“I don’t know what happened,” Cassius said lowly, all memory of their heated exchange the night before forgotten. “But come with me and you can tell me. I can fix it.”
“Fix it?” Thalia barked, her laughter acidic on her tongue. “The only way tofixit is to kill him.” She flung out a finger, her hand shaking so badly it wavered like the edge of a knife.
“Trust me, I would like nothing more than to kill him too, Princess. Unfortunately killing a lord would cause chaos in the courts.”
“I don’t care.” Thalia’s eyes burned, her arm dropping to the side. “Kill him.”
Cassius took a step closer, the scent of his skin breaking through her rage. He still smelled like the sun and earth. “Tell me what happened, and maybe we can come up with something else that won’t cause civil war.”
“He was—he killed—” Thalia choked, her eyes blurring so hard she could hardly see the Vampyr who’d damned her family.
“Cassius.” Keegan’s cautious voice spoke somewhere in the room. Shuffling echoed, and a deep grunt that Thalia couldn’t place.
“I don’t know who he killed, but I can guess,” Cassius said softly, gently taking her arm. “But you can’t be in here.”
At Cassius’s words, Thalia finally took in the room.
All the prince’s council except Camilla were there, along with Lord Adrian and … another Vampyr.
This one knelt in the middle of the room, and Lord Damien stood above them. The red-eyed Vampyr had transformed, his skin sunken in and ashy. Veins ran beneath his thin flesh, his fangs exposed, as he stared at the Vampyr on their knees.
“What’s going on?” Thalia got out.
“You need to go,” Cassius said again in that same gentle tone, trying to guide her out.
“What the hell is going on?” Thalia jerked out of his grip, stumbling past him. She hadn’t noticed that the Vampyr on the ground was hunched over, his left hand splayed out on the ground. His hand was broken, each finger twisted and bent at an odd angle, and blood was pooling, soaking the throne room floor. In his right hand was a hammer.
“Get her out!” Lord Adrian hissed again. “Lord Damien, finish this.”
Thalia watched in horror as Lord Damien’s face rippled and the Vampyr on the ground raised the hammer before smashing it onto his already broken hand.
The Vampyr groaned, tears streaking down his face as he raised the hammer again and brought it down with a sickening crunch.
“Stop this,” Thalia whispered, frozen as the Vampyr continued to ruin his hand. He had no control of his movements. No control to stop whatever torture he was under. Just like she’d had no control when that Vampyr killed her sister. “Stop this now.”
“You wished to be a part of this world? To be ruler?” Lord Adrian said between the sounds of bones shattering. “You wished to call this place your home?” Lord Adrian flashed a snake smile, his own features rippling. “Welcome to it.”
“Thalia, please.” Cassius grabbed her arm, tugging lightly. His face was pained, but something else flashed in his irises—deep-rooted anger. She didn’t know if it was directed at her or at someone else in the room.
All the fight left her as Cassius began to lead her out.
“Now, where did you see the bitten?” Keegan’s voice was soft, almost like he felt sorry for what was being done. But she didn’t hear the other Vampyr’s reply as the throne room doors shut, sealing the prince’s council inside.
Chapter Eighteen
Thalia stared out her window.
Night was falling, the clouds slowly dispersing like mist as the moon’s glow replaced them.
She hadn’t moved from her spot in hours. Not after she’d written another letter to her mother. She wasn’t even sure that what she’d said made sense. She’d tried to inform the queen about the Houses. How there were issues going on within them. But every time she lifted her quill, watching the ink drip from its tip, all she’d been able to see was the blood of Adriana leaking from her ripped-out throat. All she wanted to do was ask her motherDid you know?
Did the queen know that the House responsible for the horror of her husband’s and daughter’s murders was still standing?
Thalia’s nausea spiked.
And here she was, knowing that the lord who’d no doubt had a hand in her family’s butchery was still alive and that she couldn’t just go and put a stake through his head unless she wanted her whole mission to unravel at her feet.
Thalia pinched the bridge of her nose, ignoring the sudden ache coming on in her skull. Killing the lord without cause would start an internal war, that much was clear. She wasn’t strong enough to do it alone, not unless she wanted her own heart pulled from her chest.
