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I unrolled the first scroll, a map of Valentaera, and used two of the books—one a treatise on the divisions of territory of the expanded vampire realm, the other a chronicle on the Eternal Night War—to pin down the edges so I could study it. My gaze swept across the detailed cartography, taking in the three realms and searching for any geographical changes. Occupying the western edge of Valentaera was Noxalis, the jagged mountains of House Stellaris’s Caelum Crest jutting from its northernmost edge. To the east, on the other side of the valley, was Graviton Heights, a series of craggy highlands that House Invictus called home. I traced the tiny drawing of the Iron Spire with my finger—King Vladimir’s seat of power—then followed the mountain pass between the two ranges that led to the Elysium Vale, HousePyschoros’s territory. Below that, edging the coast, was the Crimson Cliffs, Sanguis Noctis’s territory.
Graviton Heights shared a border with Heliaris—which lay to the east—while Caelum Crest abutted Trivaea’s southwestern border. Fierce longing swept through me as I took in the crescent-shaped realm that made up the northern section of Valentaera. Its concave side faced the ocean, with its convex side sharing borders with both Heliaris and Noxalis. I traced the inner edge of the crescent where Crescent Cove had been drawn, the Nocturne Clan banner of a full moon wreathed in ribbons of shadow rendered in painstaking detail above it. Scanning the other clan territories, I let out a small breath of relief as I noted that their banners all remained intact.
The same could not be said for Heliaris. My heart dropped as I slid my finger across Greenwarden—the Verdantia Clan’s territory, located in the southeastern part of the Trivaea’s crescent—over to the Aetherion kingdom, which bordered both Noxalis and Trivaea. The lush forest kingdom of Ferae stretched beneath it, and to the southeastern coast was Maris, a seafaring kingdom of sprawling coastal regions and archipelagos.
All three kingdoms were riddled with vampire banners. House Invictus’s iron sword piercing the center of a blood-red heart appeared the most, but a smattering of banners from the other three houses appeared as well. The astral eye of House Psychoros hovered over Lumina, which was only fifty or so miles from Graviton Heights, but a good two hundred or so from the Trivaean border. Too far for me to travel in a single day.
I scanned the human kingdoms again, and my gaze snagged on one banner, which was different. It featured a wolf’s head, and a jolt went through me as I realized it was placed over Wildwood Forest—home of the Wolven Clan of Ferae.
Not under vampire control.
Heart beating faster, I scanned the map again, searching for any other human outposts that existed. I didn’t find any others amongst the Ferae, but there was one archipelago along the coastline of Maris marked by a banner featuring a mermaid tail entwined with a black anchor—the Blackwater Isles, aka the Pirate Kingdom.
My mouth curved into a grim smile. Of course, the pirates had found a way to resist Vladimir’s rule. The ballsy bastards had made it a point to hire both witches and vampires onto their crews, and had terrorized every port city in Valentaera, even in Trivaea. They wouldn’t allow something as pesky as the Eternal Night to interfere with their pillaging.
The sound of heavy boots clomping against the parquet floors of the library echoed off the walls, and I jerked my head up as a curly blonde walked out from behind a row of shelves. “There you are,” she said crossly, folding her arms over her unbuttoned coveralls. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”
I winced as I realized it was Eliza—the human thrall I’d put into a sleeper hold the other day. “Hi.” I scratched the back of my neck, feeling a little awkward. While I’d felt perfectly justified at the time, knowing that she’d spent nearly a week nursing me back to health made me feel pretty damn guilty about what I’d done. “Uhhh, how are you feeling?”
Eliza snorted. “Great. Had a nice little nap, thanks to you.” She glanced over the map and stack of books, her eyebrows rising. “Doing a little homework?”
“I’m trying to get up to speed, yeah.” I rolled up the map and set it aside, then reached for a scroll that apparently detailedthe allocation of “human provisions” under vampire law. “Seems there’s a lot I missed.”
“Hmm.” Eliza looked me up and down, her eyes narrowed. “You know, you’re a lot tinier than I thought you’d be.”
I scowled, the scroll rolling out of my hand and back across the table. “What in Hecate’s name is that supposed to mean?” I demanded.
Eliza shrugged. “Just, I pictured you taller, is all. After hearing all those stories of you cutting through vampires like melted butter, I thought you were some giant warrior goddess. But instead you’re tiny.” A small smile curved her lips. “Like me.”
The knot of tension in my gut unfurled, and I couldn’t help smiling back. Now that she mentioned it, Eliza and I seemed roughly the same height, give or take an inch in her favor. “Your master told me I was pint-sized.”
Eliza wrinkled her nose. “Master? Eww. Don’t call him that.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Isn’t that how thralls usually refer to the vampires they’re bonded to?” From what I understood, Turned vampires addressed the vampires who had fathered (or mothered) them as ‘Sire’, regardless of gender, while thralls used the term ‘Master’ or ‘Mistress’ instead. Lucius and Nyra had both addressed Maximillian as Sire, so I was surprised to hear that Eliza didn’t use the appropriate term for her station.
“Other thralls, maybe.” Eliza huffed. “But Max and I don’t have that kind of relationship. Now come on. He asked me to give you a tour of the city, and I don’t have all day.”
Max?I gaped after Eliza as she turned on her heel and began to walk away, then hurried after her. “Wait! I need to put thesebooks somewhere before someone puts them away or takes them.”
“Don’t worry about them.” Eliza waved a hand behind her, not bothering to turn around. “Hardly anyone ever uses the royal library. Your books will be fine.”
Resigned, I followed her out of the library. “The building we’re in is called the Central Keep,” Eliza explained as we walked. “The first floor, which is where we are now, houses the royal library and the armory. The floor above is where the Great Hall and the council chambers are, the third floor has guest chambers and receiving rooms, and the remaining floors are where all the private quarters are located.”
“The armory?” I perked up. “Can I see it?”
“On your own time,” she said as we strode past the open door. I caught the briefest glimpse of an array of polished swords, battleaxes, and what looked like aetheric shields, before she grabbed my arm and pulled me forward. “If you’re anything like Lucius, you’ll want to spend hours in there, and we don’t have time for that.”
Lucius.The hulking, dark-skinned vampire’s face flashed through my mind. “He’s a warrior?”
Eliza nodded as we passed through the entrance hall. “He’s Maximillian’s personal bodyguard whenever he travels, and is in charge of all things safety and security. He oversees the training of both the city and the Tower guard.”
The double doors of the tower entrance swung open, and Eliza walked out into the courtyard. I paused with my foot on the threshold, skin prickling as I stared up at the sky, unable to shake the feeling that the twinkling stars were watching me.
Eliza turned back, her brow wrinkling. Her face cleared with sudden understanding as she saw me hesitating. “Umm, do you need a minute?” she asked. She looked vaguely uncomfortable, as if she wasn’t sure how to deal with my distress. “If you want, we can just stick to the tower for today.”
“No.” I squared my shoulders. I needed to push past this discomfort, needed to expose myself to the outdoors so I could overcome my fear. I pulled up the hood on my duster, and the sensation of being watched faded a bit. I was definitely playing the ‘if I can’t see you, you can’t see me” game, but I didn’t care. Whatever I had to do to get through this. “Let’s go.”
Eliza nodded, and she turned around again. This time, I followed, keeping my gaze firmly in front of me and away from the sky. Over the next hour, Eliza showed me the rest of the compound—the guard barracks nested along the side of the keep, the training grounds beyond that, the royal forge, and a chapel that had once belonged to Phaeros, but had been torn down and dedicated to Tenebros instead. The gothic structure crafted from blackwood and obsidian and decorated with carvings of ebon roots and ravens—all symbols of the god of the Underworld—seemed obscene as it squatted in the shadows of the Tower. It seemed almost petty to have it here, when this place had so obviously been built to honor the sun god.
