“Thank you, Commander Thorne,” Rhazien said as he stroked my hair. “Majesty, this is an unfortunate event but these circumstances are quite delicate. We can discuss compensation for your lost guards after sunset tomorrow.”
Eryx let out a hissing sound before turning on his heel. No instructions on how to handle the bodies, no remorse for the loss of life. Had he really sent his guards to kidnap me? And if he did, was he more angry at the idea of replacing them or their failure to steal me?
I clung to Rhazien tighter. His blood in my veins begged to be sent home. My heartbeat thundered against his chest.
“Majesty.” Gorvin appeared and if the side eye he shot Dommik had been a blade, it would have aimed to kill. “There’s much to discuss.”
“Of course, Gorvin.” Rhazien looked down at me.
“I’m fine. Go,” I said, not meaning a word. Partially because the blood demanded I stay as close to him as possible, but also because I couldn’tbelieve it was all happening again. So soon. It was like being cursed to live the same day over and over. He was needed and he would leave. He would choose his duty over me every time. I was destined to be his. And being his meant being abandoned.
Rhazien set his lips into a firm line. Without peeling his stare from mine, he ordered his steward, “Do whatever needs to be done. Changes to the schedule. Increase in the guards and wards. All of it is at your discretion. Your orders are as good as my own, Gorvin.”
“Majesty,” Gorvin said in an unsure whisper.
The steward appeared stunned. Not Dommik. His eyes had fallen back to his regent’s hands cradling my curves.
I wished I hadn’t noticed.
“Let’s retire to my chambers,” Rhazien said.
“No.” My hands met his chest. He flinched beneath my touch before laying his palms onto mine, accepting the contact. “I mean—please—I’d like to see my family first.”
I would have sprinted if running wouldn’t have caused further alarm. The breach in the wards had everyone, especially Rhazien at my side, on edge. My chest tightened. Cova and Lydia were here.Here.In the fucking Hive.
The halls were a blur of hurried faces and the soft edges of portraits. Onlooking nobles I didn’t care about. My heart was being pulled.
Rhazien’s hand intertwined with mine and he matched my unnaturally stretched pace.
Nothing was happening quickly enough for me. Our gait wasn’t urgent enough. The keys turned the lock to their room at a painful speed. I rushed to them, but I couldn’t squeeze Cova and Lydia as much as I needed to.
Feeling their skin beneath my hands made them real. Like I hadn’t been sure if I’d imagined them standing in the ballroom amongst the vampire court.
They weren’t ghosts. Not apparitions. They were real.
The fact rooted me. And scared me to death.
When I gave them space, Cova’s gaze assessed my ensemble. “You look—” I looked down as well, suddenly feeling more insecure than I ever had since coming to the Hive “—well adjusted.”
I cocked my head to the side. Maybe it was the deep-seated tension in our relationship stampeding to the surface, maybe it was the blood. Whatever it was, I retorted, “Do you mean alive?”
“She means stunning.” Lydia beamed at Cova’s side. “You look amazing, Aunt Reyva!”
I turned to her—my daughter. Dressed in finery I could tell came from the seamstresses of the Hive, she looked as though she’d blossomed into a woman since I’d last seen her. Everything about her had more angles. Her cheeks, her hips. She looked like…me.
And while my sister wore her signature condescending scowl, it wasn’t her discerning gaze that concerned me most. It was Lydia. The way she looked at me and her surroundings like this world wasn’t filled with death and despair. She wasn’t afraid. She was intrigued.
“That fills my whole heart. Thank you,” I said before Rhazien cleared his throat. I’d completely forgotten he’d remained in the doorway. Cova moved herself in front of Lydia.
“Reyva the Unbitten?” Cova cocked a sharp brow at the question and insinuation.
“Unbitten,” I repeated, taking her hands in mine. A subtle assurance. But what could she have expected? She’d encouraged me to come here. To save our family’s name. The axe or the Hive. She’d told me to consider my options. And now…now she would judge if I’d succumb to what we knew to be true about the Hive?
My teeth ground together at the familiar frustration only Cova could inspire.
Wintery eyes narrowed as Cova whispered, “Don’t tell me you’ve whored yourself for this station.”
Rhazien was at my side in an instant. “Lady Reyva is my prospect. I don’t expect a common mortal to understand the importance and responsibility of the position.” The vampire regent loomed over us all and I stood a bit taller at the sight of Cova shrinking in his shadow.
