Page 89 of Collared by the Vampire Prince

And I am not meek.

I will not forget that again. I will, however, play along as a student for now. That’s one good thing about last night: it humbled me. I will not let my pride get in the way this time. No more angry outbursts. No more lunging at the first chance and mistaking fury for a plan.

I will lie in wait for the right moment.

And then I will strike.

Chapter 16

Kira

At lunch, over a surprisingly good roast, I ask Clara if I can volunteer for dinner service.

It should have been a simple request. Instead, it produces several minutes of anxious hedging—Clara listing every possible reason it might not be a good idea.

“You’ve never worked in a large kitchen,” she says. “And it gets terribly busy. There are knives everywhere, and hot pans, and Chef Haynes can be particular about where things are kept.”

Yes, like the kitchen knives. There is no chance of stealing a steak knife from one of the vampire tables; the older wolf attendants clear them before I can get anywhere near them. But students granted the privilege of assisting in the kitchens are allowed to handle knives.

Which is precisely why I want in.

“I’m a quick learner,” I tell her.

“Yes, I’m sure you are, but—” She bites her lip, twisting her napkin in her lap. “Why do you want to volunteer anyway?”

Of all the difficulties I expected to encounter at the Academy, having to persuade Clara to do me a favour was not one of them.

I scramble for an answer and improvise a completely fabricated story about my lifelong dream of becoming a chef in a noble household.

Beside me, Becky stops chewing.

“Really?” she asks. “You didn’t seem to like high tea in Etiquette.”

I force a small smile. “I want to make food, not serve it.”

“And I want to eat it,” Harvey says, stealing one of the roast potatoes from Clara’s plate. He nudges her with an elbow, his tone coaxing, “Go on, let the girl wash some dishes if she wants to.”

“It isn’t up to me,” Clara says, still playing with her napkin. When Harvey nudges her again, she glances at him, then back at me. “But I’ll ask Chef Haynes tonight.”

“Thank you,” I say, injecting as much gratitude into my voice as I can.

Only then do I notice that she has folded the napkin into a lopsided swan.

“How did you make that?”

Clara’s worried expression brightens. “Oh, it’s just something I do when I’m nervous. Would you like me to show you? They’re really much better with paper.”

“Err—”

“Does anyone know where Susie is?” one of the others asks.

“In Arken’s quarters,” Harvey replies with his mouth full of food. “They’re ‘dining in.’”

His inflection leaves no doubt that Susie’s blood is on the menu.

“Arken summoned her?” I ask weakly, rubbing the spot on my neck where Nathaniel’s fang grazed me in the cottage.

“Nope. She offered. Said he’s been neglecting himself and needed to feed.”