His eyebrows lift. “Are you saying you actually want to be paired with me now?”
I stare at him but can’t seem to muster a reply. My stomach is too tight, and my mind is too busy, and there’s too much noise. With all of the surprises lately, I don’t think I could take another one.
His expression softens. “Nothing to worry about, Darkmore. I won’t give you up to someone else that easily.”
The door opens to the back hallway behind the throne room, where the other initiates wait to be announced. Torches along the walls flicker and reflect off the glossy floors. Only about a dozen pairs seem to be here so far, and I scan the crowd, trying to see who made it in. The conversation among the group quiets at our arrival as people turn and straighten at the sight of Reid.
Daniel stands toward the front of the group and waves when he catches my eye. Wes is next to him, unsurprisingly, and Beth is on his other side. I stretch my neck, trying to find Kirby or Monroe, my heart steadily beating faster in my chest with every moment that passes and I don’t see them.
They can’t have not gotten in. I’d thought they’d been calling to see how my task had gone, but their tasks were later that day too. What if they’d been calling to say they hadn’t made it? I’m a horrible friend. I’ve been so absorbed in my own problems—
Reid tugs me back a step and juts his chin toward the end of the hall. The tension in my shoulders eases as Kirby swims into view, a powder pink, floor-length dress swishing along behind her as she struts into the hall. The vampire beside her is the same size as she is. In fact, their blond hair is the exact same shade too. They almost look related.
Kirby notices me a moment later, and her entire face lights up, the red paint around her eyes crinkling as she beams. She quickens her pace, crossing the rest of the distance between us, then throws her arms around my neck.
“Kirby—” I laugh and hug her back, stumbling under her weight.
She pulls back and holds me at arm’s length as she studies every inch of me. “I’ve been so worried about you. Are you okay? You look okay.”
“I’m okay,” I say. The genuine concern in her eyes makes my throat tighten, but I force a smile. I don’t want to get into it, and definitely not with so many people around. All I care about right now is getting through tonight.
She tightens her grip on my shoulders for a second before finally releasing me, then grins, all the tension gone as she looks from Reid to me. Her cheeks flush a bit. “Okay, you two look amazing. I don’t think we’ve officially met, Your Highness. I’m—”
“Kirby La Doux,” Reid says.
I stare at him, trying to remember if I’d ever spoken of my friends with him, or if he just pays more attention than I realized. Maybe I’ve shown him more through the bond than I’d meant to.
Kirby’s eyes practically fall out of her head, and she whips around to grin at me. “So you’ve talked about me. Figures. I am the most interesting person in her life.”
“I’ll try not to take that personally.” Monroe appears on Kirby’s other side, her hair done up in an intricate bun. She’s in a sleek red dress with off-the-shoulder straps, the color perfectly matching the streaks in her hair.
Her eyes rake over me, just like Kirby’s had, and she opens her mouth to say something else, but whatever she sees on my face stops her. She gives me a small smile instead and says, “Leave it to you to look that good after all the shit the past few days. Criminally unfair, Val.”
I glance behind her head, and my stomach drops to my feet. The vampire lingering behind Monroe meets my eyes and nods.
Nathan.
Avery’s old partner.
Avery had said he’d probably get paired with someone in our class once she left, but Monroe? Her pair for initiation had been someone temporary, so she must have just found out Nathan would be her final pair, maybe even earlier tonight. And she probably has no idea what she’s getting into. No idea about his history.
Hell, I don’t know exactly myself, but I know it can’t be good. Monroe’s expression is as unbothered as ever as Kirby reaches over and smooths out a smudge in the red makeup on her cheek.
There’s a faint tug on the bond, and I look over to see Reid staring at me. I try to smooth out whatever was on my face.
“Don’t they usually do it alphabetically?” Kirby is saying. “So Val should be one of the firsts.”
“I just hope they have drinks,” mutters Monroe.
“Do we know how many initiates there are?” asks Kirby.
“Twenty-five,” says Reid. “As far as I know. But she’s right.” He looks over at me. “You’ll be one of the first called. We should probably get near the front.”
I nod and squeeze Kirby’s and Monroe’s hands as I pass. “I’ll see you guys inside.”
Heads turn as Reid and I head for the large golden doors at the front of the group. I let out a shuddering breath. Every inch of my skin feels hot, like it’s trying to escape from my body. I shake my head, trying to clear the dizziness. I don’t know where this disorientation came from or why it’s clinging to me like fog. I feel like I’m floating through a dream, like nothing around me is real.
Maybe I’m just exhausted, and everything that’s happened in the past few days is all catching up with me at once. Maybe I should have fed after losing so much blood when Connor attacked me. Or maybe it’s all in my head.
Reid opens his mouth to say something, but stops as someone gasps beside me. All of the conversation in the hall dies as the queen makes her way toward us, two guards following closely behind.
The crowd parts, clearing a path to the throne room door. She stands in a lavish silver gown that glows beneath the lights, and a veil hangs down from her crown, though the lines of teeth arranged among the gold spikes are still on full display. Somehow even with her face covered, I can still tell her expression beneath is amused.
She turns toward where Reid and I stand, and I stiffen, but her gaze continues to sweep the rest of the group. She inclines her head a fraction of an inch.
“Congratulations,” she says. Her voice comes out smooth and low. I’m half expecting some kind of speech, but she turns to the door, and the guards follow on either side of her. The noise coming from the other side of the wall dims until it becomes so quiet, even my vampire hearing can’t pick up anything distinct. Both guards reach forward at the same time, and light floods the hall as they open the doors. A deep voice announces the queen’s arrival, and she steps into the room.
Chapter Three
A hush falls over the room as the queen slowly makes her way to the throne. Flames flicker in torches along the walls, casting shadows over the hundreds of vampire and witch guests all waiting in the outskirts, wearing suits and dresses as extravagant as those of the initiates. Human servants linger by the opposite door in white uniforms.
The center of the floor is clear, save for a line of tall men in all black, their faces covered in masks. Twenty-five of them, I would guess. They each hold a small, golden cup with red inset stones.
The tapping of high heels against the glossy floor breaks through the silence as my mother comes down from the dais and stands among the men at the center of the room.