Page 74 of Wicked Thirst
“It really wasn’t like that.” I swallowed. It was much worse. “Once they knew I was innocent, they let me go right away.”
Not so right away. They held me for longer than I wanted, threatened me, and generally freaked me out. But the King had been kind, generous, and seemed to genuinely want what was best for his people, which was what brought me back here. Because I wanted to help.
Jessica’s eyes widened. “Oh, I heard it was much longer.”
“So, what’s the dungeon like? Is it as scary as they make it out to be?” Mark shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked back and forth.
I sucked in a deep breath and held it in my chest. “I’ll be honest, it wasn’t great, but they didn’t hurt me, and after an attack like that, I feel like they had to be overly cautious. The King was very kind though. I found him to be comforting.”
Mark’s jaw dropped. “You met King Titus?”
Just as I nodded, a group of vampires walked by, then another. Prisha followed them with her eyes. “Is there a party somewhere?”
Jessica stepped in closer to us. “It’s a speak-on.”
“What is that?” Jester softened his voice and made it sound innocently curious.
“It’s a gathering of vampires to talk about what’s going on in the kingdom.” She bit her bottom lip. “It’s kind of interesting.”
“You mean things get heated,” Mark interjected. “It’s all about what’s next. Who do we trust? Was Marius even right about The House of Shade?”
Jessica nodded in the direction the others walked in. “You should come. You might have something to offer after being held there. You know, because you were innocent and all.”
Prisha nodded. “I think it’s a good idea. Let’s see what it’s all about.”
She motioned for them to lead the way, and they turned to walk down the hallway. We filled in behind them. Jester gave me a sideways look, and I felt his narrow-eyed gaze mirror my suspicious feeling. We hopped on the underground train, and I was surprised to see how packed it was. There was barely standing room. The train descended in a circular motion like a corkscrew going deeper underground. When I first came here, the train shocked me with how fast it moved. If I were human, I’d likely be on the floor with sickness, but as a vampire, the speed and pull never bothered me.
When it finally stopped, I was in a part of the headquarters I didn’t recognize. We were so deep in the Earth that it was cooler here. The smell of the streets above didn’t touch us. The walls were rough like they’d been dug out by hand, and tunnels shot off in every direction. Yet there was a crowd of vampires all moving in the same direction. It was like going to a concert where the crowd moved like cattle. We turned into a larger room that was about the size of a school gym. The walls were still rough like the hallways, but near the front there was a large boulder with a single vampire standing on it. She was tiny with dark skin and a shaved head. She wore bright, silvery make-up over her eyes like a mask that fanned out from her eyes all the way back to her temples. Her lips were coated in shining red lip gloss.
She placed her finger in front of her mouth. “Shhhhh.”
Her voice boomed around the room like she had a microphone, yet I saw none.
Jester’s chest rumbled with a low growl. “I have a bad feeling about this.”
“Me too.” I stared at the woman, recognizing her as one of the vampires who used to work as a bartender in the pub. “She’s a Night Spawn.”
“Quiet.” Her voice boomed and echoed off the walls, but there were no speakers or microphone.
“How is it possible for her to have a power like that?” I lowered my voice.
“This way.” Prisha waved toward us, and we followed behind her to a small space at the back of the room.
I pressed my back to the rough wall and Jester moved to my side and leaned there crossing his arms over his chest. The crowd quieted down to a low hum. The woman raised her hand, and the room went silent. She smirked and her eyes darted from one side of the room to the other. “I give you . . . Marius.”
The room erupted into cheers and whistles. Jester stiffened at my side like he was going to leap forward and attack.
I placed my hand on his bicep and gave it a squeeze. “Not here, not now.”He relaxed a fraction, but his body still thrummed, and when Marius ran out and leapt onto the boulder, a light hiss escaped his lips. The vampires around us gave him sideways glances and started to take steps away from us. I gave his arm another squeeze. “Bring it down a notch. You’re drawing attention to us.”
Marius threw his arms out and gave a hearty, fake laugh. “Stop, no. Really. Come on.”
His false modesty made my stomach turn. This man had just killed people, attacked the innocent for no reason, and now seemed to have a growing fanbase for his treasonous ways. The thought of this was scary. How could anyone agree with what he’d done? And yet the applause was loud and unending. When I looked at their faces, it was as if they were looking at their savior. Marius raised his fist high above his head and gave a fist-pumping motion while pressing his lips together.
“Thank you!” He gave a small bow. “It has been a challenging few days.”
The crowd quieted to hear what he had to say, and I took a step closer to Jester. He glanced down at me. “I won’t let anything happen to you or your sister.”
“Being outnumbered doesn’t make me feel better.” And we were outnumbered by a lot.
