bChapter /b15

+15

The bloodmaid btakes /bba /bconsiderable bfew /bminutes to ept defeat and climb off hisp. Her bface /bturns toward me and, even though it’s hidden, I know her eyes must be narrowed and her mouth twisted in a sneer. While she’s being dismissed, I’m here, sharing dinner after dinner with the man who seems to be the center of all her dreams. I smile brazenly and give ba /bcurt nod in farewell.

She spins on her heels and disappears the way she came.

“I’ve been told you’ve been studying our history.”

b“/bbIs /bthere a problem with that?”

“Not at all, I just find it curious that you bother to bget /bto know us when it’s obvious you

bhate /b

bius /i/biSO /i

much.”

He rests his cheek against the knuckles of his hand, and the gesture captures me for a few seconds. His skin is extremely paleb, /bbeven /bmore than mine, and not a single bw/b. He looks like delicate porcin, and to break that contrast, the lines outlining his face bare /bharsh, High, prominent cheekbones, ba /bstraight chin, and thick eyebrows that are usually furrowed. It’s beautiful how only dark, dangerous, and twisted things can be so.

“I have to spend my free time here doing something.”

I shrug, and my response seems to amuse him.

“And what conclusions bhave /bbyou /breached about bus /bwith your readingsb?/bb” /b

He shifts bto /ba new posture, leaning forward bover /bthe long table, his fingers inteced and his chin resting

poseb. /b

on them, in

e

curious

and

contemtiveollimeb. /b/li/ol

“If you’re trying to mock me, I’m afraid you’ll have to wait until tomorrow.” I make a move to stand. “bI’ve /bfinished my dinner.”

“I’m serious. I haven’t opened one of those history books in decades–maybe a century.” His bgaze /bsoftens slightly. “Tell

With a sour faceb, /bI fall back into the bseat/b. I don’t think refusing bis /breally an option. If I say no, will he just let me go quietly back to my quarters? bI /bdoubt the answer is byes/bb. /b

“I’ve been reading some history books that say the northern and southern territories are enemies and separated by the bTwisted /bbForest/b. It seems that inside it there bare /bbcreatures /bthat bscare /bbeven /bthe…” I hesitate, “even your kind.”

at the end of their “The Kraugs,” he rifies. “They’re creatures that frighten mostb, /bbut not ball/b. They look simr to snakesb, /bwith a huge stinger bodies. They’re coated in a kind of mucus that apparentlyes from the dposition of their victims‘ bcorpses/b–hence the disgusting smell.”

b“/bAnd a vampire bcan’t /bkill a Kraug?b” /b

“That depends on the vampireb,” /bhe replies arrogantly. “A Pure has ba /bchanceb. /bA Diluted should consider himself dead the moment he even sees oneb./bb” /b

“They don’t sound like very pleasant creatures.”

“They’re not,” he confirms, “They’re bfast /band use their bodies to trap you as soon as they get a chance. Their stinger bsecretes /ba paralytic venom that leaves youpletely useless. In the bestb–/bbcase /bbscenario/b, they might not even bother using it and bjust /brip your head off in one clean move. If notb… /byou’ll be praying for ba /bquick death.”

“What do they do?”

My curiosity makes me blean /bslightly forward over the tableb, /bcaptivated by his exnation.

“They’ll eat you little by little, prolonging your death for weeks, or in the worst bcases/b, months. Your body will begin to rot once it’s been exposed to their mucus for too long. And crows and rats will stop by from time to time to try to take a piece of byou/b.”

A shiver slowly runs down my spine. The expression of disgust and bfear /bon my face seems to bplease /bCassian. That dangerous smile doesn’t fade for a second.

“That’s absolutely disgusting.”

bI /bwrinkle my nose.

“What else bhave /byou read?b” /b

b“/bbA /bfamily of Puresb, /bsupported by other bwell/b–established families among them, bleads /bthe northern territories, and in the south live the rebellious Diluted ones–those who find the bway /bthey’re treated unfair.”

The mention of the Diluted makes his blips /bpress into a thin line. He crosses his arms over his chest and slumps into his seat.

“A real nuisance.”

12:19 PM

Curiosity takes hold of me.

“How many important families are there among you?” He raises an eyebrow and his eyes

“Truly important? Just three.” He gestures dismissively. “And what have you read about the

“Other bcreatures/bb?/bb” /b

other

slits

somniaturesb?/bb” /b

*

+15

“Tritons,miasb, /bshapeshifters, bansheesb…./b” His beyes /bwiden at my incredulous bface/b. “Do you really know nothing about the others? I see our existence has entirely filled your mind. I hate to disappoint you, but there are plenty of horrible things besides

I’m left speechless. In Ravag, bwe’ve /blived isted from so many things, and bI/bb, /bfor my part, never tried to learn more. Not even Lea’s books contained information about this. She never told me of the existence of other beings. We’ve bnever /bseen any–only paleb–/bskinned figures with sharp fangs whose footsteps barely make a sound.

Overwhelmed by this new information, bI /bscrape my chair back, intending to leaveb. /b

“Leaving already?”

b“/bI’m tired.”

“Then you should rest. Fatigue affects the btaste /bof blood.” He shes all his teeth in a smile. “And have high expectations about the vor of the Ruby Queen.”

He buses /bthe name those who bgossip /babout me have given. It sounds like an insult, ba /bmockery. I clench my fists and return to my chambersb, /bwhere my maids bwait /bto help me undress. Too much attention for someone like me. I let them work in silence, and they leave when they realize I don’t intend to talk tonight.

I slip under the sheets with this new information. I tell myself that tomorrow, right after breakfast, I’ll run to the library to find book that

bany /bspeaks more about all the creatures I don’t know. Apparently, the arrival–or rather, the reappearance of the vampires wasn’t the only one.

”

I lie on my side and brest /bon my elbow to blow out the candle on the nightstand. A book catches my attention- -one not even remotely like the one I bwas /breading earlier. This one bis /bbound in red–dyed leatherb, /ba worn ck thread tied around it as ba /bclosure. I pick it up and examine it, frowning.

No title.

I open it cautiously, curiousb. /bThe pages are yellowed with age, yet it’s clear the book was well cared for. No tears bacross /bthe elegant handwriting and begin to read.

Or

damage.

my

fingertip

“Adam, unsatisfied with Lilith’sck of submissiveness, did not hesitate to inform his creator of his discontent. God decided to expel Lilith, who had been created in the same way as Adam and saw herself bas /bhis equal, incapable of submitting to him or dering herself inferior. Lilith wandered outside paradise for days, without food or water, facing the harsh climate, without shelter or anything to defend herself. The demons saw in her an easy prey, for her desperation bwas /bso bgreat /bbthat /bthe gates of her soul werepletely open.

That bwas /bhow Lilith ended up corrupted.

And from itb, /bshe shed bsix /bbtears /bof blood, from which her bsix /bbfirst /bsons were born.

These wandered the Earth without food for decades, sustained only by what their mother could provide, until the Creator’s children–those weak humans who could break with a mere touch from Lilith’s children–popted the bEarth/b. That was when Lilith’s children, whom humans now call b‘/bbvampires/b‘ discovered how to survive and realized that humans were nothing more than cattle. Eventually, these children had children of their own, giving rise to three bloodlines: the De’ath family, the Amery, and the Draven family.

These familiesb…/bb” /b

I bm /bthe book shut.

I blink several times and even reopen the book to reread thosest lines.

Cassian Draven.

bCassian /bbis /ba direct descendant of Lilith.

I don’t know what’s more overwhelming the origin story, or the bfact /bthat I’m currently under the roof of not just any Pure, but one whoes directly from the very first vampires who walked the Earth.

Who’s to say he wasn’t one of them himself? How long bhas /bCassian been roaming the Earthb, /breaping soulsb? /bAnd this book? How did it get hereb? /b

Lexhale sharply.

It was himb. /bAlways him. With his tricks, he left the book on my nightstand, knowing my beyes /bwould immediately brecognize /bthat it bwasn’t /bthe one I had been reading. He’s bgiven /bme a more–thanplete answer to my question about bthe /bmost important families among them. He did it so I’d know exactly who I’m dealing with.

b2/3 /b

12:19 bPM /bc

He threw his surname in my bface /blike a full–blown threat.

*