My stomach growled, offering a distraction from the tense silence from his promise of justice.
Rhazien was out of his seat and standing before me with my abandoned dinner in the blink of an eye. “Please, eat something.”
I plucked the bread roll from the plate.
A servant relieved Rhazien of the plate and the regent kneaded his hands together. “What else?”
The most obvious question bubbled in my throat. Information that had been danced around, alluded to, and outright avoided intrigued me above frivolous details. I chewed on my cheek and squinted as I considered diving head first into his offer.
He smirked and said, “Reyva, whatever it is. Please, ask.”
I pursed my lips and blew out a breath. “All right.” I drummed my fingers on my knee. Speaking so openly felt foreign, but the wine and overwhelming curiosity collided, giving me a bout of bravery. “Doesbeing your prospect mean you intend to turn me?” After his long, calculated pause, I asked, “Or have I misunderstood?”
“No. No,” he started, tapping his pointed fingers to his lips. “You’re right.”
As I’d feared. My alarm lessened as he continued, “But I wouldn’t expect that to happen soon. It’s your choice—your timeline.”
It didn’t feel that way. Blood swished in my ears. It felt like an inevitable end, like I’d begun a journey toward the axe all over again.
Immortal life. Death everlasting. A vampire queen.
I swallowed the contents of my goblet whole.
“My choice,” I whispered. Rhazien nodded in silence across from me, letting the information settle into my bones.
A low hum of a buzz vibrated through my limbs. Drinking on an empty stomach had not been the wisest decision.
“I would feel it by now, right? If you’d put blood in my wine again.” I asked, tapping the empty glass with a painted nail.
He chuckled. “You would. But you don’t, do you?”
“I don’t.” I tilted my head and thought about the prior night in the carriage, how all my worries fell away and pleasure drove my decisions. The blood had complete control of me. “I guess I understand why someone would want to relive the experience over and over again.”
A grunt of understanding rumbled in Rhazien’s chest. “It’s essentially a glimpse of what it’s like to be a fledgling…a young vampire.”
Vampires were always spoken about as old—sometimes ancient—predatory, and cunning creatures, but his words reminded me that each vampire had to die and be reborn. They transitioned and had an adjustment period.
“Which I would be? At some point. If I chose it.” I threw my arm, the gesture exaggerated by the wine.
He smiled and nodded. “If that day ever came, I expect we would need at least a month in one of my private residences until yoururgessubsided.”
Thwap.
The roll had flown from my hand and hit him in the chest.
I clasped my hands over my mouth and swore to never drink wine ever again.
“I. Am. So. Sorry.” My body was ablaze with embarrassment and Rhazien looked equally stunned.
He’s going to kill me. I am going to die. That’s it. I’m dead. I’m done.
To my surprise, Rhazien’s smile stretched to new heights, creating wrinkles in his cheeks and forehead I hadn’t seen yet. Booming laughter filled the room and I was certain the entire Hive could hear him.
“You just threw bread at me!”
Through my own laughter, I said, “You accused me of lewd conduct unbefitting of a prospective queen!”
His laughing fit led into mine, unable to settle despite my aching cheeks. We sat there, surrounded by his riches and royalty, but I found myself at ease with him. Rhazien was so much more than his reputation. He was a scholar who had built a library and a gentleman who abated my bloodlust rather than taking advantage of me in a delicate state. Overall, he was a seemingly reasonable man, offering me a choice rather than an order.
