Page 57 of A Throne of Blood & Vengeance

“I thought I raised you to make better decisions than this, niece.” Carmilla’s dark green eyes looked almost black, but I could still see the disdain in them.

Stall, I told myself.Stay calm and keep her talking.

“And I thought you were honorable and dedicated to your people, aunt,” I said coolly. “It seems we’re both disappointed.”

Carmilla shook her head. “You’re too weak to do what it takes for our people to survive. I tried to give you an opportunity, but you’ve spat on my reasonable requests.” Her mount took a step forward. “Surrender. Return with me. You will marry Demetri and give me an Heir. One who will do right by me.”

I felt Alaric and Kieran go still at my sides. It was an empty threat because she didn’t know Demetri was dead. Still, it hurt to hear it from her lips.

Gods, we’d all been such fools. It still smarted that the woman we’d all respected as the Leader of our House had been the villain all along and not a single one of us had seen it.

That was something I’d have to come to terms with later. For now, we needed to survive—and I wanted more information.

It wasn’t hard to let the pain of betrayal show on my face. “What did you just say?” I let my voice crack a little.

“Don’t play coy, Samara.” Carmilla narrowed her eyes. “You must have some idea of the importance of your bloodline by now.”

I swallowed and looked at the ground like I was defeated before saying quietly, “I’m part Fae.”

“Yes. Courtesy of your father. Knew there was a reason I never liked him.” My aunt shook her head in disgust. “As soon as he came into the picture, my sister stopped listening to me. I should have killed him then. If I had, perhaps things would have played out differently.”

She didn’t look all that heartbroken about it.

“We both know that’s bullshit,” I snarled. “Was it even Velika’s idea to kill them? Or was it an ideayouwhispered in her ear?” I took a step forward, only for someone to grab me and yank me back against a hard chest. Kieran’s scent wrapped around me, but I just stared at my aunt. I thought about that scarrunning across Vail’s face. “You tried to killus.” The words were barely more than a whisper.

For a second, something like regret flashed across Carmilla’s face, but it was gone faster than the lightning dancing across the sky.

“I told your parents to leave you behind, but as usual, they didn’t listen to me.” A cold mask settled onto my aunt’s face.

“Probably because they suspected you were a traitorous bitch!” I hissed, my hand slipping down to the dagger on my thigh, only to be stopped when Alaric clamped his fingers around my wrist.

Something dark and angry twisted inside my soul, and Carmilla’s horse stamped its feet uneasily.

Magic. It was my magic I was feeling. Pity I had no idea how to use it. I took a deep breath. Now wasn’t the time to dwell on that. I needed to be stalling, not picking a fight and probably getting someone I loved killed.

I did my best to ignore the earth magic churning inside me and instead sank further into my Moroi side, letting my bloodlust rise that much more. At least this magic I was familiar with. I let my nails shift into claws that bit into my flesh when I clenched my fists, the pain grounding me.

“You condemned Draven for being half Fae, yet you want a grandchild ‘tainted’ with the same blood?”

“The fallen prince was raised by two egotistical maniacs.” Carmilla’s mouth tightened. “I will teach the child to overcome their foul Fae blood and to wield their power for the greater good. Then I will pass the crown to them so that they might use it to its full potential.”

Realization dawned on me. She knew the crown was fighting her and must have thought it was because she wasn’t of the right bloodline. It was partially true, but mostly, the crown thought she was a vindictive bitch and didn’t want to obey her.

“We won’t let you take her,” Kieran said before I could come up with a response.

All three rangers stepped forward, placing themselves between us and Carmilla while Alaric and Kieran shoved me behind themselves, both of them drawing their own swords.

Damn it. This was escalating too quickly. I concentrated on the thread linking me to Draven and Vail. Still miles away. Had they run into trouble too?

Stop, I told myself.Deal with the problem in front of you before you go asking for more.

My aunt sighed. “Last chance to come willingly.”

For a brief second, I thought about it. I’d escaped once, I could do it again, but I dismissed that idea. Kieran and Alaric wouldn’t let me go without a fight, and they would likely not walk away from that. Our best option was to hit them hard and then run. Our chances would’ve been better if Vail and Draven were here, but it seemed our time was running out.

The river was less than half a mile from us. We just had to make it there and then hope we didn’t get crushed by any trees while it swept us away. Once we lost Carmilla and her rangers, we’d have to backtrack to locate Vail and Draven. I had no doubt Roth’s brothers could find us.

“Remember, this was your doing.” Carmilla shook her head and reached into a bag hanging off the front of her saddle.

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