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The gloomy throne room was a stark contrast to the brilliant, snow-covered day outside. Daciana pulled ahead of me, firmly walking toward the Queen. I caught up with her, then stopped in front of the throne and bowed. We had been summoned after training with the Pawns, told the White Queen wanted to see us immediately.
I blinked in the darkness, still surprised by my ability to distinguish shapes that only two weeks ago would have been in utter gloom. Even if the effects of my first feeding were wearing off—the ravenous hunger that no amount of food seemed to satiate was a known symptom of the weakening effects of the blood—my senses were still sharper than they should have been.
My second feeding was to happen in two days, something I’d been fearing. I didn’t want to kill anyone else while I drank their blood.
I hadn’t been in the White Queen’s presence since I’d become a Rook and was surprised by the strange pull that seemed to tug on my veins as she laid eyes on me. I’d heard the Queen’s blood called to the high ranking members of her Board. I’d thought it was a myth, but now I realized it was true.
“Varujan is dead,” the Queen announced without preamble.
At this news, my insides flipped. I’d been fearing this as much as my second feeding. I stared at the ground, biting my tongue and the urge to tell Lovina I was glad the poor slave was finally free and at peace.
“So?!” the Queen demanded, her voice rising a few octaves. “You have nothing to say.”
I bit my tongue harder. I was a new Rook. Let the veteran say something and she did.
“My condolences, my Queen,” Daciana said in a heartfelt tone.
What? That was ridiculous. Like offering a hawk condolences after stripping a chipmunk down to the bone.
To my utter shock, a single red tear slid down Lovina’s cheek. “He was with me for fifteen years,” she said. “It never gets easier.”
I glanced over at Daciana to see if her jaw was hanging open, but she was peering at the Queen with a hint of sympathy. Really?
“But that is not why I called you here,” Lovina said, wiping away the tear and smearing red across her face. “I will mourn Varujan privately as no one can understand the connection we shared.”
Connection? What was she referring to? The way her fangs “connected” with his neck? There was no way she’d actually cared for her slave? Was there?
“I want another Trove,” the White Queen said in her deep, threatening voice. All signs of sorrow were gone from her expression, which made me wonder if it had all been for show.
“I want another Trove,” she repeated. “And I want one NOW!”
She banged her fists on the throne’s armrests and, in the next instant, she was next to me, her clawed hand wrapped tightly around my neck.
A croak escaped me as Lovina lifted me off the floor. I would have fought, but fear paralyzed me, roaring loudly in my ears, telling me that if did something stupid I would die. I was no match for the Queen.
“You will bring me a Trove, won’t you?” she whispered in my ear.
I couldn’t have answered, even if she weren’t choking me. My tongue was stuck to the roof of my mouth, and my head overflowed with panic. I couldn’t have formed words.
“If you don’t...” She cocked her head to one side. “What do you think should happen to her, Rook Daciana?”
My lungs burned, the small trickle of air passing through my throat barely enough to keep me conscious.
“She... she should be thrown in the pit, Your Majesty,” Daciana answered.
The pit? What was she talking about?
“The pit, yes,” the Queen echoed, letting me go.
As soon my feet hit the floor, I bent over and gasped for air, my chest aching. Lovina shifted her attention to Daciana.
“Why don’t you tell our new Rook about the pit.” She walked around Daciana, a hand caressing the Rook’s forearm, shoulder, and arm as she went. At last, she stopped, placed a finger on the side of the Rook’s shaved head, and let it slide down her jaw all the way down to a throbbing vein at Daciana’s neck.
“The pit is... a hole in a dungeon cell,” Daciana said in a strangled voice. “It’s dark, dank, and deep.”
“It’s a special place reserved for Rooks,” the Queen said, returning to her throne. “It does wonders for motivation, especially after a few days without food, water, or blood.” She finished with a smile of satisfaction.
“What would you say is the worst part of being in the pit, Rook Daciana?”
“When... when you’re there after missing a feeding and... and the Bishops visit.”
The Queen chuckled. “Yes, I know just how it feels. I was there once when I was a Rook. I found my Queen two Troves after that. And you found Varujan, didn’t you, Rook Daciana?”
“Yes, Your Majesty, I did.”
Lovina smiled. “The pit is always ready and hungry like a beast. And Viorel and Rasvan truly enjoy having guests.”
My skin crawled as I tried to imagine what kind of torture the Bishops must use to cause such dread in Daciana.
“But, you don’t want to go in the pit, do you?” she paused, her expression growing sad. “Not when, sometimes, some of its guests are unable to leave.”