I thought it would be better. It wassupposedto be better.
Goddess above, the wine would never take away the lingering feeling of loneliness.
But I drank from my bottle anyway.
Theblood kingdomwas what they called this place. The kingdom of vampyres. They were nothing like the vampyres I spent my life fearing, though. They were not uncontrollable freaks just waiting to rip their teeth into my throat, though many offered during the late nights between my sheets.
They were just… normal. They were like me—a fae. Except to them, I was a nobody. These lands had been gifted for the vampyres. They learned and developed their magic freely. They fed from the animals in the surrounding forests, and they grew stronger by the day.
But me? I was still the same, useless girl I had always been. Nothing special. Nobody important.
The thick forest came into view ahead, and I slowed my pace, propping myself on one of the waist-high stone walls that wouldsoon be another home for a perfect new family of vampyres. I let one leg dangle while I propped my other knee under my chin.
Why the fuck did I do that? Why did I ask that guy to come back to my place? Every single time, I regretted it.
Yet I did it again and again and again.
The cool night air caressed the bare skin of my arms, sending a chill through my body. Soon, the sun would come up, and I would have to pretend like I had the strength to live another day. To face the world. To face anyone at all.
Soon, another day would come.
But for now, I could drink this wine, I could wallow in the dark cloud that followed everywhere I went, and I could pretend that the vampyre still in my bed was anything other than a tool to fuel my self-hatred.
For now, I could pretend I wasn’t falling apart.
Chapter 2
Jessiah
Iwish I could say that when Rummy walked through the doors of the study, I didn’t have a visceral reaction deep in my gut. I wish my heart didn’t race. I wish my mind would remain calm.
Unfortunately for me, none of that was true.
“You’re late.” I cleared my throat and tensed my shoulders, standing on alert as she sauntered past me.
But she simply scoffed. “Maybe you’re just early. The sun is hardly below the horizon.”
She didn’t look me in the eye, but I could see the dark shadows lurking on her features. Her hair was messy—messier than usual—and she barely bothered to tie those ridiculously worn boots before coming here. Hells, had she slept at all in the last few days?
You’re staring, Jessiah.
“I’d rather be early than miss something important,” I replied. “Whatever they wanted to meet with us about sounded serious.”
She ran a finger lazily across one of the wooden bookshelves that lined the back of the study. Years ago, just after the war, this room was devoid of books. But slowly, the collection blossomed.Volume by volume, piece by piece, the kingdom had grown. And it would continue to do so. Before long, this entire damn room would be filled with books, stories, and knowledge.
When she turned and looked at me, my thoughts froze. “Tell me,” she started, “do you ever get tired of kissing so much ass? Or does it come naturally to you?”
My temper flared, heat crawling up my neck. She had a way of doing that—of creeping past the fortified walls in my mind. Of tapping on that wall over and over again until it cracked.
“There’s a difference between kissing ass and showing respect. Not like you would know much about that, though.”
She pursed her lips. “Oooh, the honorable Jessiah teaching me about respect. I guess I should be taking notes.”
She shot daggers at me with her gaze. Tempting me. Testing me.
I opened my mouth to respond but was quickly shut down by the door to the study bursting open.
“Morning.” Huntyr—Queen of Scarlata—pushed into the room. My brother Wolf—her husband—followed hot on her heels.
