AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Going through the front door was obviously a bad decision, so I settled for the next best thing: a high window. Party guests usually hung around the first floor, so if I snuck in the lower windows I’d be easily caught. (Knowledge gained from personal experience.) The upper floors, however, were usually empty and not difficult to get to if you had nimble feet.
There was a beautiful white lattice climbing up the stone walls of the house, and it held my boots better than I expected. Of course, there was always the chance that the lattice would snap under the pressure, but this particular fence seemed too happy to accommodate my mission.
Once I reached the top of the lattice, I checked for any straggling guests that might report me. When the coast seemed clear, I hopped over the balcony rail, straightening my hair and stolen jacket.
I checked the door for voices before opening it and letting myself inside. The room was dark, but there was a hint of floral perfume that hit my nose. This was definitely a woman’s room. Looking at the full gowns in her closet, it was a woman of high quality.
Ah, the woman I was looking for, perhaps.
I helped myself to her dresser and vanity drawers, wondering if there was anything else I could take from this woman besides her blood. To my surprise, the drawers were quite empty. She had many clothes, but no jewels. There was a small stack of books. A few paintings on the walls that I didn’t recognize. Nothing else.
What a boring woman. Such a typical aristocrat.
I checked myself in the mirror, looking as rich as I could for the occasion. I couldn’t lower myself to that level, though. I was far too handsome and rugged. It was just a curse I would have to deal with.
I took the tiny flask out of my pocket, making sure that I hadn’t damaged it while climbing. It sparkled a bit in the moonlight as if it were winking at me.
I just needed a few drops of blood. Nothing terrible. The girl would be traumatized for life, maybe, but she wouldn’t die.
Exiting the bedroom and slipping down the stairs to the main room was a bit harder than climbing up the lattice, but I knew the trick: look like you belong there, and everyone will think you do too.
I threw open the door, doing just that.
It had been awhile since I had broken into a house, and it gave me a good buzz of energy. Bouncing down the stairs, I took a glass of wine for myself at the bottom and made my way through the chattering crowd.
Damn, there were some beautiful women at the party. It was a shame I had to focus on only one tonight. If my last plan for seducing a rich woman to marry me hadn’t gone so badly, I would have abandoned this whole mission and gone after one of these swans. But I didn’t need another knife in my neck.
This was the last chance I had for success.
I could have asked who the lady of the house was, but it would be obvious. All I had to do was find the most confidentgirl in the room, and she was bound to be the owner. She was probably also the loudest, yet somehow perceived as graceful, probably attracting a crowd because everyone wanted to kiss up to the host of the party. She was probably…
…wearing a red and gold dress, dancing with a tall man, smiling like she owned the world and had no intentions in giving it back.
Yep. That was definitely her.
I drank the last of my wine, keeping my eyes on her. That smile of hers was alarmingly mesmerizing. She certainly didn’t look broke. She looked like she was related to the king himself, and he had just given her half of France. I could have stayed here for half the night and—
I frowned, rubbing the scar on my neck.
Focus, mate. Focus.
The song ended and the woman bowed to her suitor, who seemed as stale as an aristocrat could be. I stepped forward to cut in, but she bounced over to an older gentleman before I had the chance to even say a word. She looped her arm in his and he glowed with pride. By the look of their matching eyes and long noses, I guessed they were related. Her father, perhaps.
They walked out of the main room, arm in arm, something twisting in my stomach as they walked down the hall. Perhaps it was something to do with the memory of linking arms with my mother in the city gardens and talking about mindless things. Now she was restricted to her bed.
I traded my empty wine glass for a full one and downed it.
That woman’s smile…the way she beamed like she owned the world…I wanted that.
I wanted more than blood. I wanted more than gold.
I wanted it for myself more than anything.
EIGHT
“Here, sip this.”
I handed Esmeralda the glass of purified water, this time, withextrarum. I could tell by her face that she smelled it.
