“Yeah, that isn’t fucking happening,” he groaned, and dropped his head. We sat, the sounds of other customers and their conversations filling the air around us. I sensed a quiet shifter, something small and not very powerful, but otherwise the rest were regular terrestris. I could sense their blood pumping with vigor through their veins, but it did not call out to me in the way it used to.
Ella’s blood . . . she was an enigma, and I wanted every inch of her.
I let my thoughts drift towards her, knowing that if I wanted, I could find her in the city by her blood alone. I let myself imagine doing so, sweeping her into my arms, returning her to my penthouse loft and taking her to my bed. I wanted to bathe in her blood, to taste her pussy, and then bury my fangs into her, sending her spiraling into so many orgasms she begged me to stop. Then, only then, would I climb over her—her blood hot and wet between us—and I’d fuck her until we both collapsed.
“You’ve got a plan then?” Romulus asked, breaking the silence at our table.
“I always have the beginning of many plans,” I countered. I took a breath and rested my chin on my fist. “I cannot suggest anything until we’ve seen the young woman. It is my hope that she will be at Madam Jupiter’s side this evening, despite the suggested inability to socialize well. If one of us could speak with her, it would help me determine the best way to assist her.”
Merlin sighed heavily and ran his hand through his hair. The sigh turned into a groan and I raised an eyebrow in question.
“I’m going to have to find a better fucking suit for tonight, aren’t I?” he grumbled, and shoved himself to his feet. He pointed a finger at me. “You owe me a damn good bottle of rum, Brom. And if I have to buy a new suit, you’re paying for it.” His tone brooked no argument and I nodded.
“My tailor will be expecting you in an hour,” I said, and could not stop the smirk on my face when he rolled his eyes at me.
“You and your fucking games, you arse-mouthed wanker,” Merlin spat, but there was no real bite to his words.
“Is that why you enjoy kissing me so much?” I replied smoothly, and the warlock glared at Romulus as he laughed at us.
“See if I ever do again,” Merlin threatened. “I’ll see you two tonight. And I expect that bottle to be worth it. I hate fucking politics.”
Chapter 19
Eleanora
Madam Jupiter sat at the head of the table in the very same chair my father once sat at. I reminded myself, even as fear wrapped its icy fingers around my heart, that I should rightfully be sitting in that chair. That she should be at my mercy and not the other way around. Titania and Beatrice were not with her, and I was thankful for the small mercy.
But Charles was there, gloating with pride, and on the table in front of my stepmother was my mask. Bonnie had left me at the door to the dining room, and I could not help but wish she was still at my side like Charles was for Madam Jupiter.
“You’ve requested my presence, Stepmother?” I asked, my head bowed before her. As much as I loathed my situation, I was not stupid. The damage had been done and I could only hope to mitigate the fallout. Which required not angering her further.
“Join me,” she said, staring at me and pointing an elegant finger at the chair to her right—the chair typically reserved for Titania.
I hurried to comply, sitting at the table for the first time in so many years. I kept myself facing forward, my head slightly bowed, and my eyes trained on the mask before us. She reached out and slid it to opposite side of me and I startled as the door opened—two serving maids, veiled and dressed in the same manner as me, entered, pushing two silver carts with covered platters. In short order, I had been served a meal more elegant than I had eaten since my father passed. Light buttery yellow eggs, a golden croissant with sweet red jam, thick slices of bacon still hot, and a bowl of fresh fruit. The other servant had poured me and my stepmother two piping mugs of coffee, as well as ice water with pink strips of ginger and lemon slices.
My stomach growled but the appearance of such food terrified me in a way I doubted anyone would understand.
Madam Jupiter began to eat and paused moments after seeing that I had yet to move.
“Eat, Eleanora,” she said, her tone clipped.
I jumped at her words and hurried to do so, though navigating my veil was an endeavor. In the privacy of the staff kitchens, I would take off my veil and eat my oatmeal quickly before replacing it. Something told me that, while her generosity had extended towards the food, it would not go so far as to reach my face.
The taste of the food burst over my tongue and I closed my eyes tight against the emotions welling up inside of me. This is what I knew I deserved. Not the plain oatmeal and basic fare that I had been living on for over ten years. The other staff were paid and could leave the mansion at will on their days or nights off, but I never had that option. I’d been confined to this house, to the grounds for so long I had forgotten what simple pleasure food could bring.
It was a stark reminder of why I went to the ball. If I could somehow escape, to go there again that night, I might be able to secure my freedom at last. But first, I would have to survive this encounter.
Madam Jupiter placed her fork and knife down and patted her lips delicately with the cloth napkin from her lap before cradling her cup of coffee and watching me. Sooner than I had wanted, I finished, imitating her as best as I could, though I felt it safer to stick with the flavored water. If any were to splash on me, I wouldn’t be burned then.
“I am sure you think I am intending to punish you severely for your transgressions in leaving this house and attending the syndicate ball these past two evenings,” she stated simply before sipping at her coffee.
My father had always told me that if I doubted what to do, I should wait and observe. So that’s what I did.
When I did not respond immediately, she sighed as if I exasperated her.
“Eleanora, I do not see how we can resolve this if you refuse to speak to me,” she chided me softly. She smiled, but it did not reach her eyes. I realized now that Madam Jupiter was furious. I looked to her hands holding the cup and saw how tightly she clutched it, as if trying to rein herself in.
“I apologize, Stepmother,” I ducked my head, hoping I sounded meek even as my mind raced on how I could justify this in a way that would satisfy her. “I admit that it was stupid and reckless of me to go, especially without an escort. I was jealous of how beautiful you and Titania are in your dresses and masks.” I sent a silent apology to Beatrice, wherever the woman was in the house.
“I cannot think that you were able to create a dress and mask so well that you would not have been the talk of the evening,” she said, and my heart jerked as I thought of Bonnie. I could not let her be sent away from the house. Not only would it hurt her family, but I would lose my only ally and friend inside this hell.
“I wore one of Beatrice’s old dresses,” I admitted, but did not speak the whole truth. “The colors were so beautiful and she didn’t want it anymore, so I kept it. The satin is so soft.” I pitched my voice a little higher, as if I were still a young girl. Madam Jupiter had spread word that I had mental difficulties and I hoped that she had begun to believe her own lies. “And the mask was easy enough to paint myself, though I wish I had one half as beautiful as yours, Stepmother. Bonnie did help me paint it, but I lied to her. I said it was so I could hang it on my wall. She didn’t like it at first, but I promised I just wanted to have a pretty face.”
“Indeed,” she said, and set the cup down heavily on the table. She picked up the porcelain mask, a pure white face with painted golden lips and red blush on the rounded cheeks. I’d indulged in golden filigrees along the forehead but it was, in truth, a very simple mask. But I found myself fiercely protective of it and realized it was the only face that Brom, Merlin, and Romulus knew me by.
“Did you enjoy yourself?” she asked, and I looked to her quickly, meeting her eyes and somehow feeling as if she could see through m
y veil again.
“It was very overwhelming,” I answered with utter honesty. “Everyone was so beautiful that I hid in the shadows and just watched them as if I were at the theater.”
“Did you . . . make anyone’s acquaintance?” she fished, and I knew I was treading in dangerous waters with her.
“One or two men tried to speak with me.” I shuddered exaggeratedly as I thought of the old vampire the first night. “But I know I am not as elegant or wise as you, and when I stumbled, I would ask myself what would Titania do? So when they would try to talk to me, I would tell them I was too beautiful to be speaking with them and they would leave me alone.”
“Such an interesting tactic, Eleanora,” Her pale lips ticked upwards in an amused smirk. But she reached out and tapped the mask with a manicured nail. “But you see, Titania recognized this mask as the one worn by a woman who had the interest of a very dangerous man. I need to know if that was you, because he is a very bad man, Eleanora. He cannot be trusted.”
Brom. Why the hell was she warning me off him? And could I trust her? I thought of Hei-Sook who had warned me against the three in another way.
“There was a man, a vampire, last night, yes,” I admitted. “He wanted to take me out of the ballroom, but I didn’t feel comfortable with that.” I forced myself to shudder again, hoping she’d buy it. I tried to fake a sob. “I asked him to get me a drink and when he left, I ran away. I hid all night in a room there, scared that he’d find me.”
“Oh, Eleanora,” she said, and pushed to her feet as I bent with fake sobs. She wrapped her arms around me, pulling me to her chest in a farce of a display of love and affection. My fake sobs turned genuine as I was reminded of how deprived of a mother’s love I was. She let me cry for a few moments before she pulled away and crouched at my side. I stole a glance at Charles, who looked dumbfounded and angry at our interactions, and I allowed myself a smirk.
“Would you like to go to the ball tonight?” Madam Jupiter asked, and I gaped.
“What?” I asked, dumbfounded and confused.
She smiled at me, brightly, her eyes wide with satisfaction. “I want you to come with us. I must keep you safe from dangerous men, Eleanora. And you know how I am finding a husband for Titania? I think I’ve found one for you. You could meet him tonight, if you came with us.”
“That sounds lovely,” I said, even though my stomach felt filled with dirt. “I do not have a dress, Stepmother, but at least I have my mask.”
“Pish posh,” she said, that friendly cheerful smile still plastered on her face. “You must wear one of Beatrice’s! She won’t mind at all trading for the night.”
“Oh, that is too generous, Stepmother,” I insisted, feeling my fear turn into panic. “I could never be comfortable in a mask as beautiful as the ones she and you wear. Please, I would be so much more comfortable in the plain mask.”
“I insist, Eleanora,” she said, her tone hardening, and I bit my lip. “If you are to meet your future husband this night, you cannot be in a plain mask such as that. I’ve made up my mind. You will attend with me and the girls, and Beatrice will wear your mask. It is for your own protection, my dear. If you have been sought out by the man Titania claims, I cannot allow you to be found by him. Your father would never forgive me.”
That made me pause, since she never brought up my father without good cause.
“He wouldn’t?” I asked, sincerely. “Who is that man? Titania called him something, but I don’t remember and he didn’t say.”
“Of course he wouldn’t, you poor girl,” she said with some heat, and I bristled at the slight insult. “He is set to inherit the legacy of the Tepes, the Vampire Impalers, descended from Vlad Tepes himself. A very powerful man, and one I am amazed you were able to refuse. Still, it is rumored he enjoys playing with his food before he tears their throat out.”
I wanted to refute what she had said—to tell her how delicately he had drank from me, how amazing it had felt, the blood memories I had experienced with him. There had been no violence in his feeding of me, only a pure desire and need, a quiet promise as old as the universe itself. I felt nurtured and cared for even as my blood fed him. I had never feared that he would rip out my throat in such a base fashion.
“In fact, I’ve thought of something else I must do to keep you safe, my dear.” She tapped her lips as if she’d had a brilliant idea. I flinched as she stepped behind me and gripped my shoulders tightly with her hands, her nails digging into me uncomfortably. “Since the event has overwhelmed you so much, I will offer you a small enchantment—” I tried to stand up, my mind screaming at me to escape, but I was frozen in place even as I felt her magic trickle over me from her hands. “You will be so calm, you won’t even feel the need to speak. I, or one of your beloved sisters, will speak for you. So you can stay safe and protected while at our side the entire evening, Eleanora.”
Madam Jupiter’s magic traveled over my skin with a vile prickling. It crawled across my chest as I struggled against her grip, finally able to cry out.
“No, please, Stepmother, I beg—” My voice cut off, though my mouth strained to form the words. But I could make no sound. She had said I would be calm, but I hated her—I wanted to scream. I could feel it in my chest, but her magic wouldn’t let me.
“Soon, Eleanora,” she said, as she lowered her mouth to my ear. “Soon you will be married to a man of my choosing, and then your mother’s damn line will finally be ended and your father’s legacy will be in the hands of someone who isn’t a murderer.”
Chapter 20
Eleanora
I had spent the remainder of the afternoon throwing up in the small bathroom off of the staff hall. Madam Jupiter’s spell prevented the sounds of cries and sobs, leaving me desolate and alone as I curled up against the cold basin of the tub.
Bonnie hadn’t been allowed to check on me; instead, one of the girls that I hardly knew checked in every so often to make sure I was still alive, essentially. I should’ve been thankful that Madam Jupiter did not insist on someone being at my side—even as much as I wanted the comfort of Bonnie’s arms around me, I didn’t want to share my pain with a distant acquaintance.
I think I finally slept, propped up against the bath, pillowing my head on my arms. It was the first day off from my duties that I’d had in many years. The last time I was left on my own was when Madam Jupiter took her daughters on a trip to Europe and took Charles with them. Bonnie had been kind enough to give me a couple days of freedom so long as I stayed on the property. It had been blissful to spend the day reading in my father’s library, acting as if Jupiter had never come into our lives. That he was still alive.
I felt a light touch on my shoulder just as the girl cleared her throat. I shied away, expecting a blow and she leaped back from me with just as much fear. When I lowered my arms, she looked at my face with wide eyes before ducking her head.
“The madam requests that you begin to prepare for the evening upstairs,” she said.
I nodded, unable to do anything else, and gestured to the toilet. She squeaked in realization and fled from the room, pulling the door closed behind her. I quickly took care of my needs and stared into my reflection as I washed my hands.
The scars were angry and red, like lightning streaks across my face. They looked painful but, honestly, I didn’t even remember much of that fateful night. Just fear, for myself and my father. I remembered him calling my name but I mostly remember struggling as the bandages were changed on my face. The sneer on Madam Jupiter’s face when she reminded me that my father was dead as I cried out for him.
A polite knock sounded gently at the door, breaking me out of my reverie, and I reached for my veil before allowing the woman to take me upstairs. She’d replaced her veil as well, and I realized I didn’t know her name. Samantha? Emily? Was I just as bad as my stepfamily, not bothering to learn the other staffs’ names because I thought I was better than them?
But I couldn’t ask now, even though I wanted t
o. Before we climbed the stairs, I reached out and gently touched her arm. She turned back to face me, a single handle on the bannister of the stairs.
I bowed my head, squeezing her arm once, and hoped she knew I was grateful for her kindness this afternoon. I could feel her studying me, though our eyes could not find one another. Finally she nodded and I let go of her. It wasn’t much, but it was a start. I swore to myself at that moment that, if I made it through the night unscathed, I would seek out her name—to befriend the other girls working in the house. I would not think of them as functional pieces of the household anymore—but to remind myself that they were human, alive, just like me.
She took me to the master bedroom and I hesitated outside the door in confusion. Madam Jupiter had not stayed in my father’s room after he died, instead taking one of the other rooms, and had left his in the same state it was at the time of his death. I was never allowed in there, though I knew others were assigned to keep it clean and dust-free. I had only snuck in there once, during the same trip that I’d been allowed nearly free rein of the house. But the memories were too painful and I had run from them. I swallowed, knowing I could not refuse Madam Jupiter, and stepped inside.
The room was exactly how I remembered it and I felt another whimper curl in my throat. I thought I had cried myself out, but the tears for my father came from an unending well. The bed still had the dark blue comforter that I would crawl under and pull up to my chin as I snuggled my way between my parents. I remembered my father holding me in his strong arms, his beard tickling my forehead as he leaned over to kiss my mother.
It was strange, I could remember so much of my father, but nearly nothing about my mother. I knew she was there, in my memories, but they were hazy, as if time had covered them in a gloss, never letting me focus on her.
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