Page 45 of Blood of the Fairest

Eris traces something on the glass that I can't make out.

"Reinhilde subsisted primarily on human blood. She could eat food, but it did very little for her. Since you're in her body now, you must be suffering greatly by this point. Cravings, great pain in the stomach, irritability."

Dread pools in my very empty, angry midsection.

I hug myself, looking away. "Meh. Sounds like every period ever. I can handle it."

"Perhaps you can for a little longer, but you need a plan. A way to discreetly access blood without word of the queen's particular appetite getting out. You've disbanded the Favored, which you must know by now was Reinhilde's long-term solution."

A lot of things click into place at once.

I stare at Eris, queasy as it sinks in that all those men weren't just sexual playthings—they were also walking blood bags for the evil queen.

"Reinhilde rarely went without blood for long, but if she did, she fell dangerously ill," he goes on. "The same will happen to you now that you're in her body, so perhaps if you found a way to⁠—"

"Stop. I can't talk about this."

"Verena. You need blood. Since the Huntsman has already sworn his life in your service, I suggest you drink from him—to start, anyway. Reinhilde was far from sated by the blood of one man alone, so⁠—"

"Please stop," I groan, covering my ears. "No B-word for a while. Seriously, I'll puke."

Once I'm sure Eris isn't talking anymore, I uncover my ears. For a long time, he leaves me in peace. At one point, I glance over my shoulder and realize I can't see him in the mirror.

The longer he's absent, the more I slowly decide I'm done hanging out in this lovely-but-lonely enchanted underground hot spring.

I've dried off, redressed, and I'm stepping back into my slippers when Eris speaks, startling me enough that I yelp.

"If you won't drink blood, you ought to try some of the queen's wine, in her lair."

"Again, a little warning next time. And lair? What is she, a witch?" I snort.

"Yes."

12

Verena

He says it so matter-of-factly that I turn to face him, askance.

"What? But I thought Rhinestone was some kind of vampire."

"Vampire?" Eris repeats the word like he's never heard it before.

"You know, undead blood-drinkers who sparkle in the sun and turn into bats and shit?" I sweep my arm over my face, peeking at him with only my eyes to mimic hiding behind a cape as I talk like Dracula. "I vant your blawd, bleh, bleh, bleh."

He just stares at me.

"No? Nothing? Okay, clearly, you don't have those here."

Eris folds his arms, leaning against the edge of the mirror.

"Truthfully, I know precious little about Reinhilde's origin. She never spoke of her past, nor how she came to subsist on blood—but she certainly must have been one of the witchfolk. Only they can use magic as she did, aside from the faeries and a few cursed humans."

So I'm the kindly witch I've been hoping to find?

Hope is suddenly pounding in my throat, hard and fast.

"If she's a witch, do you think she has a magic wardrobe or a spellbook or something that I can use to send myself back to my world?"