Page 72 of House of Pawns
Yet there he is, his hand on the doorknob. There it turns. And there it opens.
“Welcome to the House of Conrath,” Rath says in that calm and easy way of his.
“The word House is yet to be determined.” It’s a woman’s voice, low and sultry. I can’t see her behind Rath.
With one glance at Raheem over my shoulder, I see that he won’t meet my eyes and it cracks me just a little further. So, instead of falling apart all over the marble floor and my father’s crest, I walk toward the front door.
Rath steps aside as I exit the ballroom to let our guests in. A woman in thick snow boots and a brilliantly white fur coat steps inside. Her face is what immediately draws my attention. Sharp cheekbones, perfectly shaped lips, seductive eyes. Platinum blonde hair. This woman looks like the most terrifyingly severe angel that never existed until this moment.
“Welcome to my home,” I say, knowing I must speak first if I am to establish myself in this moment. “We are so happy to have you visit.”
“Alivia Conrath,” she says, a coy smile forming on her face as she steps forward to shake my hand. She grasps it tightly and suddenly raises it up to her nose. Her eyes slide closed and she inhales deeply. When she opens her eyes once again, they glow red just slightly. “Oh, the King will be so happy to meet you.”
It throws me off, the animalistic greeting of smelling me. But these are vampires and they are not actually human any longer.
I see two escorts step inside behind her. One with a shaved head and full beard that reaches his chest. He’s large and terrifying looking with a cruel face. The other is a tiny Asianwoman with short black hair and sharp eyes that seem like they can see through anything. I notice her fingernails, which have been filed down to deadly points.
“My name is X and I am King Cyrus’ chancellor and right hand,” the blonde woman says, taking a step away from me. Her eyes turn to my home to observe and take in every detail. Just then my House members begin filing out of the library. They form a semi-circle behind me. “I observe and report, and if I approve of what I see, and smell,” she says as her eyes once again flash red for the briefest moment, “then the King will continue his journey. He will arrive by morning.”
It’s seven-thirty. Morning is just eleven hours away.
“You’re welcome to investigate anything you like,” I say, holding my hands open. “We’ve prepared rooms for you and hope your stay with us will be comfortable.”
X smiles at me like I’m the most adorably ignorant thing there ever was. And I’m feeling that way. It’s one thing when it is my vampires whose existences haven’t extended beyond a century or two and this continent. It’s quite another when it’s a millennia old one with an entire monarchy and the world to run. “Aren’t you sweet. I’m sure our stay in your…House, will be adequate.”
She makes my skin bristle, as if the Conrath Estate is some shack and not the most beautiful, elegant home in all of Mississippi.
Footsteps over the marble draw all our attention to the ballroom as Raheem crosses it to join us.
“X,” he greets her with his beautiful voice. “Good to see you again.”
Her eyes run up and down him, her expression both approving and disdainful. I then wonder if she is one of themany women Raheem has apparently been with. “I hope you’ve enjoyed your time in this forsaken corner of the world.”
“I do a job, I do not question the location,” he says coldly. And he doesn’t look at me. He doesn’t look at much of anyone.
She studies him for a moment, and I see it: she wants Raheem. But the look on her face tells me he’s rejected her in the past. Finally, she looks away and takes in my House members.
“I would have thought coming from such deep blood that you would have inherited a much larger household,” she says.
I’m proud of my House members, that they don’t wither under her harsh looks. They stand tall and proud. They hold her gaze with a coldness of their own.
“How familiar are you with the history of our region?” I ask. I seize the moment. I take a step forward, walking in a slow, wide circle around X.
“Enlighten and remind me. It’s been a long time since I’ve been to the States.” And I realize then: her accent is un-placable. Not British, not French or German or anything I’ve ever heard.
“Over a hundred and forty years ago, Elijah Conrath, my uncle, was killed,” I begin as I complete my first circle around X. She slowly turns her head to follow me, studying me. And the look in her eyes is slightly less sure, exactly what I wanted. “The town blamed him for a crime he did not commit. Leadership of the House should have passed to my father.”
“Henry Conrath,” she fills in. The look on my face makes me think she met him at some point in the past.
I nod. “But my father wanted nothing to do with the House and the monarchy. So for the past century and a half, ithas had no proper leader. Two different Born have in some form kept a shadow of it running.”
When I complete my second loop around X, I stop in front of her, holding her eyes surely. “I was born twenty-three years ago to a single mother who had a one night stand. Just seven months ago, I received a will and a phone call that I was the daughter of one Henry Conrath. I arrived in Silent Bend with no knowledge of vampires or royals or any King.”
“When she arrived, we were all operating under the leadership of another.” It’s Markov who steps forward to stand at my left hand. “One who tried to manipulate Alivia into claiming the House simply for money and connections. But within weeks, she swayed each and every one of us to follow her. Because Alivia Ryan Conrath is the Born Royal meant to lead us.”
X’s eyes switch from Markov, back to my other House members. I do not look back at them, but I know they will have conveyed the same message.
“Impressive,” X says with a small smile when she looks back at me. “No upbringing. No training. No connections. Yet here you are and here they are.”
