The next day was another flurry of activity. Faren called early and claimed Paris. I was left to lounge in our bed, still sated from the evening’s—and morning’s—pleasures. I rolled over and buried my face in the pillow, smiling at the things we’d done. The bites on my neck ached slightly, almost healed. I looked forward to getting a few more once Paris returned.

I didn’t know I could feel so light. Floating on Paris’s waters, regarding the blue of his skies above me.

But the dark cloud of Menelaus still threatened on the horizon. I rolled back to my side. The glint of light on the white queen’s sword caught my eye. Paris had set the game piece on the high bureau, giving the stony warrior a view of all the wanton delights we’d had through the night.

With Desmerada, the opening salvo had been struck and won, but the game was not over. Not until Menelaus was no more.

I sighed. It seemed there was always a battle to wage. But I was ready for it. And I spoiled for the fight with the demon king who had thought to own me. I scratched my back where the brand was and looked forward to the day when it no longer lived under my skin. The day when I got justice for my brothers and mother.

A knock at the door had me pulling the covers up to my neck. “Yes?” I called over the expanse.

“It’s me, my lady.” Shildreth’s voice barely carried to the bed.

“Come in.”

Shildreth made her way to me and sat down. The corners of her mouth were drawn down in worry. “We’ve had reports from what few loyal spies remain that Menelaus is amassing his troops for war. They also confirmed something we had long suspected. Menelaus and Desmerada had worked out a truce of sorts, sending their soldiers into battle only when a thinning of the herd was needed. All moves were orchestrated so that each ruler could keep their people in check by having a constant outside threat.”

Not surprising, especially given my knowledge of their past. They were cruel leaders, only interested in keeping themselves propped at the head of their realms. One down, one to go.

“But more than that, we received word that he intends to send a scout team to take you before marching on the keep.”

“He’s coming for me.” The chill in my bones doused the fire that had burned inside me for the better part of the night. I sat up.

“My emissary was unable to give me any more information except for this: he said that Menelaus kept a secret, one that he would use to get you and keep you.”

“A secret?” I had no idea what that could mean.

“That’s all his missive revealed. In any case, the scouts have already been sent out to claim you. We don’t know when they’ll strike. I can only hope they aren’t already here. Our army is new, and though the keep is fortified and protected, Desmerada’s relationship with Menelaus is troublesome. No doubt he knows a few more ins and outs of the keep than we would like. I came to tell the king that I think it would be best if you stayed in the Darkwood with Arachne, or perhaps even farther away. It’s not safe here for you.”

Menelaus’s plot was already moving, the pieces hemming me in and forcing my hand. The Bloodkeep was just now coming back to life. Its fledgling army could not defeat Menelaus’s hundreds of thousands of trained demon warriors. They would overrun the entire vampire civilization in hours and take it apart brick by brick. The Darkwood would burn, and all would perish. I had watched as they razed Troy and would not allow history to repeat itself here, among the vampires who had taken me in and treated me as one of their own. I would save Paris this time, succeed where I had failed and keep him safe from Menelaus’s blade.

I dashed to the closet and dressed quickly. “I’m not running, Shildreth.”

Shildreth sighed. “I thought you would say that. But we will need to let the king decide.”

“No.” I already knew what his decision would be. To send me far away from any hint of danger. And that was a result I could not allow.

Shildreth watched, crestfallen, as I drew on a pair of boots and tucked silver blades into each. “What do you intend to do?”

“I think I’ll take a turn about the keep. See what there is to see. Get a good feel for all its nooks and crannies.” I threw on a black leather jacket. If the scouts were already inside the Bloodkeep’s walls, it wouldn’t take me long to run into them.

Shildreth’s eyes darkened. “Please don’t do this.” Her voice was quiet, barely breaking the surface of sound.

I embraced her. “I will see you again. I swear it. Tell Paris…” I wasn’t sure what I wanted Shildreth to tell him. That I had decided to let myself be taken so I could destroy Menelaus once and for all? Paris would come for me as soon as he learned what happened. I only hoped I would have enough time to end the war before it began. But if Desmerada had lied and my magics were still bound, they would all be swept up into the same bloody tide that drowned Troy.

“Tell him this is the only way to checkmate.” I gave Shildreth what I hoped was a reassuring look and strode from the room.

She would no doubt hurry off to find Paris and Faren. Workers still labored in the bright halls, removing every hint of Desmerada and letting Paris’s emblem shine through. They bowed low as I passed. I answered with curt nods and smiles.

I found the nearest stair and continued down, the air chilling the lower I went. The workers’ voices soon faded, and only the hushed sound of my boots on the steps remained. I beat a steady rhythm until I came to an empty and cobwebbed corridor. This was as good a place as any.

Stepping from the curving stair, I lazily made my way past the empty rooms full of dusty furniture. The windows were boarded, causing the chill, and only slivers of light made their way in. These rooms must have been for the older children of the keep long, long ago. There were knickknacks scattered around, and more than a few beds still had crumbling books opened on them. A thick layer of dust covered everything, quieting my steps. They must have been attacked by Desmerada’s forces at night, taken from their beds, and led to a grisly end. No more children ever lived in the keep, which perhaps was a good thing.

Spider silks hung in the undisturbed air, pulling at my hair like skeletal fingers. I shivered and continued, the gloom growing the farther I strayed from the stair.

Behind me, near-silent footsteps haunted my path. Shildreth’s intel had been correct. The scouts were already here. I only hoped Shildreth would be able to trace where they had entered the keep and secure it, so that none of Menelaus’s demons could hope to snuff out the vampire king in his sleep. The many servants and soldiers on the upper floors reassured me, but still I worried.

The demons picked up their pace, hot on the trail of their prey. I continued my leisurely tour, as if oblivious to them.

I knew I would never return from Decanum. Never see Paris’s face again. But this was the only way to end the demon who would see the keep and all within it dead. And Menelaus had the power to make it happen with the snap of his fingers. I did not look forward to my fate, but neither did I fear it. I would die as a warrior and take Menelaus down with me. My heart faltered at the thought of losing Paris, but this was the only way to give him a chance to become the king I knew he could be.

A hand dropped over my mouth, silencing the scream I didn’t bother making. The assailant forced a cloth to my nose, the scent like summer flowers tinged with something darker. It was the darkness that overtook me.