Page 32 of Blood & Bedlam

“Because I thought I had been kidnapped, which, in my defense, I had been. Besides, you let me. Practically purred as you watched me climb off the balcony. So which one of us is the irresponsible one, hm?”

Claire shrugs. “I knew Papa would be out there, keeping watch. Shifting in front of you would have traumatized you further, and you were already a wreck. Seemed less cruel to let him handle it …” She trails off, the hesitation in her voice too loud. “I know you and Jules have a … connection. But I’m here, too, if you need to talk.”

Her words are encouraging and earnest—the offer is tempting. I want to talk to her, to confide in someone about the shit swirling through my brain, but I don’t even know where to begin.

“I don’t know what to say. How to even start.” I cross my arms around my middle, pressing the corner of the book into me as she waits patiently.

“Don’t worry about how it sounds. Just say what’s on your mind. I’m not here to judge you for anything.”

I almost believe her.

“When Hecate dug around in my mind, it feels like she knocked something loose. My dreams are as vivid as they’ve ever been, only I remember them so clearly when I wake up, now. They’re still fragments, mostly—it’s like I’m trying to figure out the world’s worst jigsaw puzzle.” My hand comes up to cover the wounds on my neck, the ones I’ve kept hidden with my hair, but I’ve got no doubt she’s seen them. I don’t mean to word vomit all over Claire, but once I’ve started, I can’t stop and I’m a little shocked at the anger in my tone. “He could do this, you know? She said he could drink from me, and he’d be able to bridge the gap in my memory, open it up for us both, but he fucking won’t.”

Frustration bleeds through my tone as angry tears sting the back of my eyes.

“I feel helpless, like a bystander in my own life. I wake up, try to decipher what all of this means and how I fit into this world, and get nowhere. Now Vlad seems to hate me.” The hurt in my voice startles even me, and I realize that’s yet another thing that has me twisted up. I feel things, deeply rooted things, for him. But he hasn’t come to check on me at all. He’s locked me away inside this house and assigned other people to fucking babysit me.

“He doesn’t hate you,” Claire answers softly.

I shake my head and swipe the tears away before they can fall and embarrass me more. “He’s been avoiding me for two days.”

Claire chews her bottom lip, clearly considering her next words. “He doesn’t hate you. He’s … there is a lot on the line, and I don’t think he can deal with an unknown right now. Papa’s responsible for running our domain, and with the upcoming trial by combat he’s worried sick about Cami—”

“The what?” Panic floods through me, adrenaline rushing through my system like a shot to my heart at this new information. “This is because of what he did to that other vamp at the ball, isn’t it?” My book falls to the ground with a loud thump.

“It’s going to be okay. Camille is very strong,” Claire assures me, but there’s something that snaps, a final straw as things start to make sense.

“He maimed another Otherworlder because of me, and now his daughter has to fight to the death? I assume that’s what a trial by combat is?”

Claire nods, her feline-like eyes tracking my every move like she’s afraid I’m going to jump out the window again.

“I need to speak with him. Now,” I demand, starting out the door. The vampyr moves quickly, so quickly my eyes struggle to track her as she blocks my path.

“You can’t right now. He’s not here, and it isn’t safe for you to leave.”

She hasn’t touched me, but she’s close enough and fast enough that I have no chance of getting any sort of drop on her. Rage simmers up beneath my skin. I nearly scream with frustration.

“This is bullshit,” I grit, but Claire looks sympathetic.

“I’ll let him know you need to speak with him,” she promises, but in my petty anger, an idea begins to form. I’ve done everything he’s asked of me, and I’m through being kept in the dark. I straighten my shoulders and throw my head back, a million possibilities rushing through my mind.

“Tell him I expect him for dinner tonight.”

Something in my demand causes a smirk to lift the corner of Claire’s mouth. “I’ll tell him, Reine.”

With a quick nod, I step around her, knowing she’s likely to follow me around like a shadow, but I have work to do.

“And, Claire? Don’t take no for an answer.” I cross the threshold into the hallway, heading straight toward the kitchen.

“I won’t.” The chuckle in her voice follows me down the hall.

Vladimir

CHAPTER 16

“AGAIN!” I growl, resuming my fighting stance. Cami spits blood between us, her white-blonde hair matted with dirt and grime. My child’s claws are extended, bits of my flesh wedged beneath them, but her eyes are stone-cold chips of ice piercing through the darkness. My body moves, loose and languid, power rippling from my aura, berating against her own, forcing submission with every second that passes.

I lunge, slamming against her, but I’m met with a wall of fierce muscle. She’s stronger, bolstered by the fresh blood matriculating through her veins, the beast within her charged in a way she’d denied it before. A growl rips from her as sharp teeth sink into the flesh of my neck, the pain intense as she rips a chunk of muscle and viscera away. Blood spurts from the wound, but Cami is surgical and unrelenting in her assault as we struggle for the top position.