Page 30 of Fated to the Vampire Prince
“Can I help you, Your Grace?”
He contemplated me for a moment. Tilting his head to one side and letting his icy blue eyes slide down my frame in a way that set my core on fire. With his hands folded atop his cane, he said, “I’m not here because I want something. I’m here because… after our feeding, you fell asleep so quickly,” he said. “I was concerned.”
Concerned. I turned that word over in my head. Was Bastien trying to say he’d been worried about me? No, that couldn’t be true. He didn’t care about anyone. If he did, he would hold the Dark Witches accountable for their crimes. But something in his eyes told me that, against all odds, he did care about me. Even if he didn’t want to.
I didn’t know what to say. No one wasted their time worrying about me. Having someone care was strange, and I was unaccustomed to this kind of attention. So I dismissed it. “You didn’t need to go to such trouble, Your Grace. I’m fine.”
He gave the barest shake of his head. Jaw clenched. “You misunderstand me,” he said through his teeth. “I needed to stay. Had to stay. You are mine to protect. Mine to care for.” Each word was clipped and came out as if he wished they weren’t true. I gripped the bedsheets tighter. “Miss Donadieu, your health and welfare aremyresponsibility.” He cleared his throat, then tapped his cane against the wood floors. “As part of our contract, of course.”
As part of our contract.Ofcourse.
He was here out of obligation, not out of need or care. I was a burden to him, too. Wasn’t I? He never wanted me in the first place. This was all obligation. That realization helped put things in perspective, and I was finally able to set aside the way he was looking at me. I tucked a strand of wild lilac hair behind my ear, then sat up taller, pulling the sheet up with me. “Well, as you can see, I’m quite well. If not a little hungry. Don’t feel like you need to keep concerning yourself with me.”
He pressed his lips together, holding back whatever sharp words were waiting behind his teeth. Instead, he offered me a glass of water. I stared at it for a moment before taking it. “I’ll have food brought up. You need to eat.”
I drank a sip, letting the cool water wet my dry throat. “Thank you.”
Bastien nodded once before strolling to the door with his cane tucked under his arm. When he reached the handle, he stopped and cast a look over his shoulder. I lifted my eyebrows, wondering what else the vampire wanted to say and wished he would leave.
“After you eat, Shreesa will attempt to remove that cursed necklace.”
The glass slipped from my hand, rolling off the bed and crashing to the floor, shattering into a million tiny pieces. I clutched the lace choker as if to prove my loyalty. “I already told you that will not work.”
Shame welled inside me, hot and fresh. On the heels of my dream, my mother’s voice was loud inside my head, criticizing me for being such a foolish girl and a pitiful excuse for a Prideaux woman.
“What did I do to deserve such a useless, magickless daughter like you? Tell me!”
I wouldn’t have an answer. Only an apology. I was so sorry I wasn’t the witch she’d hoped I’d be.
Bastien was back at my side in a blink. He brought his face close to mine. “Tell me who did this to you and why you’re so afraid of removing it.” His voice was a rough scrape over my skin. A demand.
I fell back on the lie Mama had told me to say if this question was asked. “No one did this to me, Your Grace. I wanted to put it on. To secure this position.”
“Then who sold it to you? Who worked the spell?”
“I-I don’t know their name,” I stammered, “only that I bought it willingly and didn’t ask many questions. They told me once I was collared, the magick was permanent. And it would kill me if I took it off. Or if I tried to leave before the year was up.” I drew in a shuddering breath, bowing my head and forcing myself to say the next part. “Please, Your Grace. I know I’m not very bright.”
I blinked back my hurt at being commanded to say I wasn’t intelligent, but if Mama thought it was important to mention.
“The vampire is a disgusting beast,”Mama had said,“but he’s not stupid. He’ll see that you aren’t very bright. It will make sense that a foolish human girl like yourself could stupidly buy a magickal necklace without asking questions.”
I heard a crack, like the sound of wood splintering, and when I found the strength to look up, Bastien had crushed the wooden bedpost into pulp. His face was just as monstrous as when he transformed into a vampire, but without the shadows. My eyes widened, unsure why he was suddenly so furious. “Tell me who put these ideas in your head!” he demanded. The force of his conviction causing the fine hairs on my arms to rise. “Was it the convent sisters?”
I said nothing. Pressing my lips together until they hurt.
“If it was the sisters,” he continued, seething, “I’ll have Marius shutter that damned place. I don’t need the NightfallConvent to help me protect orphans if this is the result. I’ll care for them myself.”
He threw his cane across the room, and it smashed a porcelain pitcher. I recoiled into the covers, but the vampire wasn’t done. He was breathing heavy, his chest heaving.
“Give me a name, and I will have them excommunicated from the faith.”
My gaze left his face, traveling to the shattered pitcher and the broken bedpost. Why was he so mad? I didn’t understand. I wasn’t very bright. Otherwise, Diana wouldn’t have shunned me. There was a reason I wasn’t given the gift of magick. It was difficult to admit, but there was no other explanation for why my hair was lilac instead of white and why I couldn’t cast spells.
And, oh, how that truth burned in the back of my throat like hot tears. I swallowed them back. Forcing myself to confront the seething duke. “No one put the idea in my head,” I told him, closing my eyes and turning toward the fire. Clutching my throat. “I’m not smart. You said it yourself. It was foolish of me to meddle with magick I didn’t understand.”
Bastien cupped my chin and forced me to meet his gaze. I didn’t find anger in his eyes, but something else. Something I couldn’t explain but that melted into me. “Anyone with eyes can see that you are very bright, and I will not tolerate you calling yourself anything less in my presence. Do you understand me?”
His hand traveled to my cheek, holding me more tenderly. I didn’t move. Didn’t dare to breathe. He was so close. “You did what you thought was best to care for your sister, and I can respect that. However, the wounds that choker left behind are deep and must be cleaned. I could taste the faint tint of infection in your blood.” When I tried to protest, he shook his head. “How you’ve been able to endure as much as you have since the night of the Sangination Ball is no small miracle.”
