Subtly, my magic reached out, worry slithering through me that my uncle could have done something to her and Siam.
But I located Ree immediately, right here in the capital, inside her home. The tiny consciousness beside her told me she was either feeding Siam or putting him back to sleep.
They’re both still safe.
Relief made my shoulders sag, but just as fast, I knew their safety wasn’t guaranteed. My uncle had made his wishes clear. I was to visit him alone tonight, and if I didn’t, Ree and Siam would be the ones to pay.
My fingers curled tightly around my courtyard’s curtains. Rage strummed through me anew that Arnel was threatening the ones I loved. It was bad enough that I’d already been forced to alter my father’s mind, but now he was threatening my best friend and herbaby...
I wouldn’t allow that, which meant I needed to visit him.
I glanced toward the hall, listening with my acute vampire hearing, but the warrior out there was simply standing watch. He didn’t suspect a thing.
Closing my eyes, I called upon my magic, disentangled it, then pictured my uncle’s estate.
In a blast of mistphasing magic, I disappeared in a whirl of mist and shadows, air and wind.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
I reappeared in my uncle’s library, the realm solidifying around me. A fire glowed in the fireplace, and the familiar walls in which I’d discovered my uncle’s deception surrounded me.
“That was fast.”
My uncle’s comment had me spinning around. He sat in a chair near the fire but quickly came to his feet. His mustache flashed a golden color in the firelight, and when he smiled, he looked so much like my father that I wanted to vomit.
“What do you want?” I demanded.
He stopped his approach, and his voice turned stern. “You’re to address me with respect. Always.”
Magic reared inside me, his command taking hold. Despite my teeth gritting as I tried with everything I had to defy him, my head dipped submissively. “Yes, Uncle.”
He resumed his stroll until he stood before me, gazing at me affectionately, as though I’d come here willingly.
“I have new orders for you. And I’ve decided from now on, I shall summon you at night. You’re to come alone, just as you did this time, every time I send a dillemsill. Understood?”
My nostrils flared, but the words flowed from my lips as though pulled from an invisible entity. “Yes, Uncle.”
He clasped his hands behind his back and canted his head. “In a week’s time, a male from Ironcrest will be visiting your father. Before he begins discussions with the king, you’re to get him alone and persuade him to not agree to the trade terms regarding crops. Understood?”
“Yes, Uncle.” My words sounded bitter, even to me. I had no idea who would be arriving from Ironcrest or what he and my father would be discussing, but I’d been given my orders, and I was helpless to resist them.
Hatred filled me that my uncle was once again weaving his control over courtly and political relations, all part of his larger master plan, no doubt.
My uncle peered closer at me. “Tell me, how did my brother do when you spoke with him on my behalf the other day?”
A sick feeling washed through as I remembered entering my father’s mind and twisting his thoughts so easily. “He didn’t suspect a thing.”
A sly smile lifted my uncle’s lips, and his eyes glowed with delight.
The urge to vomit grew. Even though I couldn’t defy my uncle, it still felt like I betrayed my father all over again by confessing to Arnel what I’d done.
My uncle chuckled softly. “Excellent. That’s all for now. You may leave, Primelle.” He gave me his back and returned to his chair.
For a moment, I just watched him, wishing I could lunge across the room, sink my fangs into his neck, and tear his throat out. It was such a violent thought. So unlike me.
But I was a vampire now. Death was apparently something my body craved.
Yet Arnel was done with me, and I could no sooner hurt him than I could a god among the stars. I couldn’t even search his library or wander through his estate to see if I could find morepotions, ingredients, or hidden vamfeers. He would immediately know that I hadn’t left, his wards no doubt alerting him.
