Page 59 of The Vampire Castle in the Sky

I could not believe it.

It was all too horrible and happening too fast for my mind to process, much less find any reason in it. And this act, no matter how brutal,wasreasonable—calculated. Because after the events of last night, of course everyone would think that Hector was the one who did this to her.

Arawn was right. That drop of poison was never meant to harm me. It was to give Hector motive.

As the uproar quieted down, Hector lowered his hands, and my eyes flew back to Camila’s severed head, the image of which I knew would haunt me for the rest of my days.

“How could this have happened?” I whispered, feeling bleary and bloodshot, my voice so diminished I thought no one heard me.

But Espen surged forward, dashing over the carpet of shattered glass. “Ask your damned husband!”

Hector shoved me behind him, his hand twisting at his back to keep me close. “For the hundredth time, I did not do this.”

Espen’s face contorted in half rage, half agony. “You threatened her. You threatened all of us.” The words were meant to sound harsh, but a sob choked them as his gaze reconnected with his sister’s dead body.

“I understand better than anyone the anguish of such loss,” said Hector, and although I couldn’t see his face, I heard the naked despair in his voice. “I wouldn’t have brought this pain upon you out of mere suspicion. Camilla never came forward. And even if she had, I would have brought her before the king, not slain her in her bed.”

Espen seethed, his lips curling into a snarl. “You spoke of death. We all heard you.”

“Yes, I did,” admitted Hector solemnly. “But my wife will not have a killer for a husband, and I will not have my pride over her.”

From the edge of my vision, I saw Arawn prowling closer as if he were afraid that any sudden movement could set everything off. “Espen,” he ventured warily. “You know Hector is not capable of such savagery. He might’ve made certain threats in the heat of the moment—”

“He meant them,” Espen bristled, his whole body shaking. His clenched fists at his side were dripping blood.

Hector didn’t even try to defend himself. He would not lie. But maybeIcould lie for him. Maybe if I told them that Hector had spent the night taking care of me—

“Father,” Roan intervened before I could. “Please, let’s take a moment and try to understand what has happened here.”

“There is nothing to understand,” Espen growled. “Who else amongst us would have acted so despicably?”

“I don’t know,” spat Hector. “Maybe the same person who poisoned Thea.”

Collette’s icy eyes flickered like silver flames. “Let’s not—”

“Let’s not what, Collette?” Hector cut her off, his voice steeped in venom. “Camilla never confessed, and I would never murder someone out of mere suspicion. This,” Hector hissed, pointing at the blood-bathed bed, “gives me no justice.” He dashed past Espen and faced Alexandria. I got a glimpse of the crazed smile that split his face, and with a sinking heart, I realized exactly what he was about to say. After all, nearly everyone in this room had greater motives than him. “But you’re officially next in line, aren’t you, Alexandria? And Dahlia, now that Camilla is out of the picture, maybe Sybella will finally allow you to marry Dain. Oh, and Roan?” He let out a low, vicious laugh. “Congratulations. Your husband is free.”

Tieran launched to his feet, beating a bloodied fist against his chest. “Have you any idea the kind of torment I will go through—”

“Exactly,” Hector said sharply. “You will gothrough. You will survive, and you will become stronger for it. You will be clean of venom for the first time in your second life. So don’t tell me I’m the only one with motive here. In fact, for all I know, whoever did this poisoned Thea just to make me look more guilty.”

Everyone seemed to draw in a sharp breath at the same time, their faces growing as colorless and haunted as my own felt.

“This is madness,” Arawn muttered, his eyes lifting as if in inward prayer.

A sudden knock struck from deep within the Castle’s turnings, the sound vibrating at our feet.

“No, it’s not,” Roan gritted out. “But it’s about to become.”

23

Thea

Ibarely felt Hector’s arm winding around my waist before we were tearing through the Castle faster than sea nymphs dashed over Sandrea’s waves.

After a few whirling seconds, he put me down by the entrance and caught my wrist in his hand, stealing a moment of peace in this tiny universe of chaos. “I did not kill her,” he choked out. “After I left last night, I went hunting—”

“I know,” I reassured him. “They know it too. They’re just too scared to admit there is a traitor amongst them.”

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