After not sleeping for fourteen days, I slept two days straight.

And I only woke up because Thomas, who apparently had a death wish trying to rouse a vampire from deep slumber, had told me that Reynard’s celebratory dinner was tonight.

I groaned as I left my bed. That dinner … that was something I didn’t want to attend, but I had to. We would remember his life, honor his memory, drink and eat in his name, and I had to be there. For the man he had been, for the father he had represented, I had to be there.

So, I took a long bath, put on my nicest black suit, a dark red shirt, and black tie—DuMoir colors—pinned the brooch with the silver cross on my lapel, and walked out of my bedroom.

As usual, I found a tall glass and a wine-like bottle on the dining table. A small smile tugged at the corner of my lips. Thomas knew me well.

But instead of sitting down, I turned to him. “Please, bring Thea to me.”

His eyes widened for a moment, but he bowed his head to me. “Yes, my prince.”

Not a minute later, Thomas reappeared with Thea behind him.

She stared right at me, again full of false confidence. Other than that, she looked haunted, but well.

“Thomas, bring some food for Thea, please.”

“Yes, my prince.” Again, the boy bowed, and then left the room.

I gestured to the dining table. “Please, sit.” Thea hesitated, but she finally took a chair in the middle of the table. I sat at the head, where my drink awaited me. “I see you found the clothes I asked Thomas to retrieve for you.”

She looked down at blue and white summer dress, one of the simplest pieces of clothing Thomas had found in the castle for her. “Yes, thank you.” Then, she froze and turned those bright gray eyes to me. “Please, don’t tell me the clothes are from … the dead.”

I swallowed a chuckle. “No, those clothes were bought for the humans that are still in the castle. If you need, we can buy you more.”

Her little nose scrunched. “Are there many humans in the castle?”

“You mean, blood slaves like Thomas and you?”

“Y-yes.”

I paused, wondering why she was asking me that. Did it matter? I was certain that she couldn’t escape, and if she tried … well, that would be her bad. “Not many. Two dozen. Maybe a little more.”

I poured some of the blood into my glass. Her eyes widened, and then she averted her gaze, her hair falling like a curtain, hiding her face from me. For some reason, I didn’t like that.

After a long moment of silence, she lifted her head and stared out the window, at the setting sun. The orange streaming through the glass gave her fair skin a sun-kissed tone, and her gray eyes turned even brighter, almost transparent. Her full, red lips parted as she inhaled deeply. It was hard not to notice how her delicate features went well together. It was hard not to notice how pretty she was.

And her scent … I inhaled deeply, savoring her sweet, sweet scent. It was pure temptation.

“What happened to Judy’s body?” she asked in a whisper.

Judy had died not long after I had left their room two days ago. Thomas told me Thea had been in complete shock while he picked up the body and took it away.

“We aren’t animals, you know. Well, for the most part.” I sighed, not in the mood to explain what I meant by that. “There’s a human graveyard a couple of miles behind the castle, at the edge of the forest. Thomas and Lewis buried her there.”

Thea’s eyes filled with tears, but she wiped at them before they could fall. Then she looked at me again. “Is there where I’ll be buried when you kill me?”

“I saved you. Why would I kill you now?”

“You’re a vampire. You’re a monster. That’s what you do.”

I inhaled sharply. What kind of romance novels was this girl reading? Weren’t authors portraying vampires like some kind of special heroes now?

“Thomas has been with me for over eight years, and I plan on making sure he has a long life.”

“While imprisoned in this castle. Do you think that is life?”

“Better than to be use like a blood bag and be killed, don’t you think?”

She pressed her lips together, her eyes fuming. “I’m not so sure.”

This girl … was she this stubborn? This prickly? If she kept that up, I wasn’t sure how long I would endure her. “All right, here’s the deal. You’re mine now, which means no other vampire can touch you unless I agree to that. And I don’t plan on doing that.” Her heartbeat skipped a beat and then accelerated. “And I won’t touch you either. You don’t need to worry about that.” I heard a slight relieved sigh coming from her lips. “You’re free to walk inside my chambers for now. You can go anywhere, but my bedroom. In a week, we’ll reevaluate this. Meaning, if you prove to me that I can trust you, I’ll let you wander in the castle. But, when and if that happens, I would advise you to ask Thomas to go out with you the first few times. It’s easy to get lost.” I paused for effect. “You know what happened at the feast. Things are crazy here right now, so I also advise you to steer clear of the other princes.”

“You said they won’t touch me without your consent.”

“Right. And we wouldn’t kill the man who opened his arms to us and tried to make us all into one big, happy family.” She flinched. Hell, I shouldn’t be scaring her so much. “Anyway, once you earn my trust, I’ll let you go out from my quarters and in the castle. Then maybe, someday, even go outside.”

Her eyes widened. “Outside?”

“Outside the castle, still within the estate limits.”

A knot appeared between her brows. “I’ll never be able to leave again, will I?”

Why was it so hard to answer her question? “No,” I said, my tone harsher than I intended. “Do you understand the rules?”

Instead of answering, she asked, “What if I don’t follow them?”

Hell. “I’ll have to put you with the other humans.”

Her throat bobbed. “The ones saved for later?”

I nodded. “Now you see I’m trying to help you?” She didn’t answer. So I asked again, “Do you understand the rules? Will you follow them?”

A new, watery shine fell over her gray eyes. “Yes.”

“Good.” I pushed away from the table and stood. “Thomas will be in shortly with your food. Then, he’ll escort you back to your bedroom.”

Without looking at her again, I went to the door, used the black key to unlock it, and left my chambers. I leaned against the locked doors and finally breathed deeply—the moment she stepped foot out of her bedroom, her sweet scent had been everywhere. Even her friend’s blood, with her open wound, hadn’t called to me the way Thea’s did.

I swallowed hard.

What the hell had I been thinking? Inviting this girl to live in my chambers? To be my charge? My blood slave? It was a ticking bomb living across the hall. The only way to contain myself, to contain the hunger, was to keep myself away from her.

I marched down to the biggest dining room in the castle, where six tables of forty armchairs fit comfortably. I took my place at the head of the second table, with Lewis and Holden, two of my men, by my sides. Alex was at the other end of the table, accompanied by Ralf and Eden, two of his men. Nolan, Cain, Gray, Phelps, and Albert were already in their places. Patrick, Aston, and Dorian arrived soon after and took their seats. The only head of the table left empty was Reynard’s, and it was covered by a black veil.

The oracle sat to the left side of the empty seat, Roberta was on the right, and beside her the other three consorts. The rest of the tables were filled by the other members of our house—all vampires who meant something to Reynard, who he had brought into his family.

Twenty vampire guards lined the walls and watched over the exits. And, from the report I had received right before entering the room, I knew there was about forty more patrolling the garden outside.

Hopefully, no tragedy would strike tonight.

When it seemed everyone was in the room, Sarki stood from her seat and faced us all. “A great misfortune fell over this house. We lost our leader, our guide, our friend, our mentor. Reynard might be gone, but his legacy will live on. Tonight, we’ll drink and eat for him.” As she said it, human slaves, wearing plain dark gray dresses and pants and shirts, came into the room, each one bringing a tray with bottles of blood and big goblets. “We’ll tell stories, our stories and his stories. We’ll remember him and honor him. We’ll sing songs in his name.” The humans deposited the bottles and goblets on the names, and then stood there, two steps away, in reach of any of us who preferred the fresh thing. One of the slaves poured blood into Sarki’s goblet. Without acknowledging the human, she took the glass and raised it high. “For Reynard.”

“For Reynard,” we all toasted.

I lazily took my glass and sipped from it while most of the vampires reached for the humans for a quick bite. I averted my eyes and found Sarki watching me. She raised her goblet to me, as if toasting something else and only with me. Tired of these games, I nodded toward her, and then took a sip of my drink.

Her lips smeared with blood, Sarki let go of her goblet and stood. Her eyes roamed the room, filled with amusement, while she walked up to me. She leaned into my chair and whispered in my ear, “Have you already deciphered my vision?”

My brows slammed down. In all this confusion, I had forgotten about her vision. “No,” I confessed, now thinking about her words.

It has arrived. It’s here. It has come. The missing piece holding our salvation. Your salvation. Find the new and unite it with the old.

She ran her long, red nails along my shoulders. “Perhaps it’s tied to the mystery surrounding us. Perhaps if you solve it, you’ll find Reynard’s killer.”

Why would my salvation be connected to Reynard’s death? He had been my salvation long ago.

Sarki turned her sugary smile to me, and then sauntered to the corner of the room, where three blood slaves stood with instruments.

“Play,” she ordered, her tone absolute.

The humans started playing a classical tune—missing a few notes with their trembling hands—just like the ones Reynard liked so much.

Vampires stood from their seat. Some mingled, some danced, some drank from their blood slaves. Sarki danced in front of the improvised band, moving her curves in a sensual way.

My eyes followed her hand as it ran from her waist down her hips.

My throat grew dry, and I reached for my glass. After two long gulps, I set my glass down and found Alex standing beside my chair. With his trademark snakelike grin, he shooed Lewis from his seat, then plopped down. He propped his elbows on the table, steepled his fingers, and turned his malicious grin to me.

“Where is your pretty blood slave? The blond one?”

Something like rage coursed through my veins and I gritted my teeth. “Safe.”

“Safe …” Alex repeated, finding my choice of words amusing, I was sure. “She’s a pretty one. Beautiful, actually. You wouldn’t be interested in sharing, would you?”

Under the table, my hands curled into tight fists. It was all I could do not to jump over the table and grab him by the throat. “Stay away from her,” I warned, my tone low. Hard.

His grin widened. “Or what?”

He didn’t want to know.

Before I could answer, Karl approached Alex and whispered something into the prince’s ears. Alex’s grin faded, and his jaw set into a hard knot. Unease grew in my stomach. What in hell could have wiped the damn smile from Alex’s face?

Without looking at me, Alex pushed up and followed Karl to the other side of the dining room.

I let out a long breath and drank another big swallow of blood, trying to tell myself there was nothing wrong, that there was nothing going on. Besides the death of our beloved leader and not knowing who had committed such a crime, there was nothing wrong.

The ball of anxiety expanded and I shot to my feet.

To the hell with this party.

Careful about knowing eyes, I sneaked out of dining room and jogged back to my chambers. The guards weren’t in their spot by the archway, but that wasn’t uncommon as they patrolled the entire level every few minutes.

But my breath caught when I slipped my key into the lock and the door swung open. I hurried inside, sure I would find Alex’s men all over my place, trashing the rooms after having taken Thea to him.

The living room was intact, though.

“Thomas?” I called.

Without thinking, I turned into the hallway and marched toward Thea’s bedroom. The door was open, and right under the threshold, broken glass shards littered the floor with Thomas lying unconscious amid it all.

My blood turned into ice.

Thea was gone.