A group of female Omegas stand closely gathered and watchful. They are dressed in long dresses that trail behind them. Fascinated, I am amazed that the dresses are made up ofred ribbons that weave around them serpent-like, as if they are alive.
The Omegas’ faces are covered by veils that mask everything apart from their fanged mouths.
One stands in front of the others. She is tall and stately. Her lips are painted a striking red, and her fangs are longer and more curved than any of the other vampires’.
To my surprise, Daire’s voice lowers with warning, “The Scarlet Temple. The most powerful faction in the kingdom. The one with the mouth full of fangs? The High Priestess, Nebet. Pray to the Shadow Devils that we don’t catch her eye because she has the power of visions. She tortures by showing you anyone’s memories from the past. It’s meant to feel bloody real like falling through a portal into the past. The Scarlet Temple worships pleasure and death. They run both the courtesans and the assassins.” He glances at Lanlin. “They trained Sin.”
Surprised, I glance at Lanlin. “In which of those?”
Daire huffs a laugh. “Does he look like a courtesan?”
“Do you?”
“Aye, and I am.”
Lanlin still isn’t looking at Daire and me. By the studied stillness of his expression, however, I’m certain that he’s listening to our conversation.
Lanlin is staring with an unwavering intensity at the grand entrance to the chamber, which is hung with bat emblem banners and guarded by carved lions.
It is like he is waiting for something…orsomeone.
In the uncomfortable silence, I know that everyone in the Blood Court is looking at me, or possibly, glaring at the enemy masked fae who is standing next to their King.
On the moon, can I blame them?
They sent their King off to end a war and seal it with an arranged marriage, only for it to turn out to be trick to assassinate him.
I swallow.
It’s lucky that they still don’t know that the fae is King Daire, the killer of their last Alpha Queen, or that I am secretly the Fang Queen who survived their massacre of Orm Court.
I shudder.
An Omega must look on the bright side sometimes, however, unless they want to totally freak out.
For example, I’m wearing new clothes, ones that I didn’t even have to steal.
When I woke up, having slept through most of the day in exhaustion, I found a matching linen ivory robe with a sun design created with brilliant orange carnelian gemstones on the front.
A bat design had been added in onyx circling the sun, as if worshiping it.
A warm feeling spread through me at the inclusion of the bat. Did it mean that we were officially part of the royal nest? Or did it represent Lanlin himself — the moon — circling his new mates?
Loving them?
Now, Daire and I are the only two suns in this nighttime court.
The second reason to be cheerful is that we are finally clean of the ash and sand.
When I first woke up, I found myself tangled in Daire’s warm arms, but Lanlin was missing.
I froze, scanning the dark bedroom in alarm.
I could hear pretty, distant harp and flute music playing from rooms deeper in the palace.
It reminded me that we weren’t alone, safe in this nest. An entire nighttime court was awake and ready to meet us.
I crept out of the cool linen nest and padded across the floor in search of somewhere to clean off the dead of White Lotus from my itchy skin.
