Page 18 of Fated to the Vampire Prince
I ran my tongue across my lips and straightened. I had to be stronger than this. I had to be the spy I swore I’d be. Not a simpering girl.
After cleansing my hands with one of the hot towels, I picked up my fork, lowering it to a piece of meat. Pretending it was a red-haired witch when I stabbed it. “Did my sister make it out of the capital okay?” I asked Natalia, while trying to convince myself to put what the witchesclaimedwas rabbit into my mouth.
The vampire took a sip of her wine. Her clever eyes dragged from Bastien to me. I noticed that while she drank, heabstained; his glass was untouched. “Absolutely,” she said, twisting the long stem between her fingers. “I packed her inside a coach myself. She’s likely nearing Nightfall now.” Her attention returned to Bastien. “If they rode as hard as we did.”
I didn’t miss the annoyed tone in her voice. And apparently, neither did Bastien.
“The harder we ride, the faster we return home. And for that, I will not apologize.”
Natalia scoffed. “Just because I agree with you doesn’t mean I like it.” She drained the last of her thick red wine and set the glass down on the table. “If you’ll excuse me, Uncle, I’m going to have my dinner.” Glancing at me, she added, “You should do the same.”
My hand stilled. I swallowed hard. Yes. Of course. His dinner.
“This conversation isn’t over. Don’t forget.”
Natalia glanced over her shoulder at Shreesa. “I never forget, Your Grace. It’s why you despise my counsel so.”
He gave an irritated grunt. “Go. Eat. We’ll speak later.”
She disappeared without another word. Once she was gone, the Duke sighed, rubbing his temples before lowering his forearms to the table.
I slid a forkful of food into my mouth. The meat was well-seasoned and juicy. Spite was the only thing keeping me from moaning. I chewed slowly, savoring the flavor, as I tried to understand whathadn’tbeen said between the two of them.
I’d been kept out of enough conversations to read between the lines. And I could tell that Bastien and Natalia had been arguing, likely about the witch, Shreesa, and they were going to meet up later to discuss it further. I speared another bite of meat and shoved it into my mouth. That seemed like a conversation I wanted to observe.
If Bastien thought I was going to stand meekly by his side while he plotted with Natalia, he had another thing coming. Tonight, the Ghost of Prideaux Hill was going to haunt a new locale.
Chapter 9
Penser
CLAIRE
The inn grew rowdier as evening stretched on. Bastien’s guard—composed mostly of human soldiers—was clearly enjoying the well-earned night off. They approached us where we sat to exchange a few words with the Duke. I, however, sat in silence, gazing out the window at the cluster of log homes crowded beside the lake, contemplating how to proceed.
I propped my chin in my hand and crossed my legs, nervous energy coursing through me. I was running out of time to come up with a plan. If Bastien caught me spying on him and Natalia, it would do little to forge the trust I was supposed to be gaining. I was playing a dangerous game with a vicious enemy. A game my family had been fighting for centuries. We were so close to eradicating the last sources of dark magick in the Unified Territories.
Still, doubt prickled in the back of my mind. How could I avoid being heard by a vampire? If I was caught and he sent me away, would Mama’s choker kill me? Unable to hold still any longer, I turned from the window to find Bastien studying me.He immediately focused on the table when he realized he’d been caught. Picking at a scratch in the wood with one of his long fingers.
I didn’t know why, but the fact that he had been watching me caused a burst of heat and adrenaline to flush my cheeks. Whichinfuriatedme.
The peace House Allard claimed to protect was a farce. My coven knew the truth. The vampires sided with Dark Witches more often than not. The fact that we were sitting inside a Dark Witch’s den was proof enough. So why? Why did the vampire’s attention make me feel so… warm?
I went to pick up my mug of mead, just to do something with my hands, but the vampire pushed the mug out of my reach. Gaping at him, I said, “I’m thirsty.”
He reached across the table, grabbed a pitcher and a cup, poured me a glass of water, and then pushed it into my hand. Lifting a brow, I took the cup and drank slowly, letting the cool liquid slide down my throat and watching him as I did.
Why the refusal? I considered the full glass of wine sitting in front of him.
I’d heard Mama lecture Sera a hundred times about how important it was for her to practice restraint, although she rarely listened. Did Bastien have the same philosophy? Did he want to remain sober because he was in charge? It was a plausible explanation. But why disallow me?
Then it hit me. He didn’t want alcohol in my veins. Maybe it would affect him too. I let that thought bounce around in my head. How could this play to my advantage? If alcohol affected him as it affected me, then perhaps other things would, too.
A wicked plan took shape in my mind. One that might help dull his senses so that I could spy on him later tonight. The only problem with my plan was that it wouldn’t affect Natalia, so I’d still need to be careful, but something told me she wasn’tas attuned to me as he was. Besides, she had drained a glass of wine at the table. Maybe she’d have another after her feeding.
It wasn’t a perfect plan, and I had no idea if it would work, but it was worth a try. When I finished my stew and chewed as much of the black bread as I could stomach, I found the Duke staring at me again. His steady gaze was impossible to look away from, almost like there was a tether connecting us.
“Are you ready?” Bastien asked.
