Page 114 of House of Crimson Kisses
“I do love a casino night, though,” Xavier says.
Octavia glares at him. “No, you love the hot, half naked people running around serving shots of Sanguis Cupa and bending over the card tables.”
“Or is it the unnecessary violence from the fights they usually allow… oh,” Xavier’s voice trails off.
He glances at Octavia, who inhales and sighs again, deeper this time. Her nostrils flare. “They’re going to pit us against each other, aren’t they?” She kneads her temples, wiping a hand along her brow. “Fuck.”
Xavier leans back on the sofa. “Listen, I didn’t fight for the amulet, I’m not about to mess up this exquisite face fighting for Mother’s entertainment. Not when I have a sister made of savagery to do it for me.”
“Plus, she’s going to give you a job after this is over, anyway,” Amelia says, grinning and swiping her finger around the dregs of blood at the bottom of her goblet.
My nose wrinkles at her movement, my stomach turning at the prospect of her enjoying blood. It only makes the resolve in my gut harden. I have to win. We have to win so I can pull her back from the brink. I have to get the cure for her.
But what if Cordelia’s prophecy is right? What if there is no other way to open that door without me becoming the dhampir and half the thing I hate so much?
“What do we do about everything we’ve discovered?” Xavier asks.
“Which is a good point. You never did tell us what you discovered in the trial.” I say.
He sighs dramatically. “Nothing useful. At least not for the trials. The Mother of Blood gave me closure. Something I’ve needed to know for a long time about someone I lost… It was needed. But it’s not useful for us.”
I slump. I was hoping there would be more intel we could use.
Octavia pipes up. “In which case, we do nothing. We keep everything we know under wraps. Tell absolutely no one. Trust no one. This is our safety circle. And we absolutely do not confront my mother or the Chief before the time is right. It will be hard, but for now, we play their game, bide our time until we can stack the deck in our favour.”
“Okay, so we should reconvene after the next trial, then?” Amelia asks.
Octavia shakes her head. “That’s too far away. Maybe after the casino night tomorrow? Let’s see if we can dig anything up. Keep your ears to the ground. Xavier, do your compulsion thing, go wild. Amelia, keep researching and I will monitor Mother.”
“We should rest,” Amelia says, looking at me, her brows knitted as she scans my face. “You okay?” she mouths.
And suddenly I’m not. I’m a little faint. The last few hours, the revelations, they’re all catching up with me. I’ve had more of Octavia’s blood, albeit rationed. But I am still starving. The bloodied steaks on the plate in front of me aren’t cutting it.
“Octavia,” Amelia says.
She snaps to attention, her eyes flitting from Amelia to me. Her lips press shut, and she stands.
“We’re done,” she says, “Let’s convene before the casino night.” Then she’s lifting me by the arm and dragging me out of the bar.
“Where are we going?” I say, yanking my arm out of her grip.
“To my private wing.”
She marches faster. A speckling of grey spatters my vision, and I stumble. She halts, speeds back to me, and grabs my arm again.
“You’re going to let me help you, or I swear on the Mother of Blood, I will spank your arse until it bleeds.”
I grumble at her but relent, and she leads me through the castle and to her private wing.
The noise drops to nothing as we enter her section of the castle. No one comes down here save for Wendell. She leads me past my room, past her room and to the room I’ve only been in once.
“Why?” I ask.
No answer. She opens the door, pushes me inside, and then locks it shut behind us and pushes me against the door, the soft velvet caressing my back.
She places her hands on either side of my head. “When did you last feed exactly?”
I shrug. “I took the entire flask you gave Wendell as soon as I woke.”
