“No, really. The vampires they choose as tasters are known for their control. They have to be, or a lot of girls could end up dead. He’s so enamored he can’t take his eyes off you. If Marabella wasn’t such a badass and the other taster hadn’t moved in to back her up, I think he might have thrown you on the floor and had his way with you.”
A shiver travels through me again. Is this what waits for me on the other side of the door? Will any vampire who tastes my blood try to rape me if I don’t have a blade pressed to his throat? And if something awful happens to me in my quest to get closer to the queen, will Damien forgive me?
“Don’t look so worried,” Olivia says through a crooked grin. “The madams don’t allow them to have sex with you unless you’re willing. Some of the donors are in their sixties and seventies. They say they have the purest blood. The houses protect the blood. Sex is never demanded.”
I release a breath I don’t remember holding, and a tension in my shoulders eases.
“Anyway, most vampires find taking blood far more intimate than sex.”
“Seems like you know a lot about vampires,” I mumble, growing more anxious as the people in the room that weren’t chosen for a brothel are dismissed. This is really happening.
She laughs. “Yeah. This is my second time.”
I do a double take. “You’ve been a donor before?”
“Three years ago. I thought I wanted something else, but there are definitely benefits to this life. You’ll see. The rush you get when they bite is addictive. Your living expenses are completely covered, and if you manage to find a patron, the perks are amazing. Where did you end up?”
“Marabella’s,” I say.
She grins. “That’s both of us then. Best house in the city.”
Perceval claps his hands at the front of the group. “All those with house contracts, follow me. Stay with the group. If you fall behind, I can’t guarantee your safety.”
He turns, and I see the blood lock on the door. Pressing his thumb to the pad, he opens it, and the people in front of me begin to file through.
“Once we pass through that door, our lives are going to change forever,” Olivia murmurs.
Don’t I know it. I roll my bag over the threshold and follow the others into a dark passageway.
24
Marabella’s
ELOISE
Now I understand why Sabrina didn’t want to antagonize Queen Valeska. Night Haven is enormous. The subterranean world on the other side of the door goes on and on. For a vampire, the distance is probably nothing, but my Apple Watch says we’ve walked two miles by the time we reach a train that Perceval declares will take us to our houses. To my disappointment, there are no seats. But then everything here is designed for creatures that don’t get tired or need to sit down. Olivia and I cling to a metal pole on one end of the car while Marabella chats with another madam at the far end. Four other donors shift nervously near a pole at the center of the car.
Phantom is curled in the corner, although no one can see him but me. I’m relieved. Everything about this journey makes me desperate for the familiarity of my family’s presence. I hold on to the thread that binds us like a child clinging to their teddy bear as the train lurches into motion.
Night Haven, I learn from Olivia, isn’t just one coven, it’s twelve. Valeska has conquered the masters of a dozen covens along the northern half of the Eastern Seaboard.
“That’s why they call it a hive instead of a coven. The queen lords over multiple distinct communities,” Olivia says.
“Which one are we in?” I ask.
“We’ll be in the capital city, the original Night Haven. Right next to the palace.”
“Like New York, New York,” I muse.
She chuckles. “It’s a good comparison. And just as wild.” She flashes a lopsided grin. “Hey, if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.”
We both laugh. The train slows to a stop, and a half dozen new donors and their madam exit one of the other cars.
“Reveria coven,” Olivia whispers. “They have a high turnover, and between you and me, fewer people leave than come in. I shudder to think of all the bodies buried around that place.”
I shiver, focusing on Olivia’s perfect Barbie waves to keep myself from panicking. “Since you’ve done this before, do you have any advice for a newbie? It’s all overwhelming.”
She lowers her chin and looks at me through fluttering lashes. “Men are men, Eloise. These ones are just stronger. You deal with them the same as you would any man.”
