bChapter /b14

*

+15

He simply bgives /ba small nod of his chin. The events don’t invite me to remain here, and the orange hues beginning to streak the sky warn me that Cassian bwill /bsoon summon me to the dining hall. Even though the sunlight poses no problem for him, he seems to refuse ito /ilive beneath it.

I nce over my shoulder more than once, afraid someone might try to attack me again. I don’t trust this being the only attempt from Mavka. I climb the stairs, making sure my shoes don’t make noiseb, /band walk down the beast /bwing’s hallway to my chambers. The guards don’t even flinch at my presence–I can’t say the same.

I sit at the vanity and examine the pink marks around my neck. I still feel the warmth of her hands, and the touch of my cold fingers makes me wince. Some scratches sting.

“Miss ra!”

rissa gasps as she walks heavily toward the vanity. Naida closes the door behind her. rissa’s hands, wrinkled with age, sweep the hair from my face and lift it into an improvised bun. Naida joins her and lifts my chin bas /bshe inspects the severity of the wounds.

“It’s nothing,” I try to reassure them.

“Nothing?” rissa exims, upset. “bI /bcan’t believe Miss Mavka did this.”

I’m not surprised,” Naida shrugs. “It’s obvious she feels threatened–bshe /bbsees /bher position as favorite at risk.”

“Threatened? By me?” Iugh incredulously. “Cassian hates me, he doesn’t even look at me. She’s the sun while I’m just frost. Please, it’s ridiculous.”

“Frost is beautiful–remember it shines like hundreds of crystals, even diamonds.”

rissa begins to run her fingers through my hair, undoing some knots before grabbing the brush, while I see Naida open the double wardrobe doors and take out a deep purple dress.

“You forget that frost melts when the sunes out.”

We fall silent while they work on my appearance. My hair falls straight down my back and only a bit of powder is applied to my cheeks. Out of the corner of my eye, I nce at the little bell next to my bed, which still hasn’t rung despite my nearly week–long stay in the castle. The relief bI /bfeel each day will only make the panic greater when it does ring. Without a doubt, Cassian’s hatred for me bis /bsomething I’ll feel the moment he

summons meb. /b

A look of understanding and affection softens rissa’s eyes as she ties a ck velvet ribbon around my neck and puts on the ruby earrings–pure provocation. The dress bis /bsuch ba /bdark purple it could be mistaken for night. The skirts hide my t shoes, and the sleeves reach the floor. I still haven’t gotten used to these loose dresses,cking petticoats or bcorsets/bb. /bThe fabric clings so much to my skin it feels as if I’m wearing nothing at all.

“How did you know what happened?” bI /bbask/b. “Do news really travel that fast in the castle?”

“Drystan summoned us,” Naida answers, and seeing I don’t recognize the name, she continues, “The Pure who apanies you on your daytime walks, Cassian’s right hand.”

“Oh, great, so I’m under total surveince by his henchmen.”

I press my lips together as I finish examining my appearance. Every night my btwo /bmaids–apparently the only two people who like me, though it may just be out of duty–work magic on me. They transform my wilted appearance into something somewhat presentable.

“Drystan is a good ma…” Naida turns toward me but quickly clears her throat and corrects herself, “He’s kind.”

Was she going to say he’s a good manb? /bCan one even say he’s a good man when he rips out throats, buys us like cattle, and takes away our freedom? Though I suppose the little history they share makes bher /bthink that way of him.

They both stay in the room when I leave for my daily meeting with Cassian.

“I love that you think of our dinners bas /ba date.”

I freeze in the middle of the hallway, which earns me a look from one of the guards. I project all my hatred as I keep walking and descend the steps one by one. His deepugh melodically echoes in my bhead/b. I hold my breath.

“Though our big date hasn’t happened yet.”

1 growl before the double doors of the great hall. The guards open them for me, surely thinking I’vepletely lost my mind.

The dim candlelight hanging above makes the ce seem warm, despite housing death within its walls. Cassian greets me with legs sheathed in leather riding pants, boots gleaming as if freshly polished, and his shirt with the top buttons undone. His posture is rxed, one leg slung over the armrest of his seat and one handzily holding a goblet that threatens to spill.

The blinding brightness of his blue eyes is amused, he almost looks intoxicated. When he sees bme /benter the dining hall, an insincere smile pulls at his lips, revealing the white of his teeth and the length of his fangs, ready to strike at any moment.

i1/2 /i

+15

“How bis /bthe little beast of this castle?”

My chair is pulled out, and I sit. I go with the strategy of ignoring him. For bsix /bnights I’ve endured this torture: being under his scrutiny, listening to his spitefulments about me, and watching him feed with a churning stomach.

He snaps his fingers, and the servants immediately ce dishes on the table, while from a door behin the

him, enters a radiant Mavka. She wears a

kind of veil over her eyes. Even so, I know she must be ring at me. I try to ignore her bas /bshe drops into Cassian’sp and runs her fingers affectionately through his ck hair.

“What’s wrong, Mavka?” Cassian basks /bin a honeyed voice. “Your choice of outfit surprises me.”

“Forgive me, sir, today I don’t look my best,” she apologizes. I can hear the falseness in her voice, though she tries to sound pitiful. “I wouldn’t want to displease you with my appearance.”

I try to hold back a retort to her idiotic remarks and focus on the meal in front of me. I take a bite and

y beyes /bmeet bCassian’s /bcerulean ones. Something in the way he looks at me, that brief nce at the ribbon on my neck… he knows. And a wolfish smile crosses his face as the realization

hitsb. /b

I expected nothing less. Did I think he would defend me? I’d swear he made a bet with her to see how mine are twinsb. /b

long I’d

Sobvious his hatred and

de

I don’t look away bas /bthe bw/b–shaped ring on his finger slices Mavka’s wrist, and blood begins to fill the goblet. I take another bite without lowering my gaze, and he responds by bringing it to his lips. He sips silently, and as he lowers it, a drop escapes the left corner of his mouth and slides down to his chin. The glint of his fangs shes, and his eyes have turned such an intense blue it seems unreal.

The air gets stuck in my lungs.

“Mavka has an exceptional taste. I’m dying to discover yours.”

His voice sounds inside my head as if he were next to my ear, purring each word in a ratherscivious tone.

“Everything all right, sir?”

b“/bAll fine, Mavka, you may go.”

“But bsir/b… you’ve barely…”

“I’m not thirsty today.”

”

Inca

in