Page 21 of Fated to the Vampire Prince
He didn’t wait for me. I couldn’t believe he was leaving, just like that.
“Where are we going?” I called after him as he disappeared down the long hall, quickly toeing on my slippers.
He didn’t reply.
Cursing under my breath, I was forced to chase after him as he made his way down the stairs and through the tavern, passing those dedicated to their drinks. They all cheered and raised their glasses as the Duke of Roselyn strode out the back door.
Racing after him, I struggled to keep up with his long strides as we exited the inn. I was grateful for the cold, which was probably the first time in my life I’d ever thought such a ridiculous thing. It was keeping me awake almost as well as the telareyon root in my pocket, and it gave a reason for my cheeks to be pink besides his presence.
Bastien pointed at a nearby wooden building. Low light shone from fogged windows, and the only sign of life was the line of smoke puffing from the chimney. The front door a stone’s throw from the black lake.
“Why are we going there?” I asked. My brain conjured images of torture devices where these evil sorcerers put Witches of the Light to the question. “And why are we walking so fast?”
Frigid dew soaked the hem of my robe, chilling my ankles.
Bastien didn’t slow his pace. “We’re going to the bathhouse.”
“A bathhouse?” I repeated.
Off in the distance, I saw an ancient witch standing on the porch of one of the small homes. All of a sudden, the inn seemed much safer. I lowered my voice. “Your Grace, why are we going to a bathhouse?”
I laced my arm through his and pulled myself against him, feeling safer with a blood-drinking vampire between me and her.
He angled his chin toward me. Humor lighting his icy eyes. “Didn’t you take baths at the Nightfall Convent?”
“Of course I took baths,” I said defensively. “Just not in a special house or in the company of…” My thoughts broke off, and I unwound my arm from him, hugging it to my chest. I gazed at the grass. “A male.”
He stopped in front of me, and I nearly ran right into him. My damp slippers skidding over the slick grass. His glare was hard and cold.“I’m onlyaccompanyingyou, not bathingwithyou,” he clarified. “And I’m doing so because it’s my duty to protect you from the evil witches who fed you stew and offered to make you a poultice for the wounds that magickal necklace created,” he said, gesturing to the choker. “That necklace is the reason you and I are in the mess we’re in.”
There was something accusatory hiding behind his tone, and I knew he didn’t trust me. Nor I him.
Bastien might be a beautiful monster, but he was still a monster. I recalled what Mama had told me. To be polite and subservient. That’s what they want. A pleasant pincushion. “You’re upset with me.”
He made an amused sound in the back of his throat, but nothing in his face was playful. “You’re insightful.”
“I thought I was stubborn. Or perhaps, brave.”
While the moon refused to shine on the lake, Diana’s light didn’t shy away from him. It hung on his every feature. The silvery glow illuminated one side of his face, and in this light, the Duke of Roselyn looked otherworldly. Beautiful, and at the same time, terrifying.
“Those qualities are not mutually exclusive,” he said.
The one good thing about this battle of wills was, like the cold, it was helping me fight the sleepiness lurking behind my eyelids.We needed to hurry this along.Bastien backed up several paces, easing his way toward the entrance of the bathhouse. I followed him. Wondering what he was thinking and why he’d really brought me here. Was it only for a bath? Fear rose inside me once again, and I wrung my hands together, trying to work out the nervous energy.
“What makes you so insightful and brave, Miss Donadieu?” His attention drifted to the strip of lace around my neck. “What drove you to purchase a magickal necklace that could have killed you?” He paused. “What do you need from me?”
He’d brought me out here to question me, I realized. To force a confession. Well, I wasn’t giving up that easily.
“Safety,” I said, exasperated. “Security. Money. All the reasons a woman becomes a sanguine partner.”
These were lies, but I knew it was the truth he wanted to hear. The truth I’d been taught to give.
Faster than I thought possible, he whirled me around, the solid wood slamming against my back as his body caged me in. The wind left my lungs in a whoosh of breath. His hand gripped my chin, forcing my attention back to his face.
Suddenly, I wasn’t as cold as I was a moment ago.
His eyes narrowed. “You are far too innocent to have chosen me on your own. My castle is the furthest north, closest to the border, where snow falls year-round, and you shiver inan autumn chill. You could’ve picked a different vampire’s ball to attend; one whose temperament and castle were better suited to your delicate nature.”His chest rose and fell against mine, each breath a brand on my skin. My lips parted on a tremor I couldn’t suppress. “Someone coerced you to put on that necklace. Someone instructed you to target me. And I want to knowwho.”
Chapter 11
