Page 69 of Stalk the Dark
The corners of Ezekiel’s mouth turned up tightly, not a smile, but more a polite acknowledgment of her words.
“Tonight, you will reunite with familiar faces and be acquainted with new?—”
The doors on the far side of the room flew open, and a male vampire burst inside, carrying Eloise’s dead body.
His gaze zeroed in on Ezekiel. “You monster! You killed her. You killed my daughter.” The vampires from the parlor trailed into the room behind him. “Is this how you repay our allegiance? By taking the life of a fledgling?”
Zafrina pressed her hand to her chest, looking up at Ezekiel. “Didyou do this?”
“Yes,” Ezekiel said coolly, offering no further explanation.
Below us, the room swelled with murmurs, the vampires gathering into color-coded groups.
“She spurned your advances,” the male carrying Eloise said. “You were incensed, and so you?—”
Ezekiel’s bark of laughter was like a gunshot. “Me? With that pathetic creature? Is that what the liars hiding in your shadow told you?” The man blinked sharply, suddenly looking uncertain. “These liars, these fledglings, coerced and trapped my companion in the parlor, then attempted to feed off her. I waswithin my rights to slaughter them all, but considering the occasion, I chose to be magnanimous. I was content to leave with my companion, but yourchildrefused to back down. She attempted to take what was mine and paid the price.”
The sandy-haired fledgling rushed forward, fists balled at his sides. “We were within our rights! The etiquette states we bring companions and share their veins. She’s your companion, and so we should be allowed to?—”
“Enough!” Ezekiel roared. “You do not get to bind me with rules. This ismyterritory.Mykingdom. You aremysubjects, andImake the law.Menot you. Do you understand?” Ezekiel’s arm was like steel beneath my hand as waves of power emanated off him to fill the room with lethal vibration. “Bow before your king!”
Around me, vamps dropped into deep bows and stayed that way, their bodies stiff and trembling because they weren’t bowing of their own accord. They were being made to do so by Ezekiel.
If he was this powerful a few days after rising, how powerful would he be in a few weeks, months…By the end of this year?
The muscles beneath my palms flexed, the only sign that he was exerting himself. His profile remained still and impassive, not a twitch.
He released the room with an exhale, and heads bobbed back up. Shock and anger, quickly masked, butin most cases, the emotion I’m sure Ezekiel was aiming to elicit remained on show—awe.
Zafrina was the first to break the awkward silence. “It seems that boundaries were overstepped this night, but justice has been served.” The man holding Eloise’s dead body made a soft choked-up sound. “We mourn your loss, Albert, but let this be a lesson for you to train your fledglings better.”
He clamped his jaw so tight I was surprised when he managed to push words out. “Yes, Mother.” With a final loaded glare at Ezekiel, he spun on his heel and clipped from the room.
Mother? So did that mean the fledglings were Zafrina’s grandchildren? And were they born or made?
“Please, everyone, enjoy the night.” Zafrina waved a hand, and the music started up again. Everyone went back to their goblets and conversation.
“See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Ezekiel said to me.
Did he not see the daggered looks the vamps were throwing him? “I think you’ve pissed a lot of nobles off tonight.”
“Wonderful, isn’t it?”
He was so messed up. “Now what?”
“Now we mingle.”
Ordell and Hemlockjoined us at the base of the steps that led down from the balcony. While Ordell was a primal beast parading as aristocracy, Hemlock was a sleek predator, a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and they were mine. I mean, they were both here with me.
Heat stung my cheeks, and Hemlock arched a brow. Ordell mouthed,You okay?But Zafrina glided over before I could reply.
“We’re honored to have you here, Ezekiel.” Her smile, warm and genuine, eased some of the tension knotted at my nape. It must have had a similar effect on Ezekiel because the muscles of his arm relaxed.
She’d called him her liege when announcing him, but now, when they were speaking in private, she called him Ezekiel? Merry’s rundown of the houses came to mind, about Zafrina Sangera being ancient. Were she and Ezekiel friends? Had they ever been lovers? If so, she could be a great resource to cultivate when managing the mercurial king.
“It’s novel to have a female watcher,” she said to me.
“How many watchers have you met?”
