I jumped out of bed, wrapped myself in a dressing gown, and pushed my feet into my soft white slippers. I found the key at the bottom of my bedside table and tucked it inside my sleeve. With the door open a crack, I peeked out to find the hallway was dark and empty as usual. I breathed a sigh of relief and kept to the shadows as I walked from my room to the east wing of the house where the staff Bloodletters were kept.
The journey took longer than I expected. The House of Strix was enormous, and I had barely explored any of it yet. I longed for Spring, when I would hopefully be allowed out on the grounds. Maybe go riding with Isaac. I blushed and shook my head. No. I had to focus on the task at hand.
I would go to Greta and convince her not to open her mouth. She would have to keep my secret. I wished that I had some dirt on her to blackmail her with, but I hadn't associated with her since being promoted to be Edmund's Bloodletter. Our encounter last night reassured me that she probably hadn't changed much. She was the same jealous, manipulative woman that she was when we were with Madam Desjardins.
I got lost a few times on my way to the east wing, but finally found the familiar hallway. I stopped at my old door, wondering if they had filled it already. Then, I looked across the hall to Greta's door. There was no light coming from under the door and it was quiet inside.
I raised my hand to knock, but hesitated. No, she was probably sleeping. I clutched the ring of keys tightly and opened the door myself, luckily getting the right key the first time.
I eased the door open and stuck my head in the room. It was identical to my old room. Greta was asleep in her bed and the fireplace had died down to embers. I slipped inside and shut the door behind me.
Greta sighed in her sleep.
I tiptoed over to the side of her bed. Her bloodletting tools were freshly sanitized and sitting on her bedside table. She must have had a client earlier today. I wondered who the staff Bloodletters worked for, then focused myself back to what needed to be done. I pocketed the keys and watched her for a moment.
Gently, I reached down and grabbed her shoulder.
Greta jumped and squirmed away, gasping and looking around wildly, being torn from a deep sleep. Her eyes fell to me and her fear turned into rage. "What in the Gods' names are you doing in here?" She hissed, scrambling back and covering herself with her quilt.
"I came to make a deal with you." I said, going over the words how I had rehearsed as I walked through the halls.
Greta inched away further, glaring at me. "Get out of my room. Now!"
"Shh," I hissed.
"Do you think I'm going to keep your secret to myself?" Greta spat. "Is that what you came here to do, to keep me quiet?" She laughed. "Nice try. As soon as you're out of the picture, maybe then I'll have a chance to move up here."
"What do you mean out of the picture?"
"Once I tell Lady Carrol, you'll be finished. There's no way they could continue to employ a Bloodletter who is having an affair with a prince. Don't you know better? You're not even on the same level as him. I figured you of all people would understand that. Royals don't see us as anything but a source of food and labor." She cocked an eyebrow. "And maybe something else, in your case."
"Don't act all high and mighty. I know about your own physical relationships with clients back in the Blood House." I said. Anger was bubbling inside me.
Greta sniffed. "That was different. I knew my place." Realization glinted in her eyes. "You think you actually have a chance with him, don't you?"
I clenched my teeth.
"Do you think they'll just forgive that? You'll be dead in a day." Greta added.
I was furious. She was willing to have me killed over jealousy. Somehow, I wasn't surprised. "Not if you're dead first." I mumbled under my breath.
"Sorry, what was that?" Greta sneered.
I looked up and seized her in a flash, grabbing her arms and forcing her down. She shrieked and clawed at me. She was surprisingly strong. I wrestled her down onto the bed and wrapped a hand around her throat.
"What are you doing?" Greta choked.
"Getting rid of the competition." I said through gritted teeth. I tightened my hold on her neck, trying to keep her other hands away from my face. She slapped and scratched at me her words lost in wheezes.
Under my hand her skin was turning red, but she continued to fight back. I grunted, exerting all the pressure I could muster. Strangling someone was harder than I thought it would be. My arms were getting weaker, and she fought with the rabid determination of a trapped animal.
At this rate, she'd survive to tell about my attempt and then I'd surely be done for. What was I thinking? I gritted my teeth. I had started this and now I would have to finish it. I used my knee to hold her body down and swiped the hollow needle from her bedside table.
Protests rattled out of her body. "Wh-what are you doing? Violet! Violet!" She croaked.
"I'm sorry." I whispered and forced the needle deep into her swollen jugular.
Her hand flew to the wound, trying in vain to slow the flow of blood.
I held her body until she finally stilled. The red liquid pulsed out of the hole in her throat. Her blood was all over my white nightclothes, the bed was slick with it. I looked at her glazed eyes and stumbled back away from the bed, looking down at myself.
"What have I done?" I whispered, looking at my bloodstained hands. My entire body was trembling as the adrenaline coursed through me. I took another step back and raised my hand to my face.
I pushed down the guilt.
What was this feeling? Domination. Power. Control. Having the ability to end lives as you felt fit. This was what being a Royal was about, wasn't it?
TWENTY-FOUR
I BURNED MY NIGHTCLOTHES IN THE FIREPLACE AND WENT TO BED.
When Judy came to bring me breakfast, I slipped her keys back into her pocket without her noticing. I sat in my room for the rest of the morning, watching the snow melting and wondering if they knew that I had murdered her.
Shortly after lunch, there was a knock at my door. I had done everything the way I usually did it, taking no more or less care in my appearance, how I acted or what I did to spend my time. I wore long-sleeved dresses to hide the scratches that ran up and down my arms. My heart leaped up into my throat. “Come in,” I said and was amazed that I kept my voice steady.
Lady Carrol came in, dressed in green and looking a bit perturbed. “Good afternoon, Violet,” she said.
I jumped from my seat and bowed to her. “Good afternoon, ma’am.”
“I came to share some unfortunate news,” Lady Carrol said. She fidgeted with her hands and clasped them behind her back. “It seems that Greta, the girl from your Blood House, has committed suicide.”
I gasped, and thankfully the reaction was correct. I was shocked that they might have come to that conclusion on their own, but the Lady read it as grief. “No!”
Lady Carrol nodded. “I figured you should know, as you were friends.”
Friends wasn’t really the correct word for it. I nodded solemnly. “What are you going to do about it?” I asked.
Lady Carrol shrugged. “This is quite common unfortunately,” She explained. “But we will replace her when there is another Collection.” She paused and looked at me. “I’m sorry for your loss.” She left without another word.
I collapsed into the chair, holding my hand to my chest. My heart was beating like a drum. That was it then? No investigation? Just written off as a suicide? Did they honestly not care about the lives of the Bloodletters that much? I closed my eyes and hugged myself tightly.
I did the right thing. If I hadn’t, it would have been me that would get replaced.
∾
That night, I went to the library to meet Isaac. The Prince had not arrived by the time I got there, so I sat and waited for him. The pile of books by the plush sofa had been left untouched. I curled up and opened one at random.
In the years leading up to the reforms and the Bloodletting Regulation
Act, Inwaed had been plunged into chaos and the centuries of peace were at risk. King Ronald Saxon introduced the movement with the help of his Royal advisors, the central government and the Ministers from each of the provinces. Policies were put in place to monitor and regulate Bloodletting, to ensure that diseases would not spread amongst the Royals.
I knew all this by now since my lessons with Heather. I flipped to another random page that had been folded over. A passage had been circled.
Before the Bloodletting Regulation Act, scientists had been working to develop a way to transmit blood from Royals to commoners. In times of disease and unrest, Royals were concerned that their gene pool would grow too small. The Royal bloodlines face many challenges, including infertility. With the added pressure of an ailing population, it was thought that to ensure future generations new Royals would have to be made rather than born.
My mouth went dry. With trembling hands, I turned to the next page.
In order to make a commoner Royal, it is theorized that they must transfuse their blood with that of a Royal. At the time of the experiments, the process was dangerous, and the results were inconclusive.
The door creaked open. I slammed the book shut, tossing it back into the pile.
Isaac looked around the library and smiled at me. “Eager tonight?”
I inched over so he could sit beside me. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders. “I missed you last night.”
“Oh, I’m sure you kept busy.”
I swallowed hard. “Yes, I did,” I said. “But I still had plenty of time to think about you.” I discreetly glanced at my nails for the thousandth time that day, just to be sure all I had scrubbed the blood from under my fingernails.
Isaac smirked and kissed me gently. “Well, I thought of you too,” he said. “We were at the home of Lord Mauldin and that annoying wife of his. They seem to think their daughter will be a good match for Edmund.” He rolled his eyes.
I knew that his brother was Isaac’s least favorite topic. I threw myself at him, kissing him with all the passion in my heart. I needed to forget what I had done. I needed to secure a future with him.
When we finally untangled ourselves from each other, I tried to articulately reveal my feelings. “Isaac,” I said slowly.
“Yes, Violet?”
My name sounded heavenly when it came from his lips. “Why is it that your parents are so focused on getting Edmund married and ignoring you?”
“Oh, I’m sure once they get him tied down it will be my turn,” Isaac shook his head. “Why?”
“Well,” I bit my lip, unable to look him in the eye. “I just wondering what will become of us then.”
Isaac hesitated, holding my hands in his. “Violet, I’ve never felt about a girl, the way I feel about you,” he said, making my heart swell. “I don’t know what the future has in store for us, and until just now, I hadn’t given it much thought.” He touched my chin and drew my eyes to his. “Trust me, they’ll be working on Edmund for a while. I’m enjoying not being the center of attention.”
“Why does everyone seem to doubt Edmund so much?” I sighed. “How are you so confident that our situation will go unnoticed for so long? Edmund could marry tomorrow – and then what?”
Isaac sighed. “Well, Edmund won’t marry tomorrow, and I suspect that he will hold off as long as possible.”
“Why?”
“Well, he prefers men.”
“Yes, Judy already told me he prefers male Bloodletters. I don’t see what that has to do with it.”
“No,” Isaac interrupted. “Edmund prefers men in all ways.” He stumbled over his words, embarrassment tinging his cheeks. “My brother lies with men, the way that I lie with you.”
“Do your parents know?” I asked, without judgment. I was unsure of how Royals felt about these things, but for the commoners, all forms of love were accepted.
“I believe they suspect, but it doesn’t matter. If he were born anyone else, it would be fine. However, Edmund is the Crown Prince and as so is required to produce heirs, which is already a challenge as it is.” He shook his head and sighed, leaning back against the sofa and letting my hands fall from his. “I pity his future wife.”
I rubbed my arms through the fabric of my dress. I hadn’t meant to turn the conversation to Edmund again, but yet here we were. “Why did they assign me to him if he refuses to drink my blood?”
“Using his male Bloodletter in public would only fuel the rumors.” Isaac said. “My brother is nearing forty, and it’s time for him to take his place in the family.”
“Forty?” I repeated with surprise.
Isaac shrugged. “I’ll be thirty this summer. Or did you forget about the Royals’ longevity?”
The Prince didn’t look much older than me. I was so used to being around him that I forgot that he was over ten years my senior and that he might live to be to two hundred. I held my hands tightly together on my lap. “Why are you doing this with me?”
Isaac raised his eyebrows. “Well, I thought that was obvious.”
I needed to hear how he really felt. “Tell me.”
“I love you, Violet.” He leaned in and whispered against my ear.
Shivers rushed through my body. So, it was true. “Even though I’ll grow old and die? Even though that if we were caught it would be the end of me? Even though one day your parents will force you to marry a woman you don’t love in the name of politics?”
Prince Isaac pulled me to him and wrapped his arms around me. I settled into his strength, basking in the warmth that radiated from his body. “I don’t want to think about that right now. Let’s just enjoy this while we can.”
I nodded and surrendered my body to lust for the second time that night.
I would not give up yet. I would find a way for us to be together.
I would find a way to become a Royal.
TWENTY FIVE
A WEEK LATER I RECEIVED A REPLY FROM AMELIA. I opened the letter and was unsurprised to see her response. How romantic. She hadn’t missed my hidden meaning at all – she had, however, failed to veil her response. I examined the envelope, and it looked like it hadn’t been tampered with. I’d have to be more careful in the future.
When I looked at Isaac, I saw more than a handsome face and a well-read man. I saw an escape from this prison. A way to break free from being a Bloodletter. I could not sit by idly and wait for his brother to take an interest in my blood. I would not sit the days away in my room, only to be freed when he needed a companion for a social event.
I was Violet Ackerman. I had been raised to be more than just an accessory. My mother had raised me to be a Minister. I was just as well educated, well-mannered and well-spoken as these Royals. I could be one of them. I just needed to find out how to do it.
Prince Isaac was my door into that world.
The next night when I met him, I blamed women's problems and insisted that we read instead. It was easy to mask my intentions by asking to learn more about his great-grandfather. Isaac looked up to him more than his own father.
Isaac cracked open the massive volume of THE ROYAL BLOODLINES, which ended at the death of his great grandfather and featured a brief account of his father's coronation.
I pointed at the photo of his father, King Luther. "That's going to be your brother one day, trussed up like that." The formal outfits for the coronations were heavy with fur and jewels, as it was a tradition to hold them around the Winter Festival, no matter when the predecessor died.
Isaac's lips pressed together. "Yes."
I looked up at him. I had meant for the snide comment to be more of a joke. I leaned back against the chair, tapping my fingers on the mahogany table we shared. "What's wrong?"
Isaac shrugged and turned the page.
I could tell something was bothering him. "Come on, you can tell me. What's wrong? It's not because we couldn't… y'know,"
"No, no. Not that," Isaac insisted with a laugh. "I'm not that kind of guy." He looked down at the
article that recounted the coronation. "I was just thinking how I would have liked to be there." He paused. "And wondering what Edmund's coronation will look like."
Isaac's face was easy to read. "Do you not think he'll make a good king?"
Isaac sucked in a breath. Obviously, he had never said so out loud. Just thinking thoughts like that would be traitorous. He cleared his throat. "I never said that. I remember that when we were younger, he never much cared for it. He slacked during our studies and only did that bare minimum to get by. He hates social events and now that our parents are pressuring him to get married, well, you know how that's going."
I nodded. "The weight that an heir must bear is terrible."
Isaac looked up from the book and studied me for a moment. "You say that with such conviction," he said. "You never told me where you came from. How someone as well educated as you became a Bloodletter."
The gentleness of his inquiry shocked me. He was right, every time he asked, I changed the subject. Not even Lady Carrol knew where I was from. It was a secret that was held by Madam Desjardins fiercely and with good reason. If a Minister was giving his child away to be a Bloodletter, surely that would cause some sort of uproar between the commoners. Especially when the fictitious story of my death had already circulated the newspapers.
Isaac noticed my hesitation. "You don't have to tell me, Violet. I'm just curious; it keeps me up at night," He said, choosing his next words carefully. "Most Bloodletters that come here have to go through rigorous etiquette training. Most of them don't even know how to read. Their situations were thrust upon them in dire circumstances and I always feel sorry for them. You, you're different."
My chest tightened with emotion. If I couldn't trust Isaac with my secret, who could I trust? "Ok," I let out a trembling breath. "My name is Violet Ackerman." I didn't stop when his eyebrows shot up in surprise. "I was supposed to be the heir, the eldest of three children. When my mother died, my father sold me to a Blood House in Afonyr and that's how I was entered into the Collection and came here. I wasn't even eligible yet, but because of the lack of Bloodletters to choose from, I had to stay even though a year hadn't passed."
The Bloodletters Page 17
