“I see.” Or at least I’m starting to have an inkling. “It’s… pretty serious, then. If a contract were breached.”
“Very,” Benjamin says. “Valentines are cherished and protected by vampire society. Who would ever want to be one if they weren’t? It’s paramount that we have humans willing to provide blood for us, and also vital to our relationship with humans as a species that we treat them well. Valentines are the embodiment of the deal our species made long ago, and the trust that keeps us in balance now.”
“I… hadn’t thought about all of that,” I say, feeling dizzy as the realization starts to set in. “So you’re saying the punishment would be severe, if a vampire broke the contract.” I glance at Benjamin, who nods, his expression grave. “They would be… what? Imprisoned?”
“Mm.” Benjamin holds up a hand, waves it vaguely. “Imprisonment is considered a light sentence, given our infinite lifespans. Unless it’s apermanentimprisonment, but that’s a rare cruelty usually reserved for traitors to one’s own court.”
“So what?” I ask, my voice tight. “They’d hurt him? They’d… kill him?”
“It’s up to the court,” Benjamin says. “It’d be a severe punishment, but…”
I think of Claude sayingthe Vulpe Court despises me. How I thought he was being dramatic. But then, what I witnessed at the art gallery, the way they all shunned him.
“In Claude’s case,” Benjamin continues, “since his sire is alive, the final decision would fall to him…” He pauses, expression shuttering as some realization seems to hit him.
I remember, all at once, that Claude mentioned Ambrose was the one to suggest the intimacy clause. The final piece of the puzzle slots into place. I shut my eyes, fighting a wave of nausea as I realize exactly what situation I’ve found myself in.
Claude. The contract. The Vulpe Court. Ambrose.
Me.
I’m sure they’d be rid of me if they could,Claude once said.
“I’m a trap,” I whisper. “Aren’t I?”
* * *
The moment Benjamin departs, I search for Claude. He’s out on the back porch, flipping idly through an art magazine, dappled moonlight casting his face in hard angles.
I stop, wrapping my arms around myself and staring at him. How much does he know, or at least suspect? Before I can think of how to begin the conversation, he looks up at me, and his stoic expression gentles.
“Come sit with me.” He scoots over on the small sofa, making room.
I walk over and take a seat at his side. It’s small enough that our shoulders brush. When he flips the page on his magazine, the backs of his fingers brush my knee. The contact sends a familiar tingle down my spine, followed by a lurching sense of dread as it reminds me just how dangerous this situation is.
“Lord Benjamin and I were just discussing our contract,” I say, my voice tight.
“Oh?” Claude flips another page, picks the magazine up, and frowns as he studies some of the artwork within.
“We talked about what would happen if it were to be broken.”
“I see,” Claude says, still staring at his magazine. I reach over, place a hand over it, and lower it back down to his lap. He looks up at me.
I study his face. “You know what will happen if you break it.” It’s not a question; I can see the answer already inhis expression. “Why on earth would you agree to that? The intimacy clause especially…”
He shrugs. “You wouldn’t have signed otherwise.”
“But why take on a valentine at all?” I ask. “You would have been safer without me.”
“And without me, you would’ve been in danger.”
My breath hitches. “What?”
“I… noticed you at the ball,” he says. “Ambrose noticed me noticing.” He smiles, but there’s a bitter twist to it. “My mistake, to think I could have a single moment of joy without him finding some way to use it against me.”
I shake my head. “But… he couldn’t havehurtme. The vampire courts would never have allowed him to get away with it.”
“Old-fashioned vampires like Lord Ambrose don’t consider humans to matter,” he says, with a terrifying matter-of-factness. “And he is powerful enough that the court likely would’ve covered up.” His smile is wry, bitter. “Or, more likely, pinned it on me.”
