Page 33 of Fated to the Vampire Prince
“The Duke is old enough to have known every witch in our graveyard, and he’s been good to all of us.”
I let my gaze return to the fire, gripping the iron poker so tight the rough metal scraped my palm. Bastien had always favored Dark Witches. It shouldn’t surprise me.
The kettle started whistling, and she rushed to take it off the heat. pouring its contents into a small cauldron before sprinkling in herbs, and adding a vial of essential oil. “Even though we don’t live within his territory, His Grace has listened to our concerns, even when others would ignore them.”
“And what were those concerns?”
Shreesa let out a sigh. “He’s helped us out here and there with land disputes and hunting infringements, appealing to the Duke of Lakeland on our behalf. But most importantly, he always brings us back a gift from the Lawless Lands to keep our magick alive.”
My mouth dropped, and a sick feeling rose in my throat. “He brings you demonic relics?”
“Yes, child.”
By Diana, Bastien wasn’t just turning a blind eye to their crimes. He was replacing every relic my family destroyed with a new one. My shame and disgust for my strange urges quadrupled. I’d thought about doing inexcusable things with a man who wasn’t just turning a blind eye, but who was actively aiding them.
No. Not a man.A vampire.
Shreesa dipped the strips of linen into the cauldron, steeping them in the herbal concoction she’d prepared. “I know the Nightfall Convent teaches you to worship Diana and to see her Witches of the Light as protectors, but they have all but destroyed our way of life.”
My temper boiled over, and I threw the muffin into the fire, then lifted the iron rod, pointing the sharp end at her heart. She simply let out another long sigh. It made me even angrier to know she didn’t see me as a threat. My vision tunneled until all I saw was her unflinching face.
“Get out,” I said between clenched teeth.
Without another word, the witch did as I commanded. When she was gone, I paced back and forth across the small room, poker in hand, seething.
I thought I’d come here to spy on Bastien and discover the location of the relics, but it was clear to me there was another thing I needed to do. A more important thing. Bastien wasn’t just a monster—he was the hand that fed the fire. If I couldn’t destroy the relics, I could destroy the man who kept bringing them back.
Chapter 17
Soigner
CLAIRE
An hour passed, and my temper had cooled, but my conviction hadn’t wavered. I had to kill Bastien. If Mama had heard what Shreesa said about the relics, he’d already be a corpse. The light gone from his eyes. His body limp.
Some strange feeling soured my stomach at the thought of seeing his lifeless form, and I wondered if it was because of the bond between us. My blood now lived in his veins, and perhaps a tiny part of me didn’t want him to die. But it was a small part. There were a million reasons why I had to follow through with this plan.
I was packing my trunk when a knock made my breath catch. Without looking, I knew it was him. I could feel his presence on the other side of the door. Surely, he’d come to yell at me for not listening to him. I bid him enter, and Bastien slipped inside the room and closed the door.
I lifted my chin and forced myself to look at him. It was hard to hate something so beautiful. So perfectly put together. With soft lips that could speak such pretty words. Lips that Iswore I tasted, if only in a dream. But he wasn’t just a pretty package. Bastien could snuff out a life like he was blowing out a candle. He was a killer,a demon, and I was the soft prey to sink his teeth in.
I trembled where I stood, filled with such hate and such desire. One I understood, and the other burned against my will. We simply stared at each other. The air charged with unspoken words.
“Say something,” I commanded him. Yell.Rage. Raise a hand. Fuel my hatred with your vicious nature.
But he said nothing. And by Diana’s light, I wanted to scream. I didn’t want to pretend anymore. I wanted to hurl accusations at him and make him answer for being ontheirside. I wanted to make him explain why he treated the Dark Witches with so much care but never did the same for us. I managed to keep my words behind my teeth, unable to set aside the pretense that I was nothing more than a simple orphan girl who wanted a chance to better her life.
Bastien stalked across the room, and I braced myself for what he might do. He was a vampire prince, and I’d disobeyed him. I was no stranger to violence—the back of Mama’s hand or the crack of a switch. But he didn’t do any of those things. He simply pushed the back of the armchair against the bed, then he retrieved the little cauldron of herbal tea the witch had left behind.
I didn’t move, and neither did he. He commanded me to sit with his unwavering gaze. I wrung my hands together, trying to decide how to proceed. Did I let this happen? Did I let him wash my wounds? Or did I tell him to go to hell?
Without another word, he opened the connection between us, muting every sound—including the crackle of the fire and the distant sound of voices below—and I was helpless to stop the connection’s influenceon me.
It was like he could burn everything away except the sound of his voice inside my head. Not compelling me to act but forcing me to listen. “I was wrong to leave you alone with Shreesa. I see that now.”
His voice was matter-of-fact. And the sound of it inside my head had the same effect on me that his tongue had on my neck. Weakening my knees and causing a tingle to settle low in my core.
He continued. “And for that, I’m sorry.”
