She turns her head and nudges her nose against my chest.“I will be moments away, should you need me. Always.”
My jaw is tight as I watch her go. Cratos catches up to her and presses against her side, and their tails brush together with their steps. At least they’ll have each other.
And as for me? Stark is already at my shoulder, arms crossed over his chest, staring at the group of Astreonans like he’s daring one of them to try to throw a punch at me.
He still wants to protect me—even if he doesn’t wantme. I sigh.
Felippe leads us through the elaborate courtyards and corridors, and I can’t shake the sense that despite coming here voluntarily, we’re essentially hostages.
It doesn’t matter how lovely it all is.
It doesn’t matter that there’s a waterfall inside or that the architecture casts delicate shadows and reflects off the water.
Prisons can be pretty.
The Astreonans’ attitudes suggest they view us as barbaric curiosities. I can’t imagine what they’d have thought if we’d shown up in our furs. Moments after I have that thought, Felippe confirms my worries in a notably condescending tone, as if he were speaking to children.
“We’ve done our best to set up the rooms to your liking, but I’m sure things are a little different here than what you’re used to back in Nocturna. Here, we sleep in beds, not in the woods with our animals.”
I let out a scoff. When I look at Stark, he seems just as disbelieving.
What fucking stories have they heard about us?
I consider correcting him but decide it’s not worth the effort at the moment. I’m used to shrugging off condescension, so I do what I always do. I absorb the blow and store it for later, in case I need this little twinge of pain to add some extra force to my own strike.
We arrive at a spacious suite of rooms designated for our party. There’s a large, lushly furnished common area surrounded by adjoining individual bedrooms. A huge rectangular skylight streams light down over woven rugs.
A shallow pool of still water is carved out of the stone floor. The archway that leads to a balcony reflects perfectly on the surface of the pool. There’s even delicate tilework in the basin.
“The sleeping arrangements will be as such,” Felippe tells us, unfurling a scroll. “The first room will house Venna. The second, Noemi.” He pronounces her name entirely wrong—Nummy. “Third, er, Stark. And the last two will belong to Queen Meryn Sturmfrost and Princess Saela, respectively.”
Felippe turns to my father, who has remained silent since we arrived at the castle. And he dismissively says, “You may now return to your home in the city.”
My father bows deeply, and Saela lets out a shocked, “Oh!”
She looks at me, eyes wide and pleading. Her hands come up to her chest, clutching just over her heart.
I’ve never been good at denying my sister something she wants. And to my great annoyance, I find that I can’t even deny her this.
“Wait,” I say begrudgingly. My father startles as he looks at me. “Do you… can you stay? Are you free to stay?”
His mouth opens and closes like a fish searching for air. Eventually, he says, “I have no other obligations at the moment.”
Ugh. That settles it, I guess. I look to Felippe and say, “My father will remain at the castle as an official emissary between our kingdoms.”
I can’t watch him walk away. I can’t have that happen to Saela, knowing intimately how it feels.
“I will arrange accommodations for him as well, then,” Felippe says. “You will be summoned for dinner later.” He moves to the door and pauses there before turning back. “I almost forgot to ask. Do you eat your meat raw like your animals do?”
Confirmed that he’s just an ignorant piece of shit, then.
Stark’s hands curl into fists, but before he can snap like Cratos, Noemi steps forward to defuse the situation. Her smile doesn’t reach her eyes as she explains, “We eat our food just like any other humans.”
She emphasizes the wordhumans, intentionally highlighting the distinction between us and the Siphons. The implication is clear—they should serve us like they do any of their nonbloodsucking guests.
That is, assuming they ever have humans here as their guests, instead of just as subservient staff members or willing blood bags.
Felippe informs us that servants will arrive within the hour to help us prepare for dinner, then he finally takes his leave.
