Author: Kalayna Price

“Uh… how much longer?” I asked, freeing my fingers and clamping my hands in my lap. “At this rate, it’ll be dawn before we’re dismissed.”

The door banged open, and flames flickered to life on the wicks of the many candles scattered around the room. I jumped, squinting in the sudden glow of light.

“You have rooms here,” Tatius said as he strolled through the door. “Dawn is not a concern.”

He lowered himself onto the chair across from us in one smooth movement, then threw one leather-clad leg over the chair arm. Nuri followed. She sat perfectly straight in her chair, not leaning against the plush cushion.

Silence, aside from the slight hiss of the candles, filled the room. I held my breath, willing my racing heart to slow, to not disturb the stillness or draw attention to itself. Nathanial leaned back. His arm stretched along the back of the couch, his elbow bent so his fingers rested lightly on my shoulder. He looked relaxed, but the blank mask consumed his features.

“You summoned us?” he asked, the words as casual as if he’d mentioned a recent sport’s score or offhand current event.

Tatius cocked his head to the side, making the pointed tips of his blue hair sway around his face. “I summoned her, Hermit. Just her. You’re here as a courtesy because you are her sire.”

I flinched. I couldn’t help it. Tatius scared the crap out of me. I’d grown up in a society of predators, and no matter how often I was told I’d be Torin, clan leader, one day, it had been pounded into my small kitten body that the biggest predator made the decisions. Tatius was, by far, the supreme predator in the room.

“You found a body,” he said, his tone deceptively cheerful.

I nodded. He knew I did. He was there. Everyone was there.

“Words, Kita. Unless a cat’s got your tongue.” He laughed at his own joke, and I gritted my teeth. “Why did you touch the body?”

“I smelled the blood,” I said, and Nuri nodded.

The pre-teen council member stared at me. She wasn’t just watching and listening, but studying me like she could read secrets under my skin. I readjusted my weight on the couch, uncrossing my legs and recrossing them.

“So before you smelled the blood, did you notice anything unusual about her? Did you see anyone else near the body?”

I shook my head.

Tatius frowned at me. “I need your words. Speak.”

Okay… because that isn’t weird or anything. I glanced from him to Nuri. She was still watching me with that same intensity as she perched perfectly straight at the edge of her seat.

I cleared my throat. “I didn’t notice anything remarkable except that the couch was mostly free. I don’t remember anyone else close to her.”

Tatius looked at Nuri and she nodded. “All truths,” she said.

I frowned at her, but she continued to stare at me, her over-expanded pupils absorbing the entirety of her irises. I swallowed, hard. Vamp powers—it had to be. I looked away.

“Why were you at the couch alone? Why weren’t you with your master?” Tatius asked.

“I needed… air,” I said, and Nuri frowned at me.

“Truth,” she said, but puzzlement made her voice turn the single word into a question.

Tatius huffed under his breath and swung his leg around to the front of the chair. “Air.” He shook his head, and, propping both elbows on his knees, he leaned forward. “You sought out a hiding spot because you were hungry. You followed the scent of blood because you were hungry. And now you sit in front of me, still hungry.”

Nathanial’s fingers tightened on my shoulder. A warning? I couldn’t deny anything Tatius had said, so I didn’t answer.

After a moment, Tatius’s gaze left me to bore into Nathanial.

“I ordered you to feed your companion. Could you not find her an adequate meal?”

Nathanial’s arm behind my head turned to unmalleable wood, like he’d frozen and dared not move.

I frowned. “He didn’t need to feed me. I hunted.”

Nuri cocked her head to the side. “Truth?”

The word was definitely a question that time.

“I did.”

Tatius rolled to his feet in one liquid movement. He crossed the short distance between his chair and the couch and gripped my face between his thumb and fingers. He tilted my chin back, and I let my gaze follow sluggishly. I wasn’t looking forward to meeting his intense eyes, but as I finally dragged up my gaze, I found him studying my face, not staring me down.

“You haven’t hunted. I’d wager you haven’t fed well in a week.”

“I hunted,” I repeated.

“She believes that she has,” Nuri said, but I couldn’t see her beyond Tatius’s mesh-covered chest.

“She hunted,” Nathanial confirmed. His hand still gripped my shoulder, tethering me like a lifeline amid Tatius’s attention. He cleared his throat and added, “She hunted and she caught something.”

Tatius’s gaze swiveled toward Nathanial. “You mean someone.”

When Nathanial didn’t agree, Tatius’s fingers tightened on my face. Just a quick flex, which he might not have been aware of. “Someone,” he restated.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Nathanial’s head move.

“She has been hunting wild game on my property.”

Tatius’s fingers squeezed hard enough to make fire lance through my jaw. “Animal blood?” The question was quiet. The kind of whispered statement a person makes when they know that if they speak louder, they will yell. His hand flexed again then fell away.

I opened and closed my mouth, pain rushing in along with the blood filling my cheeks. I wanted to touch the tingling skin, but I didn’t want to show that much weakness. Instead I sat as still as possible as Tatius rounded on Nathanial. He grabbed two fistfuls of Nathanial’s tux and hauled him off the couch.

“Animal blood?”

Oh yeah, now he was screaming.

“What were you thinking, Hermit? She can’t survive on animal blood. If she goes mad and loses control, whose head do you think I will have to come after, huh? Whose?” He shook Nathanial, who said nothing. “You turned her. You are responsible for her actions.” Tatius released Nathanial’s jacket and shoved him away.

Nathanial’s back slammed into the couch, but his body melded to the seat. The fluid motion looked intentional as he propped an ankle over his knee. Undisturbed. Relaxed. His emotionless mask was still firmly in place. Tatius’s words might have well bounced off it for all the effect they appeared to have.

Tatius’s lips twisted. “Nuri, you can leave,” he said without looking away from Nathanial.

She slid off the chair and glided across the room. At the door she paused. “Shall I inform the Collector you will meet with her shortly?”

“No. Just send Samantha to find Kita someone to eat.”

I sprang from the couch. “No. I can’t—”

I didn’t make it fully upright before Tatius caught me, one large hand locking around my jaw again, his thumb and fingers digging into my cheeks. He lifted his hand until I was forced to balance on my toes. Then he leaned in, his intense eyes inches from mine.

“You can. You will. I have to make a show of strength. A half-starved vampire under my protection isn’t good for my image. Now be silent. I have things to discuss with your master.”

Without releasing me, Tatius turned, his attention moving to Nathanial. “As you missed most of the council’s investigation, in brief, it has been uncovered that the body belonged to one of the Collector’s… oddities. An albino,” he said, ignoring my struggle to free my face. “We don’t know when the body arrived on the couch, how it got there, or why no one but your companion noticed it. The location and theatrical treatment of the body indicates a message, but Nuri has not been able to find anyone who has knowledge of the crime. The Collector is incensed. She wishes to examine Kita’s memories. I have granted her that right.”

My memories? Oh hell no. I was not letting some vampire sink their teeth in me. Wrapping my hands around Tatius’s wrist, I attempted to pry his hand off while pushing backward with my toes. My efforts earned only a tightening of his fingers.

“Let go.”

He ignored me. “You will not interfere in the examination, Hermit.”

I sagged, hoping my full body weight would pull me free, but Tatius held on. Pain radiated from my jaw into my throat, and I got my feet under me once again.

Nathanial cleared his throat. “Tatius, perhaps if you released—”

“No.” His fingers flexed tighter and I couldn’t hold back my yelp.

I could only see him in profile, but I didn’t miss the smile that twisted his lip at the sound. Prick. Balling my hand into a fist, I slammed it into his elbow joint.

He rounded on me, drawing me higher until the toes of my sneakers trailed along the carpet.

“That’s twice you’ve struck me,” he said bringing our faces close enough I could have bitten his nose—if I could have moved my head. “Ever strike me again, and I will hit back. I promise, I hit harder.”

He opened his hand, letting my jaw slip between his fingers. The release came so unexpectedly, I dropped, landing in a clumsy crouch. My hands flew to my face, and I didn’t bother not rubbing my aching jaw this time. The sweet copper taste of blood touched my tongue from where my teeth had sliced through the insides of my cheeks. My fangs descended.

At least he let go.

“Stand up,” Tatius commanded.

I seriously debated not standing, to remain crouched beside the couch. Hell, curled in a ball sounded even better.

But I wasn’t a complete idiot. I pushed off the floor, keeping my head down as I straightened. Nathanial stood. His arm slipped around my waist, offering warmth and a measure of security, but I didn’t dare lean into him. I’d shown enough weakness already.

“Shall we discuss how you are to act when I present you to the Collector?” Tatius asked, and I could guess the question was addressed at me based on the patronizing tone.