Page 101 of Collared by the Vampire Prince

I strain my ears, but I cannot hear a thing. No footsteps, no creak of hinges. His scent still hangs faintly in the air, but when I follow it, the trail simply stops.

Where did he go?

There is only the strange, unnatural crackle of enchanted flame.

By the time I return to the wolf dormitories that night, I am no closer to understanding him. Which only makes me angrier at how the day has gone. How little I’ve achieved.

My one piece of good news comes later, when a knock sounds at my door.

I abandon the balance sheet I have been attempting to complete for Mathematics and cross the room quietly. I check who it is before opening it. Clara stands outside, pink-cheeked and visibly pleased, ducking her head slightly to compensate for her height.

“I got it,” she whispers.

I blink. “Got what?”

“You’re approved for kitchen duty. Just for one night to start, to see how you go. Come straight to the kitchens after class tomorrow.”

I offer her a smile. A real one.

“Thank you,” I say.

Her face brightens. “You’re welcome. And if you’re nervous, don’t worry, I’ll show you what to do.”

I’m not nervous about kitchen duty, but it seems rude to say so. I thank her again, even more warmly this time, and wish her goodnight.

Then I shut the door and lean back against it, still smiling. This time tomorrow, I will have a knife in my hand. Or, if fate is feeling generous, a meat cleaver. I chew on my lip as I picture Prince Nathaniel’s eerily handsome face. The hard line of his jaw. The long, pale throat beneath it.

Once he removes my collar, I see no reason why I cannot kill him anyway.

The thought brings me some comfort, and I think of him as I drift to sleep.

Yes. I think he will look much better without his head.

Chapter 17

Kira

The next day, I get through classes by thinking of knives.

This is not especially helpful during Mathematics, where I’m called on to answer questions involving fractions. Nor does it help in Literature, where Professor Marmala gives me a pointed look as she assigns tonight’s recommended reading like a death sentence. But the promise of kitchen duty waits at the end of the day like a candle in a dark room.

By the time I follow Clara downstairs after the final bell, I have convinced myself that this is the turning point. The kitchens are enormous, hot, and full of wolf shifters in white aprons, only a select few of them students. More importantly, I am surrounded by weapons masquerading as utensils. Knives hang in neat rows above the benches. Cleavers gleam on hooks. Long, beautiful carving blades flash in the hands of cooks moving with swift, practised efficiency.

For one glorious moment, hope blooms, and then Chef Haynes notices me.

He is a wolf shifter, which should have made him less terrifying than the vampires upstairs. It doesn’t. He is broad-shouldered, thick-necked, and takes his position with grave seriousness, as if the future of Volmasque Academy depends on whether the carrots are diced evenly. He barks orders at everyone. Stir that. Scrub this. Do not stand there. Do not stand anywhere. Move. Faster. No, not like that. Are you trying to murder the sauce?

He does not yell at me much, but he makes it very clear I should endeavour to stay out of his way.

To my surprise, Clara thrives. She becomes a different creature in the kitchens, tall and pink-cheeked with her hair up in a bun, still ever-anxious, but remarkably competent. Chef Haynes does not yell at her even once. When she slides a tray of honeyed rolls from one oven and begins directing two older students towards the soup pots, he only grunts in approval and tells her the venison is seasoned perfectly.

I am soon humbled by her when she shows me the proper way to slice an onion.

“Like this,” she says, catching my wrist before I can bring the knife down again. “Or you’ll make a mess of it.”

I stare as her own knife moves so quickly it becomes a blur. I am trained with weapons. I have skinned rabbits, sharpened blades, and helped Byron take down a vampire using a dirk and a great deal of luck.

“Wow,” I murmur. “That’s amazing. How did you do that?”