Will groaned, watching her walk away. The Queen regarded the girl as an object. Great. This was going to go well, he thought.

Sophia looked back, and said over her shoulder, “I’m going to change. Reggie, darling, grab something else to wear and make sure it has a collar. We wouldn’t want anyone to see evidence of our squabbling.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

Kahli silently stood there, rage simmering beneath her calm façade. It was two days since she left the safe house and she’d encountered nothing but trouble. The Queen was the epitome of beauty with smooth skin and dark hair. When Kahli first saw her, she thought the Queen was regal beyond compare wearing a ball gown encrusted with seed pearls—and blood. Sophia was a lethal combination of smiles and death. All vampires were. She expected no different from the Regent and his insane sister. It was interesting that they were siblings and squabbling. This didn’t appear to be Reginald’s first assassination attempt. Everything happened so fast. In the end, Reggie sat pressing his hands to his bloody throat, smearing his crimson stained fingers on his shirtfront. He glared at his sister when she spoke, but seemed pensive. She wondered if Sophia had really out fought him. With a vampire that size and age, well, it almost seemed like he was holding back.

Kahli stood perfectly motionless with her shoulders slumped forward like she was still woozy, though the drugs had worn off already. The guards didn’t view her as a threat and neither did the Queen or her brother—but that boy—he was there. The Bane who sold her. The Bane who saved her from the wolves. Those two events gave their familiarity with one another a dual existence. In one act he saved her, in another he condemned her to death.

The look he gave her said he knew exactly what she was thinking—that she would slaughter them all to escape. He knew she was dangerous when the others failed to see it. His posture was perfect, his black suit hugging close to his trim body. His eyes looked the brightest blue she’d ever seen. The floor of her stomach dipped when she looked at him. She scowled in response.

Kahli didn’t understand why there was a Tracker at the Queen’s court. Regent Vampires—the royals and the high-ups—didn’t consort with low-life Trackers. They were worlds apart. It would be like a King befriending a pauper. It was a warning flag—a sign to stay silent and learn as much as she could. The boy didn’t belong. At first, Kahli thought that the boy had been dragged to the Queen, since he was involved. William, that was what the Queen called him, didn’t act like that though. His stance was too confident. And he was dressed too nice, like he was a fancy object to adorn a fancy room.

Reginald didn’t acknowledge the boy, though she knew they had just spoken. What was going on?

Before she had time to consider it, William moved toward her, catching her before she fell—grabbing her by the shoulders. Fire shot through her body where the wolf bite was still healing. It brought tears to her eyes, but she blinked them back. The boy loosened his grip, as if he realized he pained her, and held her firmly just above her elbows.

He spoke to the Queen, warning her. There was a relationship there, maybe. Her green eyes remained on the pale stone floor, though Kahli’s mind was reeling. Was William the Queen’s consort? The idea repulsed her. Not only was it forbidden, but it sickened her—it sickened her because she found him attractive. The way his dark hair brushed his forehead just below his brow, the way his eyes seemed to sparkle like gems, the slant of his lips that were always pulled into something that was between a smile and a smirk. Kahli shook the thoughts away. It was like admiring a beautiful wolf and nothing more. The creature may have a gleaming coat and be exceptionally pretty, but trusting a creature like that would get her torn apart.

After Sophia withdrew and servants rushed in to clean her mess, Will guided Kahli towards the back of the room. They passed through a door and into the servants’ hallways. Will hissed in her ear, “You can stop pretending now. There is no way you’re still drugged. And those two aren’t people you want to cross, so stop thinking about running. You’re trapped here now, like the rest of us.” Will guided her through the halls, nodding at the kitchen staff as he passed, ushering the girl to the maiden’s chambers on the other side of the building.

Kahli didn’t fight him. She walked, paying attention to turns and counting paces trying to figure out how far into the palace she was—and what was the fastest way out.

Will rounded a corner and suddenly shoved her into the wall. She winced, a flash of pain shooting through her arm when her shoulder collided with the stone. “You’re not listening,” Will pressed his body to hers, trapping her against the wall. He slammed his hands on either side of her head. Kahli stared up at him, green eyes blazing with hatred. “If you run, you die. No one escapes the Queen. Ever.” His voice softened as he looked at her. The tension in his arms eased slightly. “Bide your time and I’ll get you out. That ass wasn’t supposed to come this way.” Thinking of Reggie made him furious. This was his fault.

Kahli glared at him, “Why would you care?” He was lying. This was a business transaction gone awry, nothing else, no matter how hard her heart was pounding in her chest. He sold her. Rage flamed through her body, tensing her sore muscles.

His dark lashes lowered, “I don’t care. I just don’t want to deal with Sophia ranting at me for months after you’re dead. The Queen doesn’t play games. You’re on her side or you’re not. And if you’re not—”

“You’re dead,” Kahli finished his sentence, her eyes still locked on his face. Her fingers twitched. She wanted to scratch him. She felt like a caged animal pressed to the wall. That was why her heart raced. She told herself it had nothing to do with his scent or his lips. “Fine. I get it. I won’t run.” She looked him in the eye when she said it, her gaze never wavering. Lies suited her. It was how she tricked the Trackers, slaughtering entire hunting parties one by one. No one suspected a thing, not from her.

But Will saw that she was more savage than the vampire Queen. He could feel it coming, the hand of fate about to backhand him for a lifetime of playing both sides. Inwardly, Will groaned and pushed off the wall. He gestured with his hand for Kahli to walk in front of him. When she didn’t move he tilted his head, “Do you want me to drag you there by your shoulder?” Kahli glanced down and stepped in front of him. He was at her back. She could feel his eyes on her back. “I thought not.”

Kahli wanted to make a sharp retort, but she bit her tongue. He was infuriating. They wound through hallways until they stopped before an enormous bleached wood door. It was hand carved and beautiful. There was no sign, but she assumed these were the maiden’s rooms Will spoke about—the part of the palace that housed the vamps blood supply. Kahli noticed the golden door pulls and the massive locks within the handles. Her throat tightened. She didn’t want to be locked in.

Will sensed her hesitation, and heard her pulse racing in his ears. He spoke softly, his hand on the small of her back as he pulled the door open. “They only lock the doors during an attack. The humans that are here were chosen to be here. If they misbehave, they are thrown out. And being in the palace is the best place to be. Their life span is twice as long, and the girls don’t have to worry about dying from the elements like the people in the camps.” Kahli shivered.

She’d been truly cold once. So cold, buried deep beneath the snow. It made her leery of small spaces, of being locked into a room she couldn’t get out of. Will pushed her through the door and her feet couldn’t move. It wasn’t the cramped quarters she expected. The room was stunning. It was a display of opulence with riches, velvet, tile, stone, and glittering gold at every turn of her head. Will pressed her forward. Kahli’s eyes were huge as they passed through the sitting room. Two women, barely her age, sat across from each other whispering. They had elegantly plated hair, decorated with beads. The women wore fine gowns that accentuated their slender figures and dark hair. The women glanced at her, openly mocking her in her filth as she passed them. She’d not been around another human for so long. It made her heart drop to be dumped in with vapid, catty women. Her fingers balled into fists.

Will leaned close, whispering in her ear, “You’re the Queen’s greatest treasure. Never think you are anything less.” His kind words rang in her ears, but she didn’t respond. Why was he being nice to her? She tried to shake off the questions. He didn’t matter. She just had to get through this. One step at a time.

Will passed through another sitting room. The walls were strewn with musical instruments like it was the place a chamber orchestra rehearsed, before pushing through doors into a smaller room. Steam poured through the door, hitting her in the face. Will pushed her through and called for Miriam. Kahli openly gasped when she realized where they were. It was a tiled room filled with baths. Her heart fell into her boots. Glancing around quickly, she noticed that the baths had women laying back, or leaning side-ways talking to each other. There were at least seven of them and they were all nude, not batting an eyelash about it. The only person in clothing besides her and William was Miriam.

“Will,” she smiled at him. The woman was large, twice the width of Kahli. Her dark hair was tied into a knot on the top of her head and frizzing from the steam. Her smile faltered when she saw Kahli standing behind him. She stopped suddenly, her eyes narrowing, “You’re kidding, right? She’s filthy! And let me guess—the Queen wants her dolled up and presentable tonight.”

“Miriam, you’re the very best and the girl has been traveling. It’s road suit, nothing more,” he lied, but he knew she was smart enough to notice dirt from blood. The look she gave him said so. He smiled at her, “You can do this. Scrub her, stick her in a gown, and shove her back to me.”

Miriam scoffed, “You’re a man, Will. You have no idea how long it takes to make this turn into that.” She pointed from Kahli to a woman fully dressed in a beautiful dress, heading out of the changing chambers at the back of the room.