Page 27 of Given

Energy ran through the crowd of courtiers, who watched with glowing eyes. Several hissed and bared their fangs. Some primitive part of my brain—the part I’d inherited from my human ancestors—recoiled. They were predators in fur-trimmed silk. Faster and stronger. Vampires are mortal the same as men. I clung to that thought as my heart beat faster.

One of the priests went to the line of thralls and guided a woman forward. Someone must have told her what to expect, because she extended her arms.

The priest lifted a length of ribbon and lay it across her upturned wrists. The strip of red shivered, parted in the middle, and slithered around her wrists. It formed itself into two perfect bracelets with no discernible seams. The priest lifted another ribbon and held it to her throat. Her hair was piled on top of her head and fastened with combs. Abruptly, I realized all the females wore this style.

The ribbon wrapped around her throat.

Laurent’s eyes snapped open. They glowed like polished metal. His beauty seemed sharper now.

And far more dangerous.

The music changed. The beat became faster and more insistent, like it sought to sweep everyone in the hall toward some inescapable crescendo. My heart thumped painfully. I leaned forward, the fingertips of one hand braced on the table.

Laurent brought the woman’s wrist to his mouth. With a flash of white fangs, he bit her directly over the ribbon. Her eyelids fluttered, and she moaned. He sucked for a moment and released her.

Immediately, a priest took her arm and steered her away. Her eyes were heavy-lidded, her lips parted as her chest rose and fell rapidly.

The next thrall—a man—stepped forward. Like the others, he was young and attractive. He looked at Laurent with a mix of fear and awe…and more than a little interest.

Laurent smiled.

The priest placed the ribbons. Laurent slid his fingers gently through the man’s hair. He tipped the man’s head to the side and sank his fangs into the ribbon around the man’s neck. The man’s hoarse, needy cry echoed off the stone walls. When the priest led him away, there was a conspicuous bulge between the thrall’s legs.

The pattern repeated. One by one, the thralls came forward. The priests wrapped their throats and wrists, and Laurent sampled their blood. He varied his bite. Sometimes he struck at the wrist. Other times, he buried his face in a thrall’s neck. Through it all, the drum pounded and the priests chanted in their strange, sibilant tongue. The ceremony was simple but decadent. I couldn’t look away. Couldn’t tear my gaze from the sensual sight of Laurent bending his dark head and drawing life straight from the vein.

My heart pounded in my chest and between my thighs, where I was damp and aching. My breasts ached, too, my nipples two hard, tingling points. Somewhere in my mind, a thought buzzed. I should be afraid. Laurent could turn to me at any moment. How could I go to him in such a state? If he put those ribbons around my throat and bit me, everyone would see my desire. They would know.

But I couldn’t seem to care about that. All I could do was stand there with the drumbeat shaking the ground and the sweet scent of human blood soaking the air. When the priest escorted the last thrall away, Laurent lifted his hands once more. His mouth glistened with blood. He sucked on his lower lip and released it, leaving it wet and clean. I wanted to trace it with my tongue.

The drum stopped.

Laurent raised his voice. “We welcome these thralls as our honored guests. For one year, they will serve the court. We take only what we need. They give only what they choose.”

Every vampire in the crowd bowed their head.

Except one.

Varick watched me from his spot near the wall. His golden gaze was like an arrow. It pierced the haze of desire that clouded my head, sapping the heat in my veins and leaving nothing but cold ash behind.

“—Princess Given of Sithistra.”

At the sound of my name, I realized Laurent had continued speaking. And now he was walking to me. The whole court watched him round my table and come to my side.

My insides trembled as he took my hand.

He held my stare with his glowing eyes. The rubies in his crown glittered. “The princess has also joined our court. She is mine. No one touches her.” He flicked a look over the crowd. “Is that understood?”

The vampires murmured their assent.

Laurent brought our joined hands to his mouth. I stiffened, but he merely brushed his lips over the veins at my wrist. “Then let us feast.”

The crowd cheered.

The musicians burst into song.

Laurent’s gaze moved boldly down my body, taking in my breasts and the long strip of skin exposed by the deep cut of my dress. “You look beautiful in red.”

“Thank you, Your Grace.”

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