To say I was surprised would be an understatement. Never had I been that physically close to someone, to have his mouth on my poisonous skin. Yet... he had walked away just fine.
I was left on the chair huffing, staring at the open door, my hand on my neck where I could still feel his phantom teeth.
My core ached, and to be honest I had forgotten those parts of my body even worked and now a fire was raging.
What kind of trick was this, and who was he to reject me?
After taking a moment to collect myself, I grabbed my bag—and heard footsteps approaching.
In my doorway appeared two dark, looming figures in the same cut suit as the three who had greeted me.
Now I understood—they were like guards in uniform just without the shiny metal armor.
I smiled at them both, one with blond hair, the other with chestnut, and both with dark, unfathomable eyes.
“Could one of you show me to the kitchen?” I asked in a pleasant, light tone as if nothing was amiss.
“We’re here to escort you off the grounds, ma’am,” the blond to the left said.
My smile tightened to something closer to a grimace. I had been ordered to come here and marry the bastard—and kill him.
When he ran off, it was fully possible he was condemned to a horrible death as we spoke, and I had every confidence that the witch here couldn’t bind me so devising an escape would be a minor detail.
The duty would be completed and I meant to see it through—not that I now had a vendetta against him. Rejecting me... I mean it only made sense that I see his death through to appease the coven.
Reject me, make me wait for two days and nights before even meeting me, calling me cattle. Oh the list of things that angered me was all there.
Though it was very amusing they asked for the strongest and now he wanted nothing to do with me. He had tried to drain me dry without success.
“I would like to visit the kitchens,” I repeated tightly.
The chestnut one took a step forward, his face annoyed.
“Come on, little girl—the boss has enough to worry about without yet another bullshit witch contract. If you don’t follow us we’ll throw you out; we won’t ask again.”
Sighing, I closed my eyes and dropped my fingers to my throat, where my emerald sat in satin. It matched my green dress, and I had a gem for every occasion and outfit.
I had plenty of energy stored, so I didn’t actually need to cast—massive amounts that I had saved just in case one day the covens no longer were so charitable.
“You, blond one—you’re kinder. Tell me about this contract. You,” I said, flicking my eyes at the brown one and tilting my head.
“You’re dismissed,” I said softly, pushing my will onto them. Thankfully the blond-haired one was young; I saw his eyes glaze over immediately.
The brown-haired one though was older, and I could see his anger blaze as he stood in place, trying to fight the spell and my will.
He would remember; his eyes burned with rage. The thing about being an old witch though also meant I had years to learn how to flex my will and protect my mind.
Vampires tended to be lazy in their early years, so it was a surprise to feel so much resistance. He would remember even if I tried to make him forget, and he would report to the vampire in charge.
Good.
The most I could do was send my will to force him to walk away from me, and it wouldn’t last long. I turned to the blond, crossing my arms; he was easy.
“Now tell me—what witch contract?”
He looked at me in a haze, a smile bubbling on his lips as he moved his head back and forth.
“The witch contract—they give us their strongest. We gave them a royal vampire for their spell and he was killed. Now it’s their turn to give up their strongest.
“They sent us a witch who’s spelled and dying—but the master made a deal so she’s the only one holding up the barrier. None of the others have been able to survive the master.”
“How many others? Has he drained them all?”
“They sent four others, and he drains them and returns them. He’s very nice about it. I would have just killed them all—witch blood is so zingy… I want to taste your blood.”
I snapped my fingers as his fangs appeared and he took a step forward, throwing more magic into the spell. “Down, vampire. Why did he try to dismiss me?”
“You didn’t do what the other girls did and can’t die—he thinks you’ve been sent here to kill us all. But since you’re strong he’s magically bound to wed you if you stay.”
I tilted my head for a moment, thinking. This master vampire, not that I had ever got his name, wasn’t wrong. “What are the terms to force him to wed me?”
“Survive three trials—the feeding, the combat banquet with the emissaries from your coven, and finally the warding. Only one of the previous witches survived the feeding, but she begged to not do the banquet, telling our master—”
“That’s quite enough,” a harsh voice whipped out, making me jump.
The spell released, and startled, I dropped my hands from my emerald.
The blond clutched at his head, stumbling back to grasp the wall, looking confused.
I crossed my arms, turning to see the same vampire from before, his dark eyes piercing into me and his hair looking slightly disheveled as if he had run here in a hurry.
Stupid vampires and their speed.
“Quite enough?” Scoffing, I took a few steps toward him.
“I’m sorry, but I have been ordered to leave my home and come here, and I’ve been treated like a human blood bag. I’ve put up with your shenanigans long enough. You wanted a strong witch? Well, here I am.”
I eyed him carefully, and nothing seemed to be wrong with him. If anything he looked slightly flushed and well fed… Why wasn’t my blood working?
I was the Poison Princess; had my sickness worn off in isolation? No, that was impossible… I had a different human mail carrier this week.
I learned the other had come down with something serious when I had called to inquire.
Pity too, since the other one had been quite attractive. It was likely my fault for sneaking peeks at him and occasionally answering the door.
“I say who stays and goes, and just because you passed that test with some sort of magical trick to make your blood an endless supply doesn’t mean I’m going to willfully let you stay.
“I may be bound to let you witches in, but I am not bound to let you stay.”
This made me smile. “You think you can make me leave?”
His face darkened. “Don’t try to defy me, little girl. I am centuries older than I look.”
My smile turned into a frown. Did he seriously just call me that? “Do not call me little girl,” I growled through gritted teeth.
Something about this seemed to amuse him. There was a small flash in his eyes, but it was quickly buried when he sighed as though I was trying his patience.
“Fine. You really think you’re strong enough? Good luck with the next trial.”
“A trial against my coven members to show you my power? Ha, that will be a breeze, you stupid vampire,” I gloated, placing my hands on my hips.
“They’re lucky I even bothered with this little errand; I live how I choose.”
This made him chuckle darkly as he walked forward. That little girl comment just stung that much more as he looked down at me, a whole head taller.
I wanted to kick his shin; I had never felt so angry and…childlike. Not in centuries.
“No one said you’d be facing witches, little girl. They’re only there to spectate as the Fae tear you limb from limb in the arena, showing how unfit you are.”
Fae? They were pitting Fae against witches for the second trial? The coven had agreed to that in the contract? Something smelled rotten.
I could do it with ease, yet they had tried to send other witches. Fae didn’t just make deals—any time they helped, there was an ulterior motive.
The vampires called it a witch deal, but if Fae were involved it was likely a witch deal that a Fae had helped establish.
The only way to ask was to wait until the Fae showed up and try to barter some information.
The longer he looked at me and I processed this, he began to look puzzled instead of as satisfied as he had when he said it. He was probably looking for me to be terrified?
I tugged at my gloves, making sure they were still on securely, before folding my hands elegantly and addressing him properly. “Considered us already wed then,” I said curtly.
“My name is Echo, and it’s a pleasure to meet my future husband. Now, if you’ll excuse me, my future husband has been rather rude to his bride-to-be and I am quite famished.”
A low, predatory growl escaped him as he looked down at me.
“Master Nicodemus—do I need to escort her off the grounds?” the blond vampire asked. He sounded confused, making Nicodemus growl even louder before pinning me against a wall.
His body pressed against mine hard; I could feel every groove of the stone as well as every sharp, rough curve of his body against my softness.
“Get it through your head, little girl, you are not my bride-to-be. I will never wed because no female will ever be fit.”
I glared up at him, my cheeks flushed at the intimate contact.
I hadn’t been touched like this in years; normally even a vampire would start feeling ill pressing so close to me. This had Fae written all over it…
“You’ll find that magical contracts aren’t so easily broken, my lord.” My words were like a whip, and I was tired of this conversation.
Ducking under his arms, I wiggled out of him pinning me and continued walking down the hallway without glancing back.
I needed to find that contract—or speak to one of the Fae who knew about it—as soon as possible. Something was fishy, and clearly my husband-to-be didn’t want me here.
He was pretty sure I was here to kill everyone.
He wasn’t wrong.
