Gasps of disbelief alerted Stephan to the fact that something in the ceremony was not going as expected. He’d been distracted by Estelle’s serious face as she took on the responsibility for Wavena’s entire military. The moment she’d taken the sword and held it high, he’d had to stop himself from cheering.
“Is that thing what I think it is?” muttered Renault beside him.
Helene, frantically fanning herself with a program, nodded. “A lithu. My baby’s deputy is a lithu.”
Stephan dredged his memory. The lithu were vampires, but as he remembered it, they were vampirus extremus—no light, miserable, and scary. Yet the woman on the dais stood under the chandeliers without bursting into flames.
Ignoring the whispers that filled the room, Estelle spoke the ritual welcome in her clear voice and passed over the dagger before she took the other woman’s hand as she gazed out into the audience. She said nothing but her message was clear: they were a team.
“I can’t believe it,” said Helene. “A lithu. What was Wavena thinking? How could she do this to us?”
Stephan was amused to note that the queen was now simply Wavena.
“The war with the Dawning must be going worse than we thought,” murmured Renault. “If we need to ally with those monsters, things are bad indeed.”
Estelle looked over in their direction and Stephan gave her a discreet thumbs-up. She ghosted him a wink then put her serious face back on.
Wavena concluded the ceremony as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened and the vampire elite stood en masse and turned to each other in a frenzy of gossip. By the time Stephan made it to the door, Estelle’s minor had been identified as a disinherited princess, a mutant, a vampire raised by lithu, and Wavena’s hidden daughter. Naming her as seneschal minor was a triumph, a disgrace; an action to be feared and one to be lauded.
The only thing everyone agreed on was that Estelle was going to have her hands full.
Stephan followed the crowd into the reception, where he took a glass of champagne and began to float around. The room was too crowded for him to move very quickly and he soon realized to his glee that vampires were lightweights when it came to alcohol.
It took several minutes of dedicated drifting until Stephan found a conversation worth spying on. Two women, both beautifully adorned with jewels, were on what looked like their second glass of wine. They stood near a small table that Stephan casually leaned on as he pretended to look at his phone.
“Could you believe the look on Nadia’s face?” said the woman wearing the red gown.
“Not surprising, was it?” The second woman flagged down a waiter and took another full glass. “When you think of how much money she gave Madden. Well.”
“Gave Madden? What does Madden have to do with the lithu?” Red Gown looked around furtively. “Keep your voice down.”
Damn. Stephan inched closer, eyes on his phone.
“James told me that Sylvia told him that she heard Madden was the one behind those lithu attacks.”
“What attacks?” Red Gown sounded honestly bewildered.
“Oh, my dear. Did you honestly not hear? Vampires have been going missing. The lithu have to be behind it.”
“I heard that’s been going on. Why, though?”
“Who knows?”
They were joined by two other women and the conversation turned to vacations, gowns, and investments. Stephan took his leave. Some interesting tidbits there, and he wanted to see if he could find more. To the left at the far side of the room he saw Raoul standing with Lady Nadia. The wicked part of him wanted to go up and greet them, but there was little point. He’d heard enough insults over his life and had a fairly good grasp of the wide breadth of topics that people could find to be hurtful about.
A hush fell over the people in the ballroom and he turned to see Estelle, her deputy, and the queen standing in the door. They waited for the reluctant applause to eventually fill the room before they walked in and then, as if they had discussed it in advance, moved to separate areas. Although Stephan knew it would be useful to watch Agata and the reactions of those around her, he couldn’t take his eyes off Estelle.
Estelle always had a presence. She was a woman who could take command of the room simply by being in it. Correction—she could command when she wanted to. At other times she would melt back and simply watch with that observant gaze. Now, in this ballroom, at this moment, it was as if she was followed around by an invisible spotlight. Stephan watched with growing respect as Estelle worked the crowd. A small touch on the arm here, a laugh with a group of men in tuxedos there…she made sure to connect with each person who crossed her path and the vampires in the crowd waited eagerly for her to acknowledge them.
What was interesting, Stephan noticed, was that no one stopped her for an extended chat. Whenever Eric attended any social situation, he was immediately mobbed and forced to listen to hours of inane comments, thinly veiled requests, and flat-out demands. He looked around for the queen and Agata and saw the other two women also wandering through the crowd without being pulled into conversation. Was this a vampire thing? Was it something specific to an invocation?
“They need to speak with everyone who attends, otherwise someone will complain of being slighted.” Raoul the librarian came up beside Stephan holding a glass of red liquid. Stephan refused to look too closely but comforted himself with Estelle’s comment that vampires didn’t like dead blood. “Since there are so many of us, if they actually stop, we will be here until tomorrow.”
He didn’t ask Raoul how he knew what Stephan was thinking, but tried to keep his mind clear. Hard to tell who was a mind reader these days. “Shouldn’t you be with Lady Nadia?” This could be his chance to get closer to the woman.
“Funny you should say that,” Raoul said. “She sent me over to fetch you.”
“With those exact words?” Stephan decided not to take offence. When in doubt, remember Hanlon’s razor and assume ignorance instead of malice. “I thought she found my presence an abomination.”
Raoul shrugged. “I wouldn’t take it too personally,” he said. “Auntie lives off hate and bile. I think that’s part of the reason why she’s alive. She should have died years ago.”
Stephan eyed him curiously. Raoul’s tone was matter-of-fact. “She’s your real aunt?”
“I have that tremendous bad luck.” Raoul held his glass up to the light and examined it with one narrowed eye. “She’s also a great supporter of the library. Some of those old books are quite expensive.”
“Well, what does she want with me?” Why was the man being so open? They were hardly friends. Perhaps whatever he had heard from the Dawning representatives at the restaurant had shaken Raoul enough to move him away from Felix’s influence.
“I assume she wants to hear more about the lithu,” said Raoul. “She sees you as a way to get information.”
“Because I’m a big dumb masquerada?”
“It’s like you know her. If it helps, she considers me an effete and useless scholar.”
Not really. “I don’t know anything about Estelle’s deputy. You’re the one who told me it was a big secret.”
Raoul laughed. “I wish I’d know how big. I could’ve made a mint from the bookies. Anyway, people don’t say no to Lady Nadia. It may even be a useful contact for you as an ambassador.”
“What happened to her eyes?”
“People usually don’t ask.”
“Probably because the ‘people’ are all vampires and they already know.”
Raoul raised an eyebrow. “True. Tell me when you ask her for the story so I can get a front-row seat.”
With that he walked away. Stephan stared after him. He was right—Stephan did want to know more about Lady Nadia, and he wanted to know more about what those Dawning traitors had told Raoul. He always had the option of telling Lady Bitch to shove it.
Not very ambassadorial, Stephan. With a heavy sigh he followed Raoul through the crowd.
* * * *
This was going well. Or at least not as bad as it could have been. Wavena’s announcement had overshadowed any doubts people had about Estelle, and although she felt bad for Agata, she was selfishly grateful it decreased the number of passive-aggressive digs she herself had to face.
Estelle bestowed a few more wide smiles as she searched for Stephan. Dammit. The last she’d seen him had been in the western corner of the ballroom and she’d deliberately made her way there. Now he was gone and she was face-to-face with her mother.
“Estelle, my love. Why didn’t you tell us?” Helene fanned herself frantically, the tip of her nose and her ears bright red. “It’s so embarrassing when people ask us, it makes us look like we weren’t even in the know.”
“Hello, Maman,” Estelle said stiffly. There was no point reminding Helene that Estelle hadn’t known herself. The queen’s pithy warning before the ceremony had left much to be desired. “You look lovely in your new dress,” she added dutifully.
“More important, I don’t know where your brother is,” Helene said, her tone peevish. “This is the perfect occasion for him to be looking for a position at court.”
Could her mother not go a single day without making it clear Felix was her primary concern? Not even today? Estelle extracted herself from the conversation without screaming like a child and moved through the middle of the crowd, covering her face with a gracious expression even as tears pricked at her eyes. Stupid. She poked her tongue into her fang and welcomed the brief pain that dried her tears.
A quick look confirmed she had connected with every person in her area, which meant she had done her job and could now enjoy herself.
Yeah, right. Today was only the first part of the ceremony. Tomorrow, she would take Agata to see the Ancients. Even the thought of having to be in their presence was enough to make ants crawl up her spine.
She looked over to the right and saw Agata working her part of the crowd. She was primed to feel sorry for Agata—vampires could be real bitches when they wanted—but Agata had the situation well under control. Although the vampires regarded Agata with either outright horror or sneering indifference, they weren’t mocking when she moved away. What was she doing?
No matter how Estelle personally felt about working with a lithu—and she had a lot of feelings she needed to process—Agata was the seneschal minor and she would be treated with the respect due to her. Estelle had to find out what was going on. It took a few minutes for her to work her way through the crowd. Before she made it to Agata’s side, one of her friends pulled her over, eyes wide. “Did you hear what she said to me?” she whispered. “She told me she was here to keep us in line.”
“You must have misheard,” soothed Estelle. “It’s loud in here.”
The vampire snorted. “Not that loud. Do you think she means war? You know what the lithu are like. Evil.”
“I don’t think—”
“Did you see she’s in the light? Everyone knows lithu can’t stand light. Maybe she’s not one after all.” The woman seemed faintly cheered.
Estelle shook herself loose and the queen appeared a second later. Agata didn’t even bother to acknowledge the two of them and continued on her path.
“Your majesty.” Estelle wasn’t usually that formal with Wavena but she was…yes. Hurt. She should have been told.
Wavena touched her shoulder. “Tomorrow morning we’ll talk.”
Estelle nodded. With so many ears around, this was no time to discuss what the hell her queen had been thinking. They both turned to where more dumbfounded vampires had been left with mouths agape in Agata’s wake.
“I’ve got this,” Wavena murmured. “Go save our masquerada ambassador from Lady Nadia.”
Jesus. Quite the celebration night this was turning out to be.
Estelle had seen Lady Nadia during the ceremony, her wizened face malicious. Despite the respect she garnered because of her old age and the horrible experiences she had lived through, Estelle considered Nadia vile. She hid her nastiness under the guise of an honest old woman wedded to tradition, but she hated everyone who was not a vampire and despised those vampires not in her clan. She merely disliked those not directly related to her. That she had even shown up to the ceremony was surprising, and Estelle assumed it was because she wanted to put a damper on the proceedings by her spiteful sotto voce commentary.
She caught sight of Stephan through the crowd, following Raoul. The drinks flowed heavily now, and a few of the vampires were flushed and teetering on their high heels. The noise in the room echoed and Estelle wished she could cover her ears with her hands. That, however, was not the action of a strong and controlled seneschal.
Fake it until you make it. She pasted on a regal smile.
“Estelle, how good of you to join us,” said Raoul when she approached them. Stephan cast her a pained glance from his position beside Lady Nadia.
“What was Wavena thinking?” demanded Nadia. “A lithu. They’re dirty. Conniving. How can you trust them? They’re almost as bad as the masquerada.”
Stephan sighed and Estelle realized this was not the first time he’d heard this today.
“You have big shoes to fill, girl,” added Lady Nadia. “Cressida’s loss was a blow.”
“I think Agata will make an excellent deputy,” Estelle said calmly, ignoring Nadia’s comment. “She’s intelligent and that’s what we need right now.”
“Intelligent?” Raoul said. “How can you tell? You’ve hardly spoken to her.”
“I trust the queen,” said Estelle. She left it at that and it was enough. Raoul clamped his lips together and glanced worriedly at Lady Nadia. Estelle wasn’t surprised. Lady Nadia might be old, she demanded respect, but she was still subordinate to Wavena.
“I’m tired,” said Lady Nadia abruptly. She’d understood the rebuke. “Raoul, you will take me home now.” With that she swept away without another glance, leaving Raoul to chase after her.
“I thought the old woman was blind,” said Stephan.
“She is.” Estelle started to yawn then snapped her jaw shut and straightened her shoulders. She had to be careful about demonstrating any weakness in this crowd. “You can tell because she has no eyes.”
“How does she navigate through the crowd so well?” Stephan asked. “Does she use echolocation? Bats are a vampire thing, right?”
“Funny. She’s very skilled.” Estelle looked over to see that Raoul had caught up to his aunt; Nadia had managed the extended length of the crowded ballroom without pause. Well, Nadia’s extraordinary spatial abilities were a low priority. “How did you get stuck with Nadia?” Estelle asked. “She doesn’t like masquerada.”
“I know,” Stephan said glumly. He grabbed two glasses of wine from a passing waiter and handed one to Estelle. She drank deeply, grateful she had done her duty in greeting the attendees and could indulge in a drink. When she finished it, she grabbed a second one.
“Was she very bad?” Estelle asked. Lady Nadia had no filter at the best of times so she could imagine what the old woman would be like with a captive audience. Of course Stephan would be polite, even if he wasn’t the ambassador.
An ambassador who looked very good dressed up in a tuxedo. A few of the other vampires passed by to get a better look at him, and Estelle did her best to not glare at them. They may be friends, and Stephan wasn’t her property, but she didn’t like the idea of someone picking him up right under her nose.
That was plain rude.
“She was bad,” Stephan said. “I want to know more about her.”
“Anything in particular?”
“The eyes, for one. Raoul wouldn’t tell me.”
Not surprising. “Nadia used to be a soldier. Not the best, but good enough. She was taken prisoner by a group of lithu and they did that to her as revenge.”
He lowered his brow. “That’s terrible.”
“That’s war, and before you get all choked up about Nadia, let me assure you that she would have done the exact same.” Cressida had told her Nadia reveled in delivering pain. “How was Raoul?”
“He was politer than I expected.” Stephan rubbed his chin and Estelle heard the rough texture of his stubble against his fingers.
“Maybe he’s better without Felix around.” Her mother’s complaint came back to her. “By the way, you haven’t seen my brother?”
Stephan shook his head. “Perhaps he wouldn’t want to come to see you take on your new role?”
Maybe, but Felix’s need to be in the center was strong. She frowned. “Felix would give his right arm to be here at court. No matter how he feels about me, an invocation is a once-in-a-lifetime event.”
“Estelle!” Her mother bustled up, face now completely pale. “I was so worried about your brother that I called the house. He’s not there. Oh, ambassador. Hello.”
“Maman, because he’s not in the house doesn’t mean there’s a problem.” Figures her brother would find a way to wreck even her invocation without being here. The man was almost magical that way.
“You don’t understand,” her mother said. “I spoke to Marianne. All his things are there, it’s him. He’s disappeared.”