Page 36 of House of Crimson Kisses
I want to shout at her. How dare she question me? She didn’t question the others.
“Because we believe that magic is the most beautiful element our city offers. Where does magic come from? And which castle is arguably the most powerful?”
“Castle St Clair.” Mother presses her lips shut, but she gives me a nod of acceptance. Then a muscle in her jaw ticks.
She turns to the lectern.
“This displeases me. Someone is lying. Either one of my children or one of the hunters.”
The Chief places her hand on Mother’s wrist. “Or we have a winner in our midst that is not part of the trials.”
Mother’s eyes glance at where they touch, and I bristle. I scan both their faces but can’t work out what’s between them. By their expressions, it’s hatred and yet there is a familiarity between them I cannot place. Are all enemies like this?
“Well,” Mother says, pulling her hand away. “As of right now, I’m not sure which.”
There’s a murmuring in the crowd. Disquiet threatening to unfurl around the ballroom. The Chief folds her arms.
“What about the dhampir?” someone in the audience shouts.
“It’s clear that the dhampir has awakened,” the Chief says.
“And why’s that?” Lady Netterley, one of Mother’s pet nobles, says from the round table in front of the stage.
“Because…” The Chief starts and then unfolds her arms and takes the amulet from Mother. Their fingers brush as the Chief yanks the amulet away. That is far more like the enemy interaction I expect, and yet, something… something is going on that I cannot understand. I zero my focus in on the pair of them, watching every movement. My attention has been on Mother’s movements since she executed that vampire right before the trial of beauty, but I’m still missing something.
The Chief holds the amulet up to a chandelier and twists it this way and that. She whispers a few words to the amulet and the crystal green liquid in the centre brightens to a pinpoint so sharp that I have to squint to stop it, making my eyes ache.
It shoots a beam of light upwards. Hovering in the eerie green shaft of light is the projection of a single bead of blood. I go still, suppressing the tremors threatening my body. I cannot let them discover us.
The Chief straightens and points at the shaft of light and projection of the blood drop. She whispers more words, and the blood expands, its composition appearing in the air before us.
“This is no vampire’s blood. It is not hunter nor human, nor the blood of the dhampirs of old. No. I can only conclude that is a bead of blood from the new dhampir. Ladies, gentlemen, vampires, hunters and friends. We may not have identified who the dhampir is, but someone knows. I’d bet its someone in this room. Or perhaps the dhampir knows who they are and used the trial as a cover to get confirmation.”
“Why don’t we have magic back, then?” One of the Chief’s hunters yells from a table at the back of the ballroom.
The Chief glances at Mother, who indicates she’ll take this one. “The process of becoming a dhampir is more complicated than just awakening and discovering who they are.”
She steps up to the lectern as if she’s about to give an academy lecture. “The dhampir must embrace their power. They must transition into the powerful being they are destined to be. The Chief and I believe this will be a new breed, something different from the dhampirs from our history. This time they will be both healer and vampire.”
Red pales.
“And if they don’t transition?” someone in the crowd asks.
Cordelia slowly nods at the audience as if approving of the question. “First, they transition, then they unlock the door and cross the threshold. And when they return, so too will all of our magic. And if they don’t, then… well, I can’t say for sure…”
The Chief glances at her and nudges her with her elbow.
“Fine. If they don’t fully transition, it’s our suspicion that they’ll die.”
Red swallows hard beside me. I dig my fingers so hard into the palms of my hands I feel the skin splitting and resealing as I release the pressure. I can’t afford to let Red smell my blood while we’re on stage.
Lord Netterley stands up at the front table.
“Lord Netterley, something to say?” Mother says.
“When you say transition. You mean into a vampire?”
Mother shakes her head. “Half. The prophecy indicates that this new type of dhampir will be a true hybrid of vampire and witch: ‘Blood of the night, a child of two worlds’ embrace, A dhampir born, a dhampir turned. The heir to unlock this sacred space.’ As they are currently human, they’ll need to embrace their vampire side and allow themselves to turn.”
