Page 5 of Given

My gums throbbed. Saliva filled my mouth as I let my fangs descend. Her heartbeat pounded in my ears. Suddenly, all I could see was the tracing of blue veins under her pale skin. It’s been so long…

I seized her arm and struck.

She cried out. Then she moaned low in her throat.

Pleasure swept me, and I moaned too. Blood flooded my mouth. It was richer than wine. Better than the most decadent dessert. The thump of her heart grew louder—and then centered low in my core, in the most secret part of me. The place I only dared to touch late at night when I was alone and restless. I ached for her delicious blood the way I sometimes ached between my legs.

Rolund was right to forbid this. It was so very dangerous, this ache.

Elissa shuddered and swayed. The mirror pendant around her neck shifted, and my reflection swung into view. My eyes glowed with an eerie blue light. My mouth was stretched in a grimace, my fangs embedded deep in her arm.

Monster.

The spell broke. I reared back, pausing only long enough to lick the wound to seal it. Trembling, I dropped her arm and spun away. My chest heaved as I struggled to catch my breath. Pleasure still coursed through me. Buried within it, a far more powerful force urged me to pursue more pleasure. To finish what I started.

I clenched my jaw and ignored it.

Behind me came the rustle of fabric. A moment later, Elissa spoke at my shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Given. I know that’s difficult for you.”

She had no idea. No inkling of what she’d nearly unleashed.

Her voice was hesitant. “What of the babe?”

I closed my eyes briefly. The question was enough to wash the last of the pleasure—and the hunger—away. When I turned, her expression was a mix of regret and worry. She rested one hand on the swell of her stomach.

“All is well,” I said.

Relief spread over her face. “Thank you.”

“I should go.” I curtsied, and I was halfway to the door when she called for me to stop.

She walked quickly to me. “Here, take this.” She removed her pendant and put it over my head. The small, round mirror settled between my breasts. “May the Lord protect you.”

“Thank you, Your Grace.”

“Don’t do that. Please, just…” She took my hand and squeezed it. “The Rift is dangerous. Promise you’ll be careful today.”

“As I told Cathrin, I’ll stay on this side of it.” Not our side. As Elissa had so handily reminded me, I could never truly lay claim to that designation. Nothing in Sithistra was wholly mine. Like the Rift itself, I was divided. Halved. Part human, part monster.

And today the two sides of my nature would meet in the middle.

Elissa dropped my hand, but the worry in her eyes remained. “Go then,” she whispered. “You know how Rolund hates it when you’re tardy.”

I curtsied again and left.

Chapter Two

GIVEN

Fifteen minutes later, my brother’s squire led me down the double column of knights and horses waiting in the courtyard. “The king is spitting mad about the delay, Princess. Another five minutes, and I think he would have fetched you himself.”

Elissa’s pendant bounced against my chest. I shoved it down the front of my bodice, then hefted my skirts and walked faster. My cloak fluttered behind me. “Let’s be glad it didn’t come to that, Treston.”

We reached my brother, who stood at the head of the column with a cluster of lords and several of his Green Guards. The Guards were easy to distinguish by their green cloaks, which bore the symbol of Sithistra. As the king’s personal guard, they were the only knights permitted to wear it. Their cloaks depicted the Towers surrounded by the Solgard River and topped by a blazing sun. All the men wore full armor, although their heads were bare. Rolund broke off his conversation and watched in stony silence as I rushed up and offered a deep curtsy.

“Apologies, Your Grace,” I said. “I was speaking to the queen.”

My brother’s gaze sharpened. “Which one?”

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