‘Please play!’ Thyme begged, grabbing hold of my knees. I shook her off, staring at the door. ‘Violet,’ she continued to whine. ‘Pretty please play!’

‘Thyme,’ I replied, exasperated, and she tugged me by the hand as I sat on the bottom step of the staircase in the entrance hall, refusing to move. ‘I keep telling you, I don’t feel like it okay?’ I wrenched my hand from her surprisingly strong grip and her lips trembled. But somehow, I just couldn’t feel sorry for her as I usually did. Too much was running through my mind.

Thyme had recruited me to help her search for her absent nannies – neither of which we had found – and, resigned, I had agreed to look after her whilst the others attended a council meeting. The entrance hall was empty, devoid of the butler that usually guarded the doors. Most were attending the meeting. But that was the least of my worries.

I was more worried about what Lyla knew. If she knew about Fabian, what was there to say she didn’t know about my father?

‘I’ll scream if you don’t play, Violet.’

‘Look, Thyme, if I give you a piggyback ride, will you stop asking?’

She nodded eagerly, and squealed in reply. Sighing, I picked her up and swung her onto my back. She shrieked excitedly as I spun around, her tiny arms choking me as she clung onto my neck. After a while I stopped, dizzy. The air had turned distinctly colder, and I wondered if they were finished with the council meeting.

The room levelled out and a quiet laughing seemed to fill my ears. A laughing I recognized: a patronising, broken chuckle.

I turned slowly, letting Thyme slip from my hands to the ground. The double doors of the entrance were thrown open, three figures framed by the twilight. One held a bleeding body in their hands, the unfortunate victim limp, with arms twisted into positions that could only cause pain.

My eyes locked onto the man stood in the centre, his dark crimson cloak billowing in the wind. His manic laughing echoed around the room, as Thyme scuttled behind me.

‘You just won’t die, will you, Violet Lee?’

I opened my mouth and screamed.

THIRTY-THREE

Kaspar

‘But Your Majesty, what do you intend to do with the rest of the Crimson family. Surely they cannot still attend court after their son disgraced them so?’

‘Valerian Crimson has as good as disowned his son and will therefore be allowed to return to court in due time.’

I clenched my fist under the table. ‘I don’t think that’s such a good idea. Violet keeps mentioning that Ilta Crimson will come back for her. She’s terrified. She can hardly be left alone.’

Mutterings erupted around the room at that news and my other fist clenched as patronizing comments passed from person-to-person, most denying outwardly that Ilta would ever do such a thing. But they haven’t seen Girly. Whatever he said to her, he meant it.

Ashton cleared his throat and stood to address the council, many of whom were missing as preparations for Ad Infinitum, the annual celebration for dark beings, began. Charity was one of them and I was thankful that was the case. ‘The girl need not fear. I have personally searched the whole of Kent, far beyond the boundaries of Varnley. I am one of many doing so and we have contacts patrolling the borders of Transylvania, should he choose to return to Romania. Ilta Crimson has left the country, I am quite sure of that.’ He bowed and sat down.

I spoke up. ‘I don’t disagree with you, Ashton, but think about the message we would send to Violet by allowing her violator’s father into court. You say you want her to change of her own free will, but you’re not exactly making it an easy task for any of us to convince her.’

Again, there were murmurs of agreement, mainly from the younger vampires who I knew would understand Girly’s mindset better than the rest of the council.

Father shot me a scathing look I knew all too well. It is better to keep our enemies close, he said in my mind. And I share Miss Lee’s suspicions. I believe Ilta had a motive behind his actions.

‘The decision has already been made. The girl has no reason to come into contact with him, in any case,’ he declared, aloud. His booming voice told all that no more was to be said on the matter. ‘Furthermore, none of what occurred on the night of Autumnal Equinox can reach Michael Lee. I have no doubt that the Prime Minister would allow Lee to go ahead with his plans if they knew. News has already spread, so I can only urge you to guard your words, particularly around those with sympathies for the slayers.’

‘What of Miss Lee, in any case? Does she show any signs of conceding?’ Lamair demanded to know in his brusque manner. I sealed my lips, leaning back on my chair as far into the shadows as I could; glad I had chosen to sit in one of the corners. She let me take blood from her last night. She’s wavering. But was that her or what Ilta has done to her?

‘Kaspar, you are rather quiet. Do you not have any thoughts on this?’ Eaglen asked pointedly, turning his gaze to me. His unnaturally polite smile told me he was up to something again. Heaven knows what. But why does he always have to involve me?

‘I have nothing to say.’

‘Are you quite sure about that? You are far closer to Miss Lee than any of us here.’ He gestured about the room and I followed his hand around. My eyes caught sight of Fabian, who sat on the opposite side of the room, fists clenched, clearly angry at Eaglen’s false statement.

I sighed, knowing Eaglen would not give in until he had heard me out. ‘No, I don’t think she hates us. I believe she has a begrudging trust in us.’ I crossed a leg over the other, resting my ankle on my knee, leaning back into the gloom once more.

‘But do you think she would ever want to join us?’

I narrowed my eyes. ‘I could not tell you that, Eaglen. I don’t have the gift of seeing what is to be,’ I snarled, letting my lips curl back; tensed until a spine-chilling scream cut through my anger. Her scream.

I remained still for an instant before leaping up and knocking the chair over, flying from the room, Fabian hot on my heels. Behind us, we left the shocked faces of the councillors.

Horrific thoughts sped through my mind. Violet was as good as alone. Could it be possible?

THIRTY-FOUR

Violet

My eyes locked with his for a moment, the scream ceasing to flow from my drying lips. They slid down to the dead woman lying in the arms of one his accomplices, who looked down at Thyme with a manic grin, revealing his reddened fangs. Her gaze was fixed on the woman and through the gore I could vaguely recognize a black-and-white uniform, complete with pinafore and laced cuffs.

‘Nanny Eve!’ Thyme wailed, her eyes emerald bulging, tears falling unchecked from them.

‘Oh my god,’ I breathed, seeing for the first time the woman’s face. Her neck was pierced, blood staining her porcelain skin and white clothes, occasional drops sliding from her hand, which fell lifeless towards the floor. I felt bile rise in my throat and swallowed it back, gulping.

I pushed Thyme further behind me, hiding her from the atrocity before us, scurrying back.

‘You cannibals,’ I spat, at the figures framed by the setting sun.

He only laughed harder. ‘Try telling that to your pretty little saviour back there.’ He nodded behind me and I glanced over my shoulder, keeping as much of my gaze as I could on Ilta. There, in the corner stood Kaspar, the council members flooding into the room. He was visibly shaking, his fists turning purple as they clenched together, anger pulsating through his veins as his eyes faded to black. An arm was placed firmly on his shoulder and I saw Ashton physically restraining him. Another vampire I did not recognize stepped forward to help.

‘Ilta Zech Valerian Crimson, second son of Lord Valerian Crimson, the Earl of Wallachia, you are hereby charged with the attack and attempted rape of a human under the King and Crown’s Protection and shall await trial under the penalty of death. Henceforth, you forego any statuary rights held by a vampire, under the laws and treaties of the dark beings. Furthermore, I reserve the right to banish your family from the royal court,’ the King declared in all his menacing glory, slowly moving towards me and Thyme. Six vampires stepped forward too, wary of the three stood before them.

Ilta too took a step forward. ‘Vladimir. May I call you that now as I no longer have any rights? I see that as fair.’ He smirked. ‘And do you really expect me to remain silent? I would not stay silent if this were my last breath.’ His eyes very purposefully slid down my body, lingering on the scars he had so delightfully given me. He sighed. ‘It is a shame that such a pretty little thing – one day perhaps a beautiful thing – was ruined, don’t you think?’

Ruined.

‘You will die for what you have done to her,’ Kaspar growled from behind me.

‘I know I will, Kaspar. That is why I have come to the conclusion that if I must die for such a pitiful creature, I might as well achieve what I aimed to do in the first place.’

I barely had time to scream before he was lunging towards me; his mouth spread wide, eyes intently focused on my neck. I felt Thyme being snatched from behind me.

Yet the pain never came.

On the dusty ground of the drive two blurs, rolled about – Ilta and Kaspar – each diving for the other’s neck, frantically scrabbling for control as the two vampires who accompanied Ilta were thrown to the ground by Fabian and Cain, gasping for breath, their bulk nothing compared to the speed of the younger vampires. The corpse of the nanny was thrown aside, forgotten, still leaking blood.

I looked away as liquid spurted from the hearts of Ilta’s accomplices, their faces forever etched with fear, and found myself looking at twenty or so bloodthirsty creatures, all eyes red, each slowly licking their lips; each intently focused on the bloodbath before us. A few inhaled the sickening scent hanging in the air, snarling and spitting as the stench burnt their throats. Yet they held back.

That is until Kaspar lowered his fangs to Ilta’s throat and ripped his neck in half. I screamed as blood and sinew was ripped from Ilta’s carcass, monster after monster now throwing themselves at the ravaged corpse. His stomach was sliced open by a single nail, vampires lowering their heads to drink the blood from the organs torn out and treated as offal. I clamped my mouth shut, gagging uncontrollably.

Thyme darted forward, but not before I grabbed her hand, shaking my head. Yet as she turned to me, her petite mouth opened to reveal her pinprick, thorn-like fangs. She sniffed at the air, tugging on my hand as she tried to edge towards the carnage before us. Suddenly, she whipped back around and plunged her fangs into my palm. I yelped and yanked my hand back, nursing the two tiny incisions. She flew outside, dress trailing behind, whipping at her ankles, coming to a halt beside the body of her nanny.

She stared at it for a moment before taking a hand in her own, raising it to her lips as though to give her one final kiss goodbye. Instead, she pierced the flesh, sucking her nanny of blood via the wrist, slurping it down like a baby would milk.

This time I was unable to control myself and I doubled over as bile poured from my mouth, causing my throat to burn and my eyes to sting as tears continued to fall.

I had wanted Ilta dead, but never like this.

My gut clenched one final time and I gingerly wiped my mouth, still gagging – but my stomach was empty.

My eyes rose to see Kaspar throwing what was Ilta, now just flesh clinging to bone, aside, unwanted organs littered about in a pool of darkening blood. The chests of his accomplices had been ripped open and the nanny’s corpse was being raided for organs that might still contain the precious blood vampires worshipped.

‘You never did deserve the name of vampire, Ilta Crimson.’

Ilta’s bones clattered as they fell to the red-stained dust and gravel of the drive and I looked on through the double doors of the mansion called Varnley, paralyzed and horrified. Kaspar looked up, his shirt bloodstained and torn, tainted at the hands of the vampires he had just declared did not deserve the name.

My gaze locked with his, as he brushed blood-matted hair from his brow, his chest rising and falling rapidly, not even a drop of sweat falling. Thin black plumes of smoke drifted into the stinking air, as they burnt the remains of the four corpses.

A single drop of blood slivered from one of his fangs and I wavered, unsteady. My eyes flickered and I just caught the concerned face of Kaspar before they closed. I was sent plummeting to the floor to land in a pool of my own vomit, my consciousness spiralling away from the scene, reminded of the true atrocity of the creature called vampire.

‘Stop! Stop!’

‘Vampires are not gentle, loving creatures. It is not in their nature to change, or to adapt, to accept others. Their love is not what humans would call love, and lust consumes them on a level we will never understand. They do not grow old as we do, but age as stone does: they gradually weather, slowly perish, so slowly it is unnoticeable. But in the end, stone is a fixture forever, as are they.’

‘Don’t come near me.’

My words pierced the silence as several pairs of eyes followed me as I folded myself into the ledge of the window. I felt as though I was under interrogation – incidentally it was not I who had committed the crime.

‘Why are you acting like this?’

I exhaled loudly, caught between a laugh and a sigh. ‘It was a shock, seeing that. Don’t get me wrong, I remember Trafalgar Square … I just didn’t expect you to be able to do that to your own kind. And now for you all to seem so unbothered by it … it’s unnatural.’

‘We drink the blood of our own kind. Violet, Ilta deserved everything he got. But I admit we lost it. I don’t really know what happened.’ Fabian glanced over his shoulder at the two Varn siblings behind him, both with their arms folded, perceiving me through sceptic eyes. He started to walk towards me, but my eyes met with Lyla’s cold gaze and my breath caught.