Page 31 of House of Crimson Kisses
The staff member glances at the floor. “Don’t worry, miss. Lady St Clair is on top of the protesters. They’re anti-cure folks. But they caught word of the awards ceremony this evening. There are vampires out there patrolling and monitoring it, and the Chief sent a few hunters out too.”
“I see,” I say and glance back outside. There’s an uncomfortable number of placards and signs being brandished with words like:
Fuck the dhampir.
No dhampir, no cure.
I swallow hard and try to ignore the chills nestling inside my stomach.
Octavia gives me a pinched, I-told-you-so look.
We traipse after the staff member until we re-enter the ballroom that is becoming increasingly familiar to me. Though each time it looks a little different.
Today, the floor is chequered black and white flagstone tiles. It’s beautiful and ornate. Some areas have larger tile patterns and others have smaller tiles. It makes for an almost hypnotic atmosphere, a sort of illusion and warping of time and space and reality, and I see now that’s all this is. One giant game. And I’m no longer sure if we’re the players or being played.
Above us hang two enormous crystal chandeliers. The candles standing in a ring are black, but the wax dripping down their stems is red and looks like blood drops.
Gabriel, Sadie and Dahlia sit at a table near the front, drinking goblets of blood and talking in hushed tones.
My stomach coils. Hunger gnaws at my insides. I hate that I can’t recognise which hunger I have anymore.
A heavy hand lands on my shoulder. I whirl around.
“Chief, hey,” I say.
“Hello, Red. Can I have a moment?” she asks.
“Sure.” I follow her out towards a balcony on the other side of the ballroom. She opens the door, and we slip into the night.
“What’s up?” I ask.
“I just wondered whether you’d unearthed anything yet? It’s been a few days since our talk at the Academy, and I wanted to know how your progress was going digging up any dirt?”
I shrug. “Honestly, the trials have taken up so much of our time and energy, I haven’t had a chance to snoop. But anything I have found hasn’t been worthy of bringing to you.”
“Everything is worthy, Red.”
I don’t think the Chief needs to know I’ve mostly spent my spare time dosing and fucking.
“We’re all trying to uncover who’s behind the attacks.”
“I thought that was resolved with the execution at the last awards ceremony.”
I narrow my eyes at her. “There was another attempt. And he didn’t confess to the first one. So there’s something else at play.”
The Chief stiffens and nods. “Good work. I told you everything was relevant. Any sign of which of you hunters is the dhampir yet?”
I hesitate, wondering if now is the time to confess, but we’re surrounded by vampires.
She continues before I decide.
“We need to know so we can put extra protection in place around them.”
There’s a knock at the window before I can answer.
Amelia’s head bobs in the window, waving maniacally at me.
“I should see what’s wrong with her,” I say to the Chief. “If anything comes up, I’ll let you know.”
