Damien had his things over his shoulder, parchment in hand, boots on, still looking disheveled and sleepy. “I’ve got to meet with the elders today, so…”
“I’ll be okay,” she assured him, and with another glance at her and then the room, he left.
Amma groaned again, covering up her face with the blankets and collapsing. Right—another day surrounded by gorgeous, capable, and most importantlypowerfulwomen. With that clarity, she realized she should be thankful for her nerves the previous night; they had saved her from the mortification of his rejection.
When she had composed herself, bathed, and dressed, Amma spent another day with Asphodel and Ivory. Now that she knew just what surrounded her, Amma found it difficult to relax, but not for lack of the vampires trying. They spent more time in the garden, and then she was taken on a tour of their denmates’ artwork which consisted of plenty of nudes, of course, but landscapes too, notably all nighttime depictions, and some fantastical scenes she was sure couldn’t be real. When they again brought Amma to eat, Ivory assured her she wouldn’t give her reason to pass out once again.
“She is still very uncomfortable,” said Asphodel with a slight frown as if she knew plainly this was a fact.
Ivory stuck two fingers down into her cleavage and pulled out a vial again, holding it up. “This would help!”
Asphodel sighed, but was less annoyed than the last time her companion had fished out a tincture from between her breasts. “Perhaps, but I think Rapture would rather we assuage her fears naturally.”
Amma hesitated with her next bite of buttery shellfish, eyes flicking toward the man who had served them. She was keener that day, noticing the servants tucked into shadowy corners, coming on a whim when a vampire called for one. They all had deep circles under their eyes with dead expressions and were quite thin, following commands like how Amma imagined herself when Damien would use that Chthonic word on her. They actually were enthralled, it was explained, a mixture of blood loss and vampiric arcana making it temporarily possible, but not quite like Amma’s predicament.
An icy hand wrapped around Amma’s wrist, though it didn’t hold her there. Asphodel’s fingers only pressed in gently as she spoke. “You feel a sort of…empathy for them?” It was like she was unsure how to explain it.
Amma cleared her throat, placing down her utensils and gently tugging her hands away. “There’s not a lot of difference between me and those servants,” she whispered. “We’re all just human.”
Ivory laughed at that, loud and sharp as she tucked the vial back into his hiding place. She flicked a hand and sent the man back into the kitchen, leaving the three alone in the small dining space. “We took that man from a prison in Eirengaard,” she explained when he was gone, her laughter falling away. “He was there because he raped the daughter of someone important, but who knows how many others?”
“And the woman, from yesterday?” Asphodel tipped her head, smiling. “She beat her child to death. It was meant to only be a punishment, but it went, as she said,too far.”
Amma sat back from the food, stomach turning.
“Now they’re here in servitude and our fodder.” Ivory shrugged. “It’s not forever, they wither away after a while, but there’s no shortage of warm, deserving bodies out there to replace them.”
“I’m sure you’re delicious, and the temptation isn’t lost on us, but you don’t meet our requirements for food.” Asphodel pursed her lips. “Some of us asked to be cursed in this way, many also did not. We do what we must to survive, but to join our den, an oath must be taken to abide by our laws and minimize needless suffering.”
“And it’svery funto seek out the wicked and exact revenge,” Ivory said, fangs glistening. “Especially when you get to tell them what’s going to happen and that there’s not a thing they can do about it.”
That was not at all what Amma had expected, but Damien mentioned they had standards he approved of. After the werewolves in the swamp, her assumption had been vampires were much the same, feeding off whoever they wanted. She wondered if there were clans of werewolves who hid themselves away and fought their cursed instincts too. “So, you’re enacting justice against evildoers?”
The two nodded.
“But Damien…he says he’s evil.”
“Well, he’s a blood mage; he manipulates the very thing we need to survive, so it’s a little more complex than that,” Ivory told her, “but can you think of anything that would get him in trouble with us?”
Asphodel’s golden eyes flicked about. “If there is, he’s probably made up for it with all the tasks Rapture sends him on. Oh, once he brought a whole cartload of slavers to us. Do you remember that?”
Ivory squealed. “My belly was distended for a week afterwards!”
Amma’s queasiness was overridden by laughter at the way Ivory slapped her stomach.
“You could join us, you know,” said Asphodel, folding her hands before her.
“Yes!” Ivory leaned forward, grinning wickedly. “Then if you really feel he deserves it, you could exact your own revenge against the blood mage. You would probably lose, but it might be fun to try!”
Amma’s eyes flicked to the kitchen door where the servant had been dismissed. “I don’t think he’s as bad as…” Then her mind clouded with a rush of thoughts. She really didn’t know, did she? Whatever Damien had gotten up to before her, it was all shrouded in mystery. He simplytold herhe was evil, but did he mean because of his actions or because of the circumstances of his birth? She’d thought vampires were evil right up until a moment ago, and now…well, now she didn’t really know what to think.
“The offer stands,” said Asphodel.
“I’ll think about it.”
Amma discovered then that she really did like the vampires. She was introduced to Henri, a slim man with eyes as golden as the rest of them, who looked over the crossbow, made some slight modifications, and taught Amma how to use it. He told her she proved adequate, however, “All one ever needs be is threatening.”
When Damien showed up in the training chamber at day’s end, Amma insisted he watch. Henri was just behind her, helping to steady her arms. This time, he didn’t correct her, but simply hovered there, and Amma pulled the trigger. The arrow zipped through the air and planted itself just in the far edge of the chest of the grass-filled form at the end of the chamber. She squeaked out a sound of excitement and turned fully to Damien, arms out, wiggling the crossbow in one hand. “Look, I’m threatening now!”
