The healer dipped a cotton ball in a bowl with a green paste.

“This is gonna hurt,” she said.

I braced myself, but the burn that came when she spread that green paste and its foul smell over my wound was much stronger than I had anticipated. I groaned and jerked, cursing the devil and all his offspring. I was sure I would have given in to the pain—and everything else taking over my mind, my soul—and I would have lunged at the poor healer, squeezing the life out of her body, if Lewis and Holden hadn’t held me and pressed me back against my bed.

My bed, where Thea and I had made love for the first time.

My bed, in my chambers, where Thomas was supposed to be safe.

“Get out!” I barked.

Trembling, the healer gathered her stuff and ran.

“Calm down, my Prince,” Holden said, still pushing me down. “You’ll scare the entire castle away like this.”

“Good,” was my reply. Let them go. Then, I wouldn’t have to come up with a plan to take over the castle. It would be mine by default.

“Prince Drake, please, try to relax or—”

“Relax!” I cut Lewis off and finally broke free of their hold. I sat up in my bed and snarled at them. “They just killed Thomas for no good reason, and I’m supposed to relax?”

“If you don’t, Lord Alex will be more suspicious than he already is,” Holden said.

Lord Alex. I hated hearing that title in front of his name. He didn’t deserve it.

I forced my face to relax and pinched my brows together, as if I were confused. “Suspicious of what?”

“Of your memory loss,” Holden said in a low voice.

“You don’t believe me?”

Holden and Lewis exchanged a glanced. Then Lewis cleared his throat. “We’re definitely not judging, my Prince, but it does seem rather convenient that the witch had you under her control.”

I pressed my mouth together. Holden and Lewis had been my men for centuries now, and I knew I could trust them, but for some reason, I didn’t want to tell them. Not yet. Not until it was the right time.

“It’s the truth,” I snapped, already tired of the lies. “That bitch seemed to have fun though with all I supposedly did while she controlled me.” A sour taste filled my mouth after calling Thea a bitch. She was the furthest from being that, but I had to keep up appearances. I grabbed a towel from the nightstand and started wiping the damn green paste from my chest. “Now, if you’re not here to tell me it was all a dream, and Thomas is raiding the kitchen again, then I suggest you leave.”

The two vampires exchanged a look again. That was seriously annoying me.

“As you wish, my Prince,” Lewis said, bowing.

“Call us if you need anything.” Holden dipped his head.

I watched as the two marched out of my room and closed the doors behind them. I remained still, listening to their retreating footsteps. After a moment, they crossed the front doors to my chambers. They greeted the six guards Alex had stationed outside my door—curiously, none of them were my men—before leaving.

I lay down in bed and closed my eyes.

Shit.

Shit, shit.

If I had known Thomas would be killed, I wouldn’t have come back. I was sure it was only a matter of time before Alex charged in here, found the boy, and tortured him for information before killing him.

That didn’t make it easier to swallow.

Hell, Thomas was gone. Thea was far away. Alex had been proclaimed Lord of the castle. And I was alone, swimming with the sharks and deprived of my title. I was like any other slave; I just didn’t wear rags or sleep in the slave quarters.

Shit.

I had no time to waste. I wouldn’t let Thomas’s death and my separation from Thea be a waste. I would avenge him, and I would do it fast because I wasn’t sure how long I could take Alex parading around like a king inside this damn castle, committing cruelties like a human changes shirts.

To be honest, I also wasn’t sure how long I could stay away from Thea.

Groaning, I reached for one of the four bottles of blood on the nightstand. I felt weak and disoriented and lost. I would drink blood until I felt stronger and stopped pitying myself.

I needed to act.

I drained the first bottle in three seconds, then reached for the second one.

Soft footsteps echoed inside my chambers. I sat up again and listened. The steps belonged to a woman, for sure, and they were coming my way.

Gritting my teeth, I got up from bed, picked up a shirt from one of the armchairs, pushed my arms through the sleeves, and had enough time to ready for a fight before the door opened.

“Who are you?” I barked.

The young woman stared at me with her hazel eyes. “My Prince.” She bowed her head. “My name is Luana.”

Her cheeks had an unusual golden tint, her long light brown hair had a messy wave, and her heart beat fast. She was human.

“What are you doing here?”

“I was sent to be your new blood slave.”

What the hell? What game was Alex playing? First, he complained that I was a human lover, that I had taken too many blood slaves over the years, and now he was offering one to me? This didn’t feel right.

I scoffed. “Did Alex send you? To spy on me, I’m sure. Well, tell him I’m grateful for the offer, but I’m not interested.”

“Prince Drake, I—”

“I said I’m not interested. Just go.”

The young woman put both her hands on her waist and glared at me. “Believe me, if I could, I would leave right this instant. I don’t want to be here, but if I leave, Lord Alex will kill me.”

Shit. “And I’m supposed to care why?” I suppressed a wince at my words. Of course I cared. I had always cared when humans were killed without cause.

“Because … because I heard you’re a good prince and you help your blood slaves.”

Was she kidding me? “Haven’t you heard my blood slave was killed by Alex a couple of hours ago?”

Her heart sped up and she swallowed. Her scent filled the room, and I wrinkled my nose—her smell seemed tainted. She probably had some kind of poison in her veins. The moment I bit her, which was what Alex wanted, I would fall immobile. Then Alex would come in and finish the job.

“I have,” she whispered. “But he lasted a long time with you. If I leave now, I’ll be killed on the spot.” She paused and her eyes hardened. “I don’t want to die.”

Hell …

I couldn’t take another one under my wing. I couldn’t. They all died anyway. If they weren’t killed by other vampires, they eventually grew old and died. What did it matter if it was today or tomorrow? Or in ten years?

I pressed my eyes shut and berated myself. What the hell was I thinking? I was being cruel and uncaring because I was hurting.

I didn’t want this girl here, but shooing her away wasn’t the answer.

“Stay here tonight,” I said. “Just pick a bedroom and sleep there. And be quiet.” I waved her off. “We’ll talk about this tomorrow.”

“Thank you, my Prince.” She dipped her head once more, and like a quiet mouse, she scurried out of my bedroom, closing the door behind her.

I ran a hand over my face. What the hell had just happened?

This was too much.

I grabbed another bottle of blood and stepped out onto the balcony. I leaned over the stone rail and looked up at the full moon and the many clouds surrounding it. This same moon shone over Thea wherever she was. She should be back at her coven right now, somewhere inside the Silverblood estate.

Hell, I shouldn’t have come back. I should have followed Thea. No, I should have convinced her to send the heart back to her coven and run away with me. I should have let her convince me of that.

Screw the princes and the other vampires and my entire coven. It was stupid trying to be noble. Now, the mess in this castle was even bigger, and I had no idea how to fix it.

I lifted the bottle and gulped the blood in seconds. After having drunk from Thea, these bottles of blood felt plain, tasteless. But it was all I had, and I would need my strength if I were to start a rebellion from inside the castle.

I looked at my chest. The slash was almost closed, a sign that I was recovering and the blood was effective. Soon, I would have only a red line, and later smooth skin.

I glanced out to the maze in the back garden and let my mind roam free along with my eyes.

Movement crossed my peripheral sight and I sharpened my focus. A large, shadowy shape ran on all fours.

It couldn’t be.

I leaned over the rail to get a better look as guards appeared outside the garden.

“We have an intruder!” Alex cried out, barging out from inside the castle.

I still felt weak and dizzy, but I used my super strength. In three jumps, using archways and windowsills and columns, I was out in the garden with them.

The other princes rushed out of the castle, all ready for battle.

“Where is it?” Cain asked.

“What is it?” Dorian cried.

“It’s a werewolf,” I said.

Alex turned around and narrowed his eyes at me. “Since you’re here, this will be on you.”

I blinked at him. “What?”

He crossed his arms with a triumphant grin. “Prove yourself trustworthy again. Hunt the werewolf and bring it down.”

“We should go,” Patrick said. “It’s getting away.”

“No,” Alex said. Was I the only one who could hear the challenge in his tone? “Drake will go. Alone. And he’ll bring its dead body to us.”

I gritted my teeth. “And if I don’t?”

He grinned at me. “Then you’re next.”