, but the very sight of her had need churning inside of me.

What would she taste like? I had to know.

Had to hold her tight against me as I drank her life’s blood...

I had to hold back a gasp. What had come over me? I never...

But she looked familiar. Something about her eyes—I could swear I’d seen them before. I tried to place her, but I couldn’t figure it out.

Inhaling deeply, I hunted for her scent amongst the thralls, but not a single one of them stood out.

No, I’d never met any of them before. Of that I was certain.

Then why did her blood cry out to me like a siren’s song?

I had to know.

Abruptly, I turned on my heel and stalked toward her, moving past the man who was speaking to the thralls about what the Choosing would be like.

Nobles would pick through them first and select one to be their personal thrall, and the rest would either become part of the herd that served the lesser vampires or be turned back onto the streets.

Not all would be Chosen.

I didn’t wait for him to finish speaking, a rudeness that I’d have to apologize for later. At the moment, I didn’t care. All I wanted was to be next to this woman.

Instinct told me she was more than she seemed, and I always trusted my instincts. I’d discover her secrets, and then she’d interest me no longer.

It wasn’t that her body called to me, I told myself, but rather that I was curious about the puzzle she presented.

Yes, that had to be what was happening. It couldn’t be anything else. I wouldn’t allow it.

“What is your name?” I demanded as soon as I reached her.

She dropped her gaze to the floor and drew her shoulders in to make herself smaller, yet I didn’t believe she was afraid of me. Something in the way she moved told me that while she was uncomfortable here, she wasn’t afraid.

Why was she not afraid? I had to know that too. All of the other thralls were eager to be Chosen, yes, but they were also healthily afraid of the vampires around them, of the chance that they’d be snatched.

That had never happened, and yet without fail, the thralls always feared it. It was only a matter of time before one of them whispered to the others, thinking that we wouldn’t be able to hear them.

Idiots.

I reached out and touched her chin, then lifted her face so she was looking at me.

There was defiance in her eyes for a second, then it was gone.

“Nina,” she said.

Nina.

Part of me was soothed by knowing her name, a part of me that I was now refusing to acknowledge. Her name shouldn’t matter.

I turned from her to face the Choosing Master.

“I lay claim to Nina as my personal thrall,” I said.

“What?” Alex all but shouted. I saw his shock written clearly on his face.

I arched an eyebrow. His shout was entirely unacceptable. It wasn’t polite.

He looked down and away from me, easily quailed.

And that was that.

I turned, took Nina by the arm, and led her away.