Page 126 of Claimed By Fangs and Darkness
The hairs on the back of my neck tingled. I was hanging on Vesper’s every word. Weallwere.
“Courtesans are respected in King Earle’s court. They are treated with dignity and spoiled lavishly. Why else wouldintelligent, beautiful mortals flock to serve the born?” She sighed. “I was naive. My upbringing had sheltered me. Because my town was protected from the born, it was hard for me to understand the darkness festering in the realm. I thought my family was overprotective, their thinking old-fashioned or repressive. And to be fair, it is true that mortals are treated best in Prospyrus. Of course, I witnessed and experienced born violence, but I also knew born who were protective and virtuous, at least on some level. My worldview divided the born into bad apples versus the noble, those who abided by traditions and treated me well and those who were lost to cruel hedonism. I was lured easily into my line of work, and my patrons enjoyed keeping me happy. I also reveled in the freedom my lifestyle provided me. I belonged only to myself, or so it seemed. I could do or be anything I wanted. Money and access were never a problem. I believed I was living out my ultimate dreams.”
I could see it now—why someone like Vesper would be drawn to such a life. While I’d hid from the world, she’d bathed in the world’s depths with reckless abandon.
“The first time I met Conrad, I found his enigmatic presence seductive.” Fire consumed Vesper’s entrancing blue eyes. “He set his sights on me immediately, paying attention to no one else during his diplomatic stays at court. He was cold, unreadable, except when he allowed me to see these brief glimpses of somethingmoreunderneath. He spoke to me about science, astronomy, and logic. He remembered everything I ever told him with an intensity I thought charming. He brought me gifts that were meaningful to me, unique and specific. His visits became more frequent, his stays longer. His possessiveness was apparent early on, but he wasn’t violent or controlling. Not at first. He was patient. His advances were flattering. His manipulation was expertly crafted, doled out slowly over time.”
Clarke’s eyes mirrored his friend’s fire, his hand finding hers again. The tenderness made my heart warm as I braced for what came next.
“In the beginning, he pretended to respect my freedoms and passions. He told me he only wanted to add to the beautiful life I’d cultivated. In reality, there was nothing he hated more than my independence and self-reliance. My friends at court tried to warn me about Conrad’s conservative, religious leanings, the things he espoused behind closed doors. But I didn’t listen. I was too far gone, and Conrad convinced me that the attacks were born of jealousy. He slowly isolated me from everyone but him. He poisoned me against people, activities, and places I’d once loved. He staged attacks against me from all angles, forcing me to recognize him as my protector and only true confidant. He knew I had no interest in marriage or rigid institutions of any kind. So he?—”
Vesper shut her eyes, chest suddenly rising and falling. Clarke put his arm around her, rubbing her shoulder. He whispered something, but she shook her head. She slowly opened her eyes.
When they met mine, my heart already shattered for her.
“He tampered with my birth control,” she said. “And I fell pregnant.”
I couldn’t stop my mouth from falling open. My chest tightened with grief for Vesper. Kylo swallowed, squeezing my hand as darkness churned in his eyes. Idris shook his head, empathy pooling in his features the same as Blade and Harmony.
“He told me I was notoriously forgetful, that I clearly hadn’t taken my last dose as I should’ve. He let me feel so guilty and distraught, and then he promised to take care of me. But when I told him I’d be visiting a healer to terminate the pregnancy, the mask finally dropped. He’d been slowly infecting my mindwith confusion, isolation, and doubts about my own perceptions and views of the world. He shamed me for making such a choice, ignoring all of my protests that most babies conceived to vampire-human pairings were sick and unviable. Those that survived, of course, were succubi and incubi. He told me it would devastate him if I were to murder his child; he said his bloodline was strong, and me and the baby were divinely protected. I was only twenty-five at the time, and it felt like my life had only just begun—before I methim.”
I was sick to my stomach. All that had once been bright and infectious about Vesper had dimmed, as if mirroring the transformation Conrad had thrust upon her. The youth he’d stolen.
“He somehow got me fired from my dream position at court, and my entire world crashed down around me. I had only him, by his design. He convinced me to come back with him to his estate, to take a break and clear my mind. He promised me I could still see a healer to terminate the pregnancy if I chose, which was a lie, of course. The mask had already slipped before, but now it was obliterated. The man I met in Prospyrus was not the same lord who brought me to his country estate. He allowed me to believe we were going to his residence in the city, but that had been another lie—even as he convinced me that it was my fault I hadmisunderstoodhim. Now I was in a small, born-ruled town, completely alone, pregnant, and trapped. He was controlling and volatile, his coldness wielded as a weapon. Now that he had me, all pretenses were gone. He was cruel. Nothing I did was ever good enough for him. He told me he detested my impurity and my past. He hated everything about me, really.”
Vesper took a break to sip her water.
“Why? Why chooseyouif he clearly wanted the exact opposite?” I asked.
Vesper’s laugh was bitter and humorless. “That’s the thing about men like him. They want a challenge. They don’t want someone who is already pliable and easy to control. They want someone who shines, someone free and independent and powerful. They want tobreakyou. Like it’s an art form. And he did break me. While his healers ensured my baby was healthy, Conrad meticulously destroyed every ounce of my self-worth and sense of reality. By the time he first struck me, we were already married, and I was three months away from giving birth. It was in that moment that I made a vow.” Vesper’s palms glowed, a tiny flame escaping her fingertip. It danced for a moment before she pulled the magick back inside. “I didn’t care what happened to me anymore. But my baby girl would never know the violence of her father. I would do anything I had to do to get her away from him. I would stay alive and healthy forher.Everything I did from that moment forward was for my daughter. She was the only thing that kept me sane from within my gilded cage. In the rare moments I was allowed to be alone, I sang to her. She responded to my voice, but she caused a damn racket when I sang. At one point I feared her excitement may break one of my ribs.”
Tears slid down Vesper’s cheeks. She smiled ever-so-briefly.
“I told her about all the things I loved. The music, the art, the people. I wanted her to experience everything that had been stolen from me.” Vesper recentered herself, swallowing down a sob. She stared at the table between all of us. “Sorry, I know this has been a long story. I’ll wrap things up.”
“Don’t apologize,” Kylo said, and we all murmured the same sentiment.
“We’re honored to listen,” I said.
She stared off into the distance now. “I did manage to escape, after my daughter was born. Conrad was away, and I seized an opportunity to implement the plan I’d been crafting for months.I’d been blood marked, so I knew my time was limited, and soon Conrad would be alerted to my scheme and hunt me down. That was why I gave my baby to a merchant leaving for Valentin. I told her not to tell me exactly where she was going, nor did I tell her anything about myself. Only that I was an abused woman on the run. It was the hardest and best thing I’ve ever done, saying goodbye to my sweet girl forever.” Her voice cracked, features twisting with anguish and strength.
“All my life, I’d been chasing beauty. And nothing I’d ever experienced in my twenty-five years of indulgence had prepared me for the awe-inspiring sublimity of holding her in my arms. I know her nature makes her a target, even if her glamour gives her a human appearance. Some of my dearest friends from my old life were succubi and incubi. So I equally know how special, kind, and lovable she is.” She wiped her tears and leaned into Clarke’s hold as he continued to rub her shoulder. “Wherever she may be.”
I’d never met a sex demon before, at least not to my knowledge, given their glamours. General sentiment wasn’t favorable, as they were descended from Lillian the same as the born. Sometimes the born even used them as spies. But they were also half-human, and they hadn’t chosen their lineage. I imagined there were good and bad uses of their powers the same as with witches. And like a half-witch, they appeared human and had stronger, more desirable blood.
Vesper swallowed. “He found me soon after I said goodbye to my daughter. I didn’t escape him for another two years.”
My stomach lurched.
Vesper had regained a semblance of composure, her face changing into something more wrathful now instead. “You could imagine how he treated me during that time. He couldn’t torture my baby’s location out of me, because not even I knew where she was. Only that Valentin’s vampire-free dry lands were thesafest place in this world for her. Once I escaped for good, I had a witch obliterate the blood bond so Conrad could never find me again. I almost died during the procedure, and I entered a fugue state soon after. I somehow found myself on the West Coast, in Juniper, where I’d given my daughter to a fellow mother. I was the closest to Valentin I could get in Ravenia, and that was where I decided to stay. I met Clarke, and he saved me from this haze of dissociated numbness. He helped me heal and find my purpose again. After years of stability, I became turned. I gave myself a new name, and I dedicated myself to a new mission.”
She smiled, cheeks stricken with tears. This time she let the flame in her palm dance wildly.
“To destroy my husband, his friends, and everything his cold, soulless heart holds dear.”
40
EVIE
