Page 34 of To Vanquish Darkness

She stepped into the tub, hissing as the hot water lapped at her skin and stung the raw skin on her toes. She lowered herself slowly, the heat seeping into her muscles, melting away the tension that had coiled there. It was heavenly.

She closed her eyes, letting out a sigh of relief as she sank up to her neck. She could enjoy this couldn't she? It didn't make her any less dedicated to killing Theo Vallon if she savored a few moments of pleasure in the midst of her most disturbing nightmare.

Then Amalie remembered how easily the servant had entered her room. She was surrounded by vampires. There wasn't time to relax. She needed to start searching for answers so she could find the relic, kill Theo, and take it back to Marcel and Olivie.

A lump formed in her throat as she thought about returning to Mordelles.She could go back.She wasn't going to turn into a monster. Tears welled in her eyelids at the realization that she didn't have to lose her life or her family and friends.

That was the moment she chose to believe Theo's story. If he was wrong, at least she would turn into a vampire with hope blooming in her chest instead of cowering in fear.

But how much did she believe?

Amalie reached for a bar of soap, inhaling the scent of lavender as she lathered it between her hands. She worked the suds into her hair, scrubbing at her scalp until it tingled. She rinsed, then repeated the process with a cloth, working the soap over her skin, scrubbing away the dirt and sweat.

Some of his story was simple to grasp, but she still couldn’t wrap her head around her mother’s death. She’d always assumed Theo had killed her out of thirst, but now . . . Theo recognized her blood. He hadn’t taken hers when he had the chance. Wouldn’t he have known her mother was a guardian? Wouldn’t he have kept her alive like he’d done with her since her mother could have helped him find the sword just as well as she could?

But if another vampire killed her mother, they also would’ve recognized guardian blood. Theo had said they could sense it above anything else. Wouldn’t they have come after her? Or Bethany? Her entire family?

Her head felt like it had been stuffed full of stinging nettle.

Amalie scrubbed until she was raw, and after rinsing, was tempted to lie back and soak. Instead, she forced herself from the tub. She stepped onto a clean cloth on the floor, the water cascading from her skin as she reached for a towel. She wrapped it around herself, feeling the soft cotton against her skin.

Amalie dried herself quickly, then noticed a set of clean underwear, a blouse, and trousers folded on the counter. She frowned. It wasn't common for women to forego a corset or wear trousers, and yet that was exactly what the servant had left for her. She pulled the blouse over her head. The fit was perfect.Very strange.

She finished dressing, applied the salve, then ran a comb through her hair and braided it quickly, tying it off with a ribbon. She took another bite of bread and cheese, pulled a few grapes from the vine, and was about to exit when the servant walked back into the room.

"Dressed already?" The woman looked surprised.

Amalie nodded. "I have work to do. What is your name?"

The woman smiled and bobbed a curtsy. "Henriette."

"Thank you, Henriette. This was lovely."

Her smile widened. "I've never run a bath in this room, but 'ave always wanted to."

"Never? Not for . . . Master Vallon's other guests?"

She crossed the room, using the poker to smother the flames beneath the tub. "Master Vallon does not have other guests. Not since I've been 'ere."

Something flipped in her chest. He didn't bring other guests? What had Theo said, that the others were used to his odd lifestyle? Amalie thought of her uncle. How he'd described her mother slipping out at night, meeting with a vampire after dark. Theo had snuck in her window, hadn't he? Maybe he preferred to do his killing away from home.

"How long have you been here?" Amalie asked, moving toward the door.

"Three years." Henriette set the poker in a cast iron rack.

"And you only work for Master Vallon?"

Henriette shook her head. "I work for the north wing. There are three other servants, one of them my sister."

"And all of you are . . . safe?"

Henriette's lip twitched. "Of course. Why wouldn't we be?"

Amalie's heart thudded in her chest. "Right." Her eyes flicked to a chain around the woman's neck. For a moment, she was back in the house on the river. Her mother tucking her in atnight. A locket hanging off a chain, so close to her face, she thought she could kiss it.

"Don't worry, this key will go straight back to Master Vallon when he returns," Henriette lifted the chain, showing her the key that hung there. "It's the only one for this room, so you don't have to worry about anyone else interrupting you."

Amalie nodded, her words sinking in. Only one key. Henriette would give it back to Theo when he returned. "Do you know where he's off to?"

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