Cassius stepped in front of her. “Bold of you to threaten the princess in her own home, Lord Adrian.”
Lord Adrian’s lip curled. “This isnother home.”
A dissonance of murmurs echoed. If she were in her mother’s court, he would have been hauled away for treason. But this wasn’t her mother’s court, and she was far from the castle she had once called home.
Tension stretched around the room, each strand a web waiting to spring.
Lord Adrian stared at her. Some sort of humming filled the back of her mind as though a mosquito buzzed in her ear. The Vampyr’s face began to ripple, his flesh starting to sink into his skull—
“You’re right,” Thalia blurted out. Collective surprise swept through the crowd as she stood. “This isn’t my home.”
Cassius turned to her, his own surprise quickly replaced by annoyance. He flashed her a warning look, but she ignored him. Thalia took a step away from the throne.
“But this treaty was made in the hope that both our homes could thrive,” she said. Thalia’s ring caught the light, and Lord Adrian’s eyes narrowed on the ruby, his lips pulling into a sneer. “It was made to stop this ceaseless bloodshed between our two realms.”
“And what do you know of bloodshed?” Lord Adrian said lowly.
Thalia resisted the urge to look at House Avanerius, to the banner that had no lord. The image of a staked Vampyr flashed before her eyes. “I know enough.”
“She used to kill us.” The Vampyr whose eyes matched Lord Adrian’s stepped forward, his face hardened in contempt. “I heard it from Lord Damien himself.”
Thalia glanced over her shoulder at the red-eyed Vampyr. But he remained motionless, unwavering.
“Is this true?” a Vampyr asked from beneath a banner featuring a grinning orange fox with multiple teeth.
“I—” Thalia faltered. Every Vampyr seemed to still. A sort of preternatural quiet descended that had everything in her screaming torun.
“Does it appear that she could do any harm?” Cassius stepped in front of her, and despite the apparent danger in the room, Thalia bristled. “She’s a human.”
“Indeed,” Lord Damien said from behind her, and Thalia’s fingers clenched. “The likelihood of this woman taking down any of our brethren is abysmal at best.”
Thalia whirled on her heel, heart pounding. Lord Damien stared at her, and if she hadn’t been so locked in on him, she would have missed the barely noticeable dip of his chin. For whatever reason, he was protecting her.
Both Lord Damien and Cassius were.
Cassius drawled, “It seems to me, Julian, that you’re eager to stir up trouble. Seeing as how the last few months have gone for House Gallinus, I would have thought you wiser than that.”
The green-eyed Vampyr, Julian, bared his fangs, his skin sinking into his skull.
Cassius snorted at the obvious display of posturing. “If that is all, I do believe the festivities should commence, unless you all wish to see true bloodshed.”
Cassius’s back was to her, but from the sudden shift in the crowd, he must have … changed.
Camilla clapped her hands, startling Thalia. “Lord Amadeus, perhaps you’d do us the honor of leading our Houses into the great hall. We shall celebrate this new treaty, which will greatly aid in the vitality of Vaccarium.”
Lord Amadeus stiffened, bowing. “Of course.”
Doors opened to an adjoining room and the courts filed out, although it seemed a few of the House members stayed behind, including Lord Adrian.
“I wish to discuss an urgent matter,” Lord Adrian bit out. Apparently, he either didn’t take Cassius as a threat or was incredibly stupid. Thalia had a feeling it was the latter. “Seeing as you’re in charge now as hand”—he spat the word with as much hatred as he could muster—“perhaps you can help.”
Indeed, the way Cassius was nearly vibrating with ire, the Vampyr must have been desperate if he wished to continue his insult by standing there. “It cannot wait until the next House council meeting?”
“I’m afraid not.”
Thalia stared at the Vampyr, her slippers suddenly fused to the ground.
“It will have to wait until tomorrow, then. We have a celebration to attend.”
