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“What are you thinking about?” Maximus asked from across the drawing room. He was sitting with a leg swung over the armchair, enjoying a glass of red wine. He wore a loose, white shirt and a pair of dark blue velvet pants that ended mid-calf. His boots lay discarded under the side table.
Scented candles burned in every corner of the room, impregnating the air with the smell of cinnamon and spices.
Neither Talyssa nor Timotei were in the room for which I was grateful. I didn’t think I would be able to resist their closeness. Even the scent of the servants in the palace, the new Challengers in the dining hall, the denizens out on the checked streets of Acedrex twisted my stomach with hunger, forcing me to press a hand over my mouth if I got too close. Not even keeping my stomach full seemed to completely stave off my cravings for blood.
It hadn’t been like that after the first feeding. Was Talyssa’s blood responsible for the change? Or would things get harder after each feeding? I wondered if it was the same for Bianca. Next time I saw her, I would ask her.
“Well?” Maximus said, growing annoyed at my lack of answer.
“I was thinking about your sister,” I said.
Maximus’s wineglass froze midway to his mouth. His eyes narrowed, but he said nothing.
“So is your name Maximus Dragoslav?” I asked, feeling a measure of satisfaction at seeing his surprise.
“Once,” he said, then threw back his head and finished the wine in one gulp. “I’ve been King Maximus for so long that sometimes I think that other person never existed.”
His words chilled me, making me fear that one day, I would be like him. I opened my mouth to ask him about that previous life, but he stood abruptly and started pacing the room.
“I saw you training this morning,” he said.
I frowned. “You did?”
How? He hadn’t been present. I had trained indoor with Knight Traian, my Quadrant leader.
“You looked strong,” he said.
Indeed, I was. I’d been able to lift a six-hundred-pound barrel without breaking a sweat, and I was able to run and climb faster than both Knights. It was wrong. I shouldn’t be able to do that. The way Traian and Arcos looked at me let me know they didn’t like it. Did they suspect I’d had the privilege of feeding from one of the King’s Troves?
I narrowed my eyes at Maximus. Where was he going with this?
“I think you’re ready,” he said. “It’s time to prove yourself, little thief.” He paused, then, with a smile that flashed both pointed fangs, he said, “I want you to steal Queen Lovina’s scepter.”