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Casimir glanced away from Caelum’s expectant look to survey her properly. She was a pretty little thing, with long golden hair that flowed past her hips and a lush figure barely concealed by the sheer silk robe draping her body. As she leaned in closer, one of her breasts slipped free, the nipple brushing against his chest. It was a calculated move, one Casimir was certain she’d executed many times
"Sorry, darling," the crown prince drawled, deftly grasping the edge of her robe to cover her. "I’m not really into blondes."
The thrall's face flushed with embarrassment, and she quickly slid off his lap. Holding her head high, she flounced across the room to a table, where two male vampires were engrossed in a card game. She nestled into the lap of the larger male, whowrapped an arm around her without hesitation, then turned his face into her neck and buried his fangs in her soft flesh.
Casimir could hear her moan from across the room.
Caelum scoffed in disgust. “'I don’t like blondes'?” he mocked, sitting up. The thrall in his lap squealed as he dislodged her, but Caelum caught the woman before she could tumble off. “Since when?”
“Her hair is the same shade as my father’s,” Casimir muttered, running a hand through his own black-brown tresses. He’d reportedly inherited the dark strands from his mother—a human woman whom, like most women who were unfortunate enough to beamorte, had died immediately upon birthing him. “He’s the last person I want to think of when I have my fangs or my cock buried in someone else.”
“Well, there’s a plethora of other women here for you to choose from,” Caelum said, waving his hand about the room. Indeed, there were many—some dressed in sheer silk like the thrall he’d offended, carrying goblets of bloodwine or blood cocktails to vampires from the bar, others dancing on tables and clad in animal pelts belonging to creatures thathadgone extinct. “Gods, if I knew you were going to be such a stick in the mud, I would have brought Lazarus instead.”
Casimir scoffed. “You hate Lazarus.” The Sanguis Noctis heir, with his capricious nature and volatile moods, was an acquired taste at best. He was like a bloodhound when it came to sniffing out the weaknesses and hot buttons of others, and Caelum was particularly susceptible to his taunts. The two usually came to blows at least once every Summit, much to the consternation of their respective fathers.
“Yes, but at least he knows how to have a good time,” Caelum said. “Lazarus is a bastard, but he’d be drinking and reveling right along with me if I’d brought him, not sitting there looking like someone had just squatted down and took a massive shit right in front of him.”
Casimir rolled his eyes, but kept his mouth shut. He knew Caelum was right. There were plenty of human thralls here who would suit his preferences—the raven-haired woman dressed in a gown like liquid silver who draped herself across a male lounging on a settee was exactly his type. But unlike many of his peers, Casimir preferred his women fully aware and consenting, and he knew for a fact that the owner of the Midnight Menagerie laced the food he fed his thralls with a light aphrodisiac to keep them pliant and willing.
Truthfully, Casimir would have never chosen this place on his own, or any of the establishments like it here in Umbral, Noxalis’s capital city and the heart of the empire. He would have much preferred to spend the evening with his brother, Taius, but the general was unusually late. Casimir wasn’t sure why Taius was delayed, but Caelum had cajoled him into coming out with him despite the mild concern he felt at his brother’s absence. As the commander of the empire’s naval fleet, Caelum spent much of his time at sea, so it had only been natural for him to want a night out on the town before the Summit began. And while Casimir technically outranked Caelum, refusing the invitation would have cast suspicion upon him. He might have responsibilities as the crown prince, might be expected to embody the “Iron Fist, Iron Heart, Iron Rule,” motto of his house, but even the staunchest members of House Invictus indulged in the pleasures of human flesh.
After all, what was the point of conquering the human race if one wasn’t allowed to reap the benefits?
“Ahh, did someone finally catch your eye?” Caelum said with a grin. He turned to follow Casimir’s line of sight, and the lascivious look on his face vanished. “Tala’s tits! Is that my sister?”
Casimir started, looking back at the woman he’d been staring at earlier. Her waterfall of black hair shifted as she slid up the male’s chest, revealing a pointed ear pierced with diamond hoops, and high-boned, elegant features he knew like the back of his hand. The prince realized then that it wasn’t a vampire she was lying on top of, but a human thrall—there were both male and female servants on offer at the menagerie, after all. He watched with rapt attention as she licked up the side of the man’s neck, her fangs snapping down, and the human gripped her waist, preparing for the intrusion.
“She’s not supposed to be here,” Caelum fumed, leaping to his feet. He ignored the thrall this time as she crashed to the ground and took three steps forward, his attention glued to the dark-haired female, who appeared not to have noticed them. “If our father finds out—”
“Don’t.” Casimir grabbed Caelum’s arm, pulling him to a stop. Already, heads were turning toward them, drawing far more attention than he wanted. “Let me handle this.”
“Are you sure?” Caelum asked, his brow furrowing. “She’s my responsibility, not yours.”
“Of course I am,” Casimir said, a little impatiently. “I need to get back to the castle to prepare for tomorrow, anyway. I might as well take her with me, and she’s far more likely to listento me than you.” He loosened his grip on Caelum’s arm and clapped him on the shoulder. “Don’t get your drawers in a twist, Commander Stellaris. Enjoy what’s left of your night. Your sister is safe with me.”
“Fine,” Caelum grumbled. “But only because it’s you.” His eyes seared into mine. “Crown prince or not, if anything happens to her, I’ll have your head, Casimir. Take care of her.”
With that threat hanging in the air between them, Caelum returned to the couch, which was now empty. A new pair of thralls approached as soon as he sat down, happily offering to pick up where the last two had left off. But Casimir could feel Caelum’s eyes on him as he crossed the room to where his sister was now drinking from the thrall, her long, black lashes sweeping against her high cheekbones, a look of pure bliss on her features.
“Viviana,” Casimir said quietly, standing over her. “It’s time to go.”
Caelum’s twin sister pulled away from the human’s neck, then slowly lifted her head to look up at him. Her eyes were heavy-lidded, her pupils blown with lust, and her pouty lips glistened with blood. This close, he could see the flecks of silver in her midnight irises, like tiny stars lit up against the blackness of her soul.
“Your Highness,” she said in a low, throaty voice. “How convenient that you are here to spoil my fun.”
“Convenient is not the word I’d use,” Casimir said, his voice drier than tombstone dust. “You should know better than to flaunt your father’s rules the night before the Summit. He’ll be harsher with his punishments than usual if he finds out.”
“Ahh, but that’s what makes the thrill so much more intense.” Viviana grinned at him, her fangs glinting in the low light. “We all have to live a little, Prince. Even those of us who are kept in cages.”
The irony that they were standing in the center of a sex club, surrounded by caged animals, wasn’t lost on Casimir. Wordlessly, he offered her his hand, and she took it with a sigh.
“Caelum is right,” she said as she allowed him to pull her to her feet. “You really are a stick in the mud.”
Casimir’s brows arched. “You were listening, were you?” he said as he led her to the exit, weaving through the cages and couches and fake plants all around them. “That means you knew we were here, and you chose a spot in plain view of us anyway.”
“Perhaps I wanted you to watch.”
Viviana licked the blood off her lips, and the sight of her tongue darting against her mouth made Casimir clench his jaw. Tearing his gaze away from her, he marched them through the doors, then signaled for the bouncer outside to call them a cab.
