She’d once quietly filled the space my mother had left behind. When hunger hollowed me out, she’d split her last scraps and pressed them into my hands. When nightmares dragged me screaming from sleep, she’d wrapped her arms around me and whispered until the trembling stopped.
Now, Razira seemed like a stranger dressed in familiar skin. Whatever kindness once lived behind her eyes had gone silent. Had they carved it out of her, piece by piece, until nothing remained but polish and obedience?
By the time we reached the corridor outside our chambers, the mask I’d worn all evening—composed, cold, untouchable—began to crack with hairline fractures spreading beneath the surface. Tension coiled through my limbs, tight and unrelenting. My jaw throbbed from clenching it too long.
“I hope we have rooms next to each other,” Felicity chirped, appearing beside me with that same unsettling brightness.
I looked at her with a raised brow.
“I think it would be fun. Maybe we could braid each other’s hair.” She beamed and then gestured to the four males trailing behind her like devoted shadows. “Oh! You have to meet my Devotion. After you get settled, of course.”
She spoke of her lovers with the same indifference nobles reserved for prized hounds, each one a possession, not a person. It was another reminder of how twisted this world was, how it stripped people down to tools of pleasure or pawns of power.
“The trials will determine who among you is destined to rise as queen,” Mathias had said.
He had no idea how right he’d been.
The trials had already slipped into motion, a game far more dangerous than any of these bloodsuckers understood. And they weren’t prepared for me.
Chapter 8
Sidney
“This is unacceptable!” I thundered in Ilyana’s arrogant airs. “Theseare my accommodations?”
Rooms were assigned, and a vampiric attendant had shown me to my new quarters. It was a sparse, two-room setup situated toward the back of the guest hall.
He took me in with a smile of vacant politeness. Dressed smartly in the red and gold livery of a high-level servant, he must’ve seen countless tantrums from noble vampires with bluer blood than the likes of Ilyana Krudelbach.
“Yes, ma’am. As you are a Beloved without a Devotion or servants, this is the space you were allotted,” he said with thinly veiled condescension. “If you take any mates during the trials, you’ll be given larger quarters. It was the regent’s decision.”
We’d split off from the other candidates, who were spread amongst more spacious suites on the floors below us. Felicity, with her oddly friendly overtures, was probably somewhere on the second floor, while I was in an armpit on the third.
“Iwillbe taking this matter up with the regent,” I huffed. In actuality, I would do no such thing. This was the best outcome for my ruse. More privacy suited me fine. It wasn’t like I was about to invite any bloodsuckers into my bed.
He bowed and backed away. “Very well, ma’am.”
I took my bags and slammed the door shut behind me. I had a period of time to settle in, and I intended to spend it recentering myself for the mission ahead.
I swept into the front room of my quarters, scanning the plush furniture and shadowed corners. Overstuffed chairs loomed like lazy sentries around the cold fireplace, their fabric smelling faintly of rose oil and old smoke. I searched beneath the cushions, slipped behind the drapes, and traced along the mantle’s edge. There was no nook deep enough to swallow contraband.
My quarters were not to be confused with a personal space. House servants would be in and out whether I liked it or not. Fellow contestants might come snooping as well. If one of them unearthed a flask of rupture—or worse, one of my stakes—my ruse would be revealed.
The first room provided no ideal hiding places. Cabinets stood along one wall. Since vampires had no need to eat, an assortment of alcohols and other, suspiciously maroon beverages filled them. Glass rattled within as I shut the cabinet doors with a scowl.
The second room had the basics but nothing more, the furniture and sheets all in shades of neutral browns. The mansion had many such rooms, as not every member of the coven deserved gilt-edged wallpapers and the finest of down comforters.
It soothed something in me, to be presented with a serviceable room.My new temple for you, Lord Aetherius.
I put away some of my belongings in the attached powder room before making use of the wooden wardrobe to hang my modified gowns. Then, my hands stalled over the remaining bundle: my old leather armor.
For a heartbeat, I contemplated shoving it into the darkest corner of the cabinet, but the impulse died as quickly as it had flared.
I nudged the gowns aside, making room for my scarred leather next to Ilyana’s pristine armor. There was no reason to bury the truth. We hadn't come for balls or pleasantries; we were here for these deadly trials, and I would protect myself.
As I moved around the area, I thought of Razira. There was a time we’d been gray-clad house servants, inoffensive shadows constantly cleaning up after the endless parade of my grandmother’s guests. I remembered one such day wistfully.
Razira and I were assigned to clean up after a Born noblewoman. The first thing I did was rifle through her clothing. The Born enjoyed such finery, which I rarely got to touch.
