*Rafe*
Standing in the hallway, waiting for someone to open the door to Ainslee’s room, I’m feeling nervous. It’s not a sensation I’m used to, not one I like to admit to. But it’s true. We parted on ugly terms when I saw her earlier today, and I don’t know if she’s had time to calm down or if she’s still simmering over the edge.
I’m also concerned about how some of the other guests at dinner might treat her. I’ve told King Axel why she is here and my intentions, but he thinks I’ve gone too far. Perhaps he’s right, but only time will tell.
Riley will see her in the same light that a lion sees a savory piece of meat.
And Kris is irate about the situation at the culling still, so I’m sure he’ll be a prick.
I just hope that Ainslee can keep from saying anything too harsh to me or anyone else. If she mouths off, there’s a good chance I’ll finally have to take her down a notch or two, which might be more difficult to do now that I’ve started treating her the way she should’ve been treated all along. It’s a strange juxtaposition for sure.
The door opens, and Zoey steps aside just as my eyes land on Ainslee behind her.
Vampires don’t need to breathe, though we often do It’s a good thing it isn’t necessary at the moment because she has taken my breath away. I stare into her eyes for a moment and then let my own trail down the length of her. She is a vision in a blue gown the same shade as her eyes. Not only that, but the gown accents her tiny waist and her ample breasts. My mind immediately goes to places it shouldn’t, and I am no longer concerned about dinner in the least. There is a bed behind her; images of what I’d like to do to her on it flash before my eyes.
“Holy hell,” she mutters, and I think I see a flicker of the same desire in her eyes. But then it’s gone, and that same irritated look she always gives me is back in place. For a moment, I wish I really was John so I could be her friend. It was nice having her head on my shoulder this morning.
But that person doesn’t exist, and we are not friends. At the moment, I simply need her to stay alive so I can fix a decades old problem.
Offering her my arm, I say, “Shall we?”
I expect her to refuse to leave her room or at the very least shun my polite gesture, but she slips her thin arm through mine, and I turn to lead her down the hallway.
An uncomfortable silence wraps itself around us as we walk. I have so many things I want to say to her, but I’m terrified to do so. If I say something wrong, she’ll bite my head off. If she bites my head off again, there will be consequences. We are in my house now.
I try to think of something benign to say, so I ask, “Did you rest?”
“Yes.” It’s one word, spoken in a clipped tone, nothing more. A clear indication that she doesn’t want to talk to me. A smart man would let this go.
I’ve never claimed to be a smart man.
“How do you like your room?”
“Fine.” She doesn’t even turn her head in my direction as she answers.
I purse my lips, deciding this is stupid, and I’m not going to ask her anything else. We head down the stairwell in silence.
That lasts for about two minutes before I say, “You look lovely.”
“Thanks.”
I suck air in through my nose, knowing she is trying to be civil, and I’m simply not letting her have her way. Really, why do I insist on forcing her to talk to me when she doesn’t want to?
I’m about to ask her something else, though I haven’t decide on what, when we round the corner into the corridor that leads to the great hall, and Zeke is there, striding toward the doors. He pulls up short and turns to face her.
“Well, I’ll be jitterbugged,” he declares, immediately getting a giggle out of Ainslee. “Someone sure does clean up nice.” He comes over and kisses her cheek, and I let go of her arm. She leans into him, and a fire begins to blaze deep within me. It’s stupid; it isn’t as if the girl belongs to me. Nor do I think Zeke regards her as anything other than a friend. Nevertheless, I don’t like it.
Ainslee does, though. “Thank you, Zeke. You look nice as well.”
“What, this old thing?” He looks down at his suit as if it were some rags he’s stitched together. “Thanks. Are you ready for dinner? I bet you’re starving. Have you even eaten since last night?”
“I haven’t,” she says, and I immediately felt like a heel. Why hadn’t I thought of sending her something to eat? I knew she’d be sleeping is the excuse that comes to mind, but I should’ve done better. “It’s okay, though. I’m used to starving.”
“Well, that’s over now. I’m sorry. I should’ve asked the kitchen to send something up to you when you got here. They’re not very good at remembering how to take care of people who don’t drink blood. But, hey, we’ll live and learn.” He looks at me. “Are you ready, Your Highness?”
I’m still upset that she let him kiss her cheek. I’m upset that she seems to like him so much. I’m upset that the two of them are able to carry on a friendly conversation. So I only nod. My friend arches an eyebrow, but he doesn’t question me.
Ainslee slips her arm into his, and now he is the one leading her inside. Zeke steps aside and gestures for me to go first. Normally, I would insist they go ahead, but I’m too irritated to look at them at the moment, so I just head to the doors. The guards open them, and I walk inside to find everyone else is there.
It’s not a large group tonight, but it’s more than just the royals. The king doesn’t stand when I walk in. Neither do the princesses. But Kris and Jerim rise, the latter smiling and giving me a nod in greeting. Kris, who is seated next to the king glares at me. So I guess he is still angry. This is not a surprise, but it is getting old.
As I approach my seat, a butler pulls out my chair, but I wait until Zeke and Ainslee arrive. Kris doesn’t seem to recognize her at first, but when she looks over at him, he mutters, “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
The king clears his throat, and Kris zips it, but he’s not happy. It’s not as if I hadn’t warned him about this earlier in the day, but maybe he thought I’d be bringing her to dinner dressed in the same outfit she’d had on during the culling.
Zeke leads Ainslee to the seat next to me on my right, though I’m at one head of the table and the king is at the other. Riley is on my left. Then Jerim, which means Zeke will be seated next to Ainslee and Sophia with Kris next to the king on the other side. We are a cozy group tonight.
I nod for everyone who is standing to sit down, and Zeke helps Ainslee with her chair before the butler who is attending her can get there. Why does he always have to be such a damn gentleman?
“You’re the girl?” Riley asks as dinner is served. “The one from the culling?”
Clearing my throat, I say, “Riley, this is Ainslee. I mentioned her to you earlier.”
“You did.” She turns and looks at me, her eyes anything but friendly. “But she’s not what I was expecting. You have a lot of diamonds for someone who allegedly lives in squalor.”
Ainslee’s hand goes up to rest on my mother’s necklace. It looks beautiful on her. “They’re borrowed,” she says quietly. “None of this is mine.”
“Oh.” Riley looks away from her, and I hope that’s the end of it. Riley can be rude, but she doesn’t usually go out of her way to be ugly, not in public anyway.
“You look gorgeous.” Sophia peers around Zeke to look at our guest. “It’s lovely to finally meet you.”
“Thank you,” Ainslee says. “You as well, Princess.” Not that she’s been properly introduced.
“Princess Sophia, Ainslee Bleiz,” I say. Sophia smiles. “Your Majesty, King Axel.”
“It’s an honor, Sir.” Ainslee bows her head in a manner I might’ve thought she wasn’t capable of when I first met her.
“Welcome.” The king’s tone is anything but welcoming, but then, he is usually indifferent any more.
“You know Kris.” I move on before my advisor can say anything rude. “This is Jerim.”
“It’s a pleasure.” Ainslee inclines her head and speaks in such a tone I never would’ve thought she wasn’t born into this. It’s in her blood, I suppose.
“The pleasure is all mine.” Jerim smiles politely, but his words make me tense up again.
“This is Princess Riley, and you know Zeke.” I have made my introductions, and the servants are bringing in our goblets of blood, as well as Ainslee’s plate. I hope the hard part is over.
“It’s nice to meet you, Princess Riley.” Ainslee does her best to be gracious to a woman who will no longer even look at her.
I would like to drink my dinner and leave as quickly as possible because this is an obligation, not an affair worth remembering, but there is, no doubt, going to be conversation. I brace myself for it.
The waiter removes the cloche from Ainslee’s dinner, and she makes a gasping noise.
“Is everything to your liking?” The king sounds slightly offended that she would react to the food at all.
On her plate, I see exactly what I asked the chefs to prepare, a dish I thought she would enjoy. A large steak, roasted carrots, and mashed potatoes with lots of butter. While we don’t serve the feeders such elaborate food, we do have important people who prefer something other than blood in the castle frequently enough that we try to maintain the resources to whip up something like this on short notice. The feeders eat better than rumor would have one believe.
“Everything is wonderful.” Ainslee turns to smile at the king, using a polite tone. “I was just surprised, that’s all.”
“Why? Were you expecting a plate of blood?” Kris shakes his head like Ainslee’s very existence has him annoyed beyond reprieve.
She smiles and chuckles lightly, as if she is assuming he was telling a joke, though we all know he wasn’t. “No, sir. I just don’t believe I’ve ever seen this much food in one place, that’s all.”
“Really?” Riley lifts her goblet and takes a small sip before she says, “You don’t look like you’ve skipped too many meals.”
Ainslee’s eyes bulge, and for a moment, I see the flicker there that ignited in front of the bakery. I think she is going to snap at the princess who is clearly just trying to get a rise out of her. Ainslee is clearly underweight. Anyone can see that. And the fact that she has skipped many meals so that other people in her family can eat is something she should be quite proud of.
Rather than fire something off at the princess, however, she simply says, “I have been able to eat well a few times recently, thanks to Prince Rafe.” She turns and smiles in my direction, but she will not look in my eyes, and I know that this is her way of showing me she is grateful for the food but still angry at me.
Riley shrugs indifferently, probably irritated that her dig didn’t go over the way she’d planned. I hope we can change to another topic of discussion, but the king has other plans. “Well, I’m sure that will be different now that you know the truth of who you truly are.”
“Your Majesty—” I begin, hoping to find a way to change the subject before Ainslee gets a chance to ask him what he’s talking about. I told him the truth, but I also explained to him that I hadn’t spoken to her about it yet. Either he forgot that bit of information, he wants to be the one to tell her himself, or he’s just stirring up trouble.
I’m guessing it’s the last option; Riley comes by it naturally.
“What’s that?” Ainslee asks before I can finish my sentence. “Sir? That is, I don’t quite understand what you mean, Your Majesty, King Axel.” She clears her throat and reaches for her water, nearly spilling it. Zeke catches the glass just in time, sparing her further embarrassment since it’s clear she is frazzled. I can only imagine it’s difficult for her to sit in this room with these people. She’s doing a wonderful job. Or she was until the king made that statement.
Now, he’s about to drop a bomb.
“Oh, that’s right. I forgot.” The king takes a long drink from his goblet, leaving the rest of us here to wait for him to continue. I want to interject, but I know he’ll chastise me if I do. He’s made it clear now that this is what he’s doing. He finishes his drink and gestures for a refill. As the waiter finishes, he turns back to Ainslee. “I suppose life will be different for you now that you know you’re the great-granddaughter of that mighty wolf I killed all those years ago, Darius Bleiz.”
Ainslee hasn’t even cut her meat yet, but her fork clatters against her plate as it falls from her hand. “I’m… what?”
Axel looks up at her, an annoyed yet also slightly amused look on his face. “That’s right. You’re his great-granddaughter, and according to our next king, that makes you very important. Welcome to Shadowmanor, Luna Ainslee.”
When she turns to look at me, there’s more fire in her eyes than I’ve ever seen before—and that’s saying something.