Текст книги "On wings of blood"

Автор книги: Briar Boleyn

сообщить о нарушении

Текущая страница: 14 (всего у книги 36 страниц)

CHAPTER 17 – MEDRA

“Florence! Stop!” I shouted.

I ran towards her and stood in front of her, putting my hands on her shoulders and pushing gently.

But it was like going up against a wall. A moving wall that just kept coming.

Florence was surprisingly strong. I stumbled as she collided with me.

For a moment, she met my eyes and I saw the confusion there.

Then her eyes clouded. She tried to pull out of my grasp and step around me.

“Theo!” I called. “A little help here.”

He was by my side in an instant, looking at Florence, his normally easygoing features marred by worry.

“Fuck,” he said. “Someone’s thrallweaving her.”

I glanced around. Regan was still on the other side of the fire. She had her hand over her mouth and was laughing as she watched me try to stop Florence.

“Regan, so help me, if this is you, I will fucking kill you,” I shouted over to her.

She put up both hands and shrugged, as if to say, “Not me.”

Some of the other highbloods around her were looking at Florence and I with curiosity, but most looked bored. Clearly they’d seen this kind of thing before. None of them seemed about to take the credit.

I gritted my teeth. “Who is it, Theo? Can you stop them?”

Theo was scanning the crowd. I followed his gaze.

There. Further back from the bonfire, a group of students were sprawled in the sand laughing hysterically.

One of them pointed at Florence and said something. Their laughter grew even louder.

“Who the fuck is doing it?” I hissed. “Which one? Can you stop them?”

Florence was a weight, pushing against me, trying to pull out of my grasp. I doubted she was this strong normally. The thrallweave must have been making her exert herself beyond her limits. I wasn’t sure how much longer I’d be able to hold her.

Just as I had that thought, Florence lifted her hands and, clasping my wrists, started to dig her nails into my skin.

I yelped. Her fingernails were sharp and she wasn’t holding back.

“Florence,” I begged. “Please. Stop. This isn’t you. You’re hurting me.”

But looking at her face was like looking at a ghost. Florence wasn’t there. She was gone.

Was this what I had looked like when Regan had been controlling me?

I felt furious and helpless. How could this be allowed? If I let go of Florence, I knew whoever was doing this was going to make her walk straight towards the bonfire. Would they let her walk right in?

“It’s someone from Kage Tanaka’s crew,” Theo whispered to me.

Sure enough, I caught sight of a familiar face. The boy with blond, spiked hair who had tried to grab me in the hallway when I was with Blake.

“Kiernan,” I shouted, remembering his name. “Leave her the fuck alone, you big bullying asshole!”

Kiernan leered in our direction, then said something to his friends who laughed even harder.

Florence pushed me, catching me off guard, then darted to one side.

“Shit!”

I moved to grab her but she was fast. She darted towards the bonfire and I caught her at the last moment, my hands wrapping around her wrist just as she’d nearly reached the flames.

I didn’t want to hurt her, but I held her as hard as I could, terrified she’d manage to break away again.

Then, as quickly as it had started, Florence collapsed to the sand.

She looked up at me, her eyes unclouded, her expression dazed. “What happened?”

I looked over at Kiernan. Theo stood in front of him, a furious expression on his face. He was clearly telling the other boy off. Kiernan didn’t look repentant whatsoever. But at least he’d stopped.

“We need to get you out of here,” I said shortly. I didn’t want to tell her what she’d almost done. Not until we were away from these people. “Now.”

I linked my arm through hers tightly and started marching across the sand.

“Was that... Was it real?” Florence whispered.

I glanced at her. Tears were streaming down her face and she was biting her lip.

I was going to fucking kill Kiernan, I decided.

“Hey, don’t leave so soon!”

It was Kiernan again. The spiky-haired boy was blocking our path.

“The fun’s just getting started. House Avari wants you to come party with us.” He gestured back at his group of friends and I saw Kage Tanaka had joined them. The tall boy stood at the back, his arms folded over his chest, watching us silently.

Kiernan leaned in towards me. “I have a very special invitation from Kage himself. We hear Blake’s not making you feel very welcome in House Drakharrow. Well, we’d like to change that. Bloodwing can be a very welcoming place. If you know the right people.”

I’d just opened my mouth to speak when Florence broke free from my grasp. With a choked sob, she flew across the sand back towards the castle.

“You fucking bastard.” I shoved Kiernan, hard.

I was shaking with anger.

I didn’t know what I was going to do. Only that I had to do something.

Kiernan looked surprised. Then he grinned. “Oh, so you like it rough, do you? So do I.” He reached for my wrist but I was quicker than him. I raised my hand and slapped him, hard across the face.

Instantly I realized it had been the wrong move. My wrists were bleeding from where Florence had scratched me. My hand left a trail of blood across Kiernan’s face.

Kiernan’s eyes lit up strangely. He sniffed, then reached a hand up and touched his cheek. When his finger came away wet, he lifted it towards his mouth.

A gleam formed in his eyes. My breath caught in my throat as I watched him pause, his nostrils flaring slightly as he scented my blood.

“Don’t,” I started to say, my hand already lifting again to grab at his wrist and stop him.

A shadow darted between me and Kiernan, knocking me backwards.

“I thought I told you to keep your fucking hands off her,” Blake snarled. I hadn’t even seen him arrive. He’d come out of nowhere. “You are not to taste her. She is mine.”

I flinched as the words hit me with a power I’d never felt before. Thrallweave. He was using it on Kiernan.

“Wipe it in the sand,” Blake growled, his voice dripping with fury. “Now.”

Kiernan hesitated, his hand halfway to his lips. There was a flicker of fear in his eyes.

Slowly, he lowered his hand, his fingers trembling a little as he bent down and wiped his hand in the sand beneath our feet.

The fire crackled behind us, sending sparks into the night air. The sounds of the party had faded away.

Blake still didn’t move. His body remained like a wall between Kiernan and I. His back was rigid and tense.

“You were warned once before.” Blake’s voice cut through the night air like a knife. “This is the second time you’ve come near her. Do anything like this again and there won't be a third.”

Kiernan clenched his jaw, clearly fighting the urge to retort.

Finally, the boy took a step back.

Blake turned around to face me.

For a moment, I stood frozen, my heart racing. I could feel the dangerous energy radiating off him.

“You shouldn't be here.” His voice was cold. But there was something else there, too. Something dark. Something possessive.

I stiffened as I remembered the words he had used.

My jaw tightened, fury and confusion warring in me. “I didn't ask for your protection. I can take care of myself.”

Blake stepped towards me, the heat of his presence suddenly stifling. “It's not protection, little dragon. It’s a claim.” His gray eyes darkened as they flicked down to my exposed neck, an unspoken reminder hanging between us. “You're mine. No one touches what belongs to me.”

My skin prickled. With anger and something else. Something I couldn’t admit, even to myself.

A finger tapped me on the shoulder and I jerked, whirling around.

Kiernan. The idiot was still standing there.

“Kage wants her to join us,” he said sullenly, as if reminding us he was still there. “I was just delivering the message.”

The air seemed to freeze.

Blake stiffened instantly, his body taut once more. Slowly, he looked towards where Kage Tanaka stood, surrounded by his highbloods, watching the scene unfold with an unreadable expression, arms still casually folded as though this was all part of some private game where only he and Blake knew the rules.

I watched as something crossed Blake’s face. His stormy gray eyes narrowed. The air around us seemed to grow heavier.

Without a word, he moved. One moment he was standing in front of me and the next he had whirled around, crossing the space between him and Kiernan like a flash of lightning.

His hand shot out, gripping the other highblood by the throat.

Kiernan's eyes widened, his terror showing as his feet left the ground.

My breath caught in my throat. “Wait,” I started to say.

But it was too late.

With one swift, merciless motion, Blake hurled the other highblood into the bonfire.

Kiernan’s scream was swallowed by the roar of the flames in an instant, his body engulfed in heat. For a split second, the flames surged and the smell of burning flesh tainted the air. Then anything that had been Kiernan was gone. Turned to ash. Consumed by the fire, as if he had never existed at all.

My heart was pounding. I stood there, frozen, staring at the fire.

Blake moved to stand beside me and I glanced up at him. But he wasn’t looking at me. His eyes were fixed on Kage.

I looked across the fire.

The other house leader didn’t look the least bit upset at the way Blake had snuffed one of his followers out of existence. If anything, Tanaka looked impressed. He raised an eyebrow in silent acknowledgement, then turned away.

I felt sick. Kage was enjoying the chaos he had sparked. The tension between the two men was palpable. There was a long rivalry here and somehow I’d gotten stuck right in the middle of it.

This was worse than Regan.

Blake had just fucking killed for me.

Maybe the worst part of it was... For a moment, I’d liked it. He’d done what I’d wanted to do.

Blake remained rooted in place, staring at the place Kage had been standing, before finally shifting his gaze down to me.

I watched his eyes and for the first time noticed the unfocused glaze. He’d been drinking. He was drunk or at least halfway there.

His eyes lingered on me, moving from my face slowly down my body.

A slow, lazy smirk spread across his handsome face.

“You look good tonight, Pendragon.” His voice was low, almost amused. “I think I’ve changed my mind. You should stay. Enjoy the party.”

My pulse quickened. The casual way he spoke after what he'd just done made my skin crawl.

He took a step closer, his tall frame towering over me.

His hand moved, as if he was about to touch my waist.

Instinct flare, quicker than thought, and in a heartbeat I had a knife in my hand–drawn from my corset, from the hidden sheath between my breasts.

The cold steel was pressed against Blake’s throat before his hand could reach me.

His eyes widened, ever so slightly, surprise flickering over his face.

Then his smirk widened. My heart sank.

But still, I leaned in, spitting the words with a venomous intensity. “I’ll never be yours, Blake Drakharrow. Ever. If you’re looking for a girl who will do what you want, you won’t find her here. Remember that.”

For a heartbeat, the world stood still around us. The fire crackled from afar, casting shadows across Blake’s pale face. I spotted the curling swirls of his tattoos rising up from the open collar of the white shirt he wore and I tried not to think about that day I’d first seen them, the way he’d moved, the way his body had looked gleaming with the sheen of sweat. The way it might feel to run my hands over it.

Blake stared down at me, his expression unreadable.

I didn’t know if I wanted him to talk or not. I didn’t know what I wanted. And that was becoming a problem. A problem I could end–right here, right now. It would be so easy. For a moment, my breath hitched as I thought of sliding the blade across his throat.

Would the other highbloods kill me in an instant for daring to touch one of their own?

Silence was best, I decided. I pulled my knife away, sliding the blade back into my corset. Turning on my heel, I strode across the sand, away from the fire, away from the highbloods, away from Blake.

As the darkness swallowed me whole and I left him standing there alone, I didn’t look back. Not once.

OceanofPDF.com

CHAPTER 18 – MEDRA

As I stumbled across the sand in the dark, heading back towards where I’d left my boots, a shadow drifted out of the night.

I reached for my knife, heart pounding, waiting for the moonlight to illuminate the stranger.

“Medra? Is that you?”

I stopped, my heartbeat slowing. “Vaughn?”

It was Vaughn Sabino. The mortal boy who had nearly been my match in Basic Combat class the first day.

“What are you doing here?” I asked with surprise.

“Oh, you know.” I caught him shrugging. “Out for a moonlight stroll. It’s a beautiful night.” Then he grinned mischievously.

My heart sank. “You’re going to the party.”

He nodded. “Theo invited me.”

“Theo?” I shook my head. Just how many blightborns had Theo invited? “He invited me, too. Florence already left. Did you see her on your way down?”

He shook his head. “Why don’t you come back with me?” he suggested. “I wouldn’t mind some company.”

I shook my head emphatically. “No. I’m not going back there.” I hesitated. “To be honest, I wouldn’t suggest you go either, Vaughn. It’s all highbloods. The only mortals are...” I paused, trying to remember the word Florence had used. “Sellbloods?”

For a moment, his grin faltered slightly. Then he shrugged. “Sounds about right. I’m still going. Theo...” His voice trailed off. The moonlight wasn’t bright enough for me to actually see him blushing but somehow I knew he was.

“Oh,” I said at last. “So it’s like that.”

He shrugged sheepishly. “I mean, he’s Theo Drakharrow. He’s charming.”

“He is,” I agreed. I thought of how Theo had at least made Kiernan stop the thrallweave he was using on Florence. “Well, I suppose if you were going to fall for a highblood, you could do worse.”

“Thanks,” Vaughn replied, with a laugh. “I’m not sure I’ve fallen for him yet. But we’ll see how things go. Are you all right to walk back alone?”

I thought of the knife between my breasts. I tilted my head. “After I beat you in class, you still actually have the nerve to ask that?”

Vaughn laughed. “See you there tomorrow, Medra.”

I watched him disappear into the night. Should I have told him about what Blake had done to Kiernan? Would he still have gone?

Maybe Theo would tell him. I hoped Theo knew what he was doing...and that he’d keep Vaughn safe.

I strolled along the beach, walking closer to where the waves were crashing onto the shore.

I wanted to get back to Florence. But even after all that had transpired, I was still restless. I could practically feel the blood pounding in my veins. Longing for... what? Release?

For something. Something I couldn’t pinpoint.

I trailed my feet in the water. The chill feel of it against my skin was cold and bracing. I kicked at a crashing wave and the spray splashed back onto my bare arms and calves.

A sound from up ahead made me freeze. I looked along the beach.

There was another figure coming towards me.

At first I thought it was just another student on their way to the party.

Then I realized this was a much smaller form.

A child.

My brow furrowed. Even shrouded in darkness I could tell this was a young girl. Small and slender. She couldn’t have been more than nine or ten. Clearly she didn’t belong to the chaotic party I’d just left behind.

“Are you all right?” I called out, my voice carrying over the waves. I quickened my pace a little.

A child shouldn’t have been out here in the dead of night.

The girl didn’t answer.

The moon came out from behind the cloud that had been partially hiding it and answered for her.

The girl was a vampire. Her telltale hair was braided into a white crown around her head.

As we neared one another, her pale face came into view. A thin trail of blood trickled down her chin, dark in the moonlight.

“Are you...hurt?” I asked, my voice laced with unease. But I already knew the answer.

She didn’t reply. Instead, she raised a small hand to her face, wiping at the blood. Then she brought it to her mouth, licking her fingers with a practiced motion. Just like Kiernan had nearly done with my blood.

The girl’s eyes locked onto mine with an eerie, unsettling calm. She smiled. What should have been the innocent smile of a child seemed far more sinister.

I knew this girl, I realized. I’d seen her that first day, sitting on the edge of the dais in the Black Keep, kicking her feet in boredom. Her presence on the dais meant she belonged to one of the four great houses.

My skin prickled, but I forced myself to remain composed. She was still just a child, I reminded myself. “You should get back home. Do you need me to go with you?”

The girl said nothing, just kept smiling that haunting smile as she drifted past.

I stood there, frozen in indecision for a moment, watching the small figure vanish into the darkness. If it had been a blightborn child, I wouldn’t have let them go. But the girl...

She seemed like she could take care of herself. I turned away.

I’d just taken a few more steps forward when a soft whimper broke through the quiet. It came from the shadows, just beyond the waterline.

Another child.

My heart leaped into my throat, my body moving before my mind could even catch up. I sprinted towards the sound.

I scanned the darkness, looking for a child’s shape. But there was nothing.

Then, in the dark, I found it. No more than the size of both my hands.

A small puppy, its fur matted with blood, lying in the sand. It was barely breathing. Its body trembled weakly as a soft whine escaped its throat.

I dropped to my knees beside it, my hands shaking as I carefully lifted up the limp form. The warmth of its blood stained my hands.

Horror flooded me as I realized who must have done this.

The girl.

“Hang on,” I whispered to the little creature.

I held it close to my chest and it let out another faint whimper, its eyes dull with pain.

My pulse raced as I turned back towards the castle and started to run.

In the light of the First Year common room, I could see that what I had rescued wasn’t a dog like I’d first thought.

This creature looked as if a fox had mated with an owl.

It had a coat of reddish-orange fur, like the last of the autumn leaves, except for its chest which was a soft creamy white. The animal’s eyes were wide and round. They seemed impossibly large for its small face, gleaming like gold in the firelight.

Now that I could see it more closely, the pup wasn’t much bigger than a kitten. It lay where we had placed it on a soft blanket on top of a large footstool near the fire. The pup’s huge bushy, red tail curled around it. As Florence crouched down on the floor next to it, the creature let out a small cry.

“It’s a fluffin,” Florence said softly, as she inspected the wounds. “A male, if I’m not mistaken.”

“What is it exactly?” I leaned down. “Some kind of a dog?”

We were lucky. The common room was empty. Otherwise I wasn’t sure what our fellow students might have thought of my bringing back a bleeding animal.

Florence had already been in her room by the time I’d returned. Part of me felt bad for banging on her door to wake her. But part of me thought letting her go to sleep without talking through what had happened that night would be worse.

“They're related to dogs, yes,” she said, absent-mindedly, as she gently ran her fingers over the animal’s tiny body. “This one is just a baby. Did you see the mother anywhere nearby?”

I shook my head. “It's that young then?”

“Yes. Just a few weeks old. Naveen had one when we were young, but he got it when the pup was older. They aren’t supposed to be taken away from their litter when they’re this young.”

Naveen and Florence had grown up together. I’d forgotten. “So, he lived in Veilmar and had one of these?”

“No, that was before my mother and I came to Veilmar. When we lived closer to Naveen and his family in the country. Their dwarven settlement was underground, of course. Fluffins actually live underground. It’s rare for one to be up on the surface.”

Right. I remembered them talking about some sort of stairwell access to the underground city Naveen came from.

The idea of an entire race of people who dwelled below the surface was fascinating to me. I made a mental note to read up on dwarven culture. Right after I’d read up on fluffins. And dragons. And how to get my mother's soul out of my head.

And here I thought you'd forgotten about me, Orcades chided gently. Not that I'm not content where I am. A pause. That betrothed of yours is certainly a forceful man. Handsome, too.

No. Nope, I muttered internally. We are not discussing that. Not right now. Possibly never.

Oh, all right. She sighed. But he would make a wonderful fae. Your grandfather would have loved him.

I clenched my jaw. That is not the glowing endorsement you seem to think it is, Mother.

I know you killed him, but Gorlois le Fay had his good points once, she began.

I cut her off. I had recently discovered a way to silence her. It was one of the accidental benefits of what Professor Rodriguez had been teaching me. Compartmentalization.

My mind quiet again, I watched as a soft glow spread from Florence’s hand, enveloping the creature, centering on its wound.

Fascinated, I watched as the wound closed slightly, but not entirely.

“A highblood did this.” She looked up at me.

I nodded in confirmation. “I think so. Can you tell for certain by looking at the wounds?”

“Someone fed from him. He’s lost a lot of blood. I can tell that much.” She stroked the fluffin’s fur. The creature’s eyes were half-closed. “But then they also did this.” She pointed to the long gash along the little pup's side. “Why?”

“I don’t know, Florence.” I shifted uncomfortably in my spot on the floor. “I sort of hoped you might have a guess.”

She shook her head mutely. “So cruel. So pointless. And why feed on a pup? Highbloods don’t normally use animals. It’s considered beneath them.”

I stayed silent as she reached for the kit she’d brought down from her room and pulled out clean bandages and a bottle of salve. Carefully, she applied the salve to the wound. The pup whimpered, its eyes flickering open again.

“I’m sorry, little one,” Florence whispered. “I’ll be as gentle as I can.” She glanced up at me. “I can’t heal it completely. I’m not that skilled. All I can do is stitch it and hope for the best.”

I watched as she worked, stitching along the gash, the horrible wound oozing blood onto the salve.

The little pup stirred slightly, letting out another weak whimper, his wide, owl-like eyes flitting open then closing again.

“He’s so little, so fragile,” Florence said sadly, as she wrapped bandages snugly around the fluffin’s torso. “I’ve done what I can but he’s still feverish. Whoever attacked him did more damage than I can heal. The fever might come down on its own. But...it might not.”

I crouched beside the fluffin pup, watching as he breathed shallowly. He seemed to be falling asleep.

“So what do we do?” I’d hoped Florence would have the wisdom I lacked. The magic solution. Something that would set everything to rights.

But when I looked into her dark eyes, I saw she felt as lost as I did.

She sat back on her heels. “We’ll let it rest for tonight. But we might need help–real help–tomorrow.” She hesitated. “One of the house healers would be best. Someone with more skill or stronger magic. If the fever doesn’t break, if the wound gets infected, it could get worse.”

The fluffin pup lay quietly, his small chest rising and falling gently. I pulled the blanket overtop, tucking it in around him. I thought again of the girl on the beach. I wasn’t going to tell Florence about her. Not yet. She’d been through enough tonight already.

“We’ll figure it out in the morning,” I said quietly. I examined my friend. She looked exhausted and sad.

Florence slowly lifted her head and met my eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“For what? You have nothing to be sorry for, Florence. I understand why you left.”

“Yes, but I should have waited for you...”

“Stop.” I raised my hand. “Please. I’m the one who should be apologizing. I should never have made you come. It was so stupid of me. This is exactly what I was afraid of–of you getting hurt because of me.” I thought of Florence’s mother, Jia, and the way the Drakharrow students were treating her. It all came back to me.

“Maybe you were right after all,” Florence said, staring down at the floor.

I took a deep breath. “What do you mean?”

She looked at me. “I mean... maybe they are monsters.”

I was shocked. “The highbloods?”

She nodded. “All my life...” She lifted her chin and gave a brittle laugh. “Can I tell you something, Medra? All my life I’ve wanted to be one.”

“A highblood?”

She nodded. “They’re strong. Beautiful. They all belong. We blightborn... We don’t have that. Do you know what I mean?”

I wasn’t sure I did, so I said nothing.

“We only belong in terms of how we relate to them. And that used to make me feel safe. Coming here made me feel safe. They wanted me. Our protectors wanted me. They saw value in me. Some day they might even need me.” She gave a hollow laugh. “But tonight...”

Florence’s worldview was changing. And that might be a good thing. But I didn’t want her to go too far. Because her mother had been right. Florence’s ideals, no matter how naive I might think them, did protect her. They were a comfort. And I didn’t want her stripped of all that. Not in a single night. Not because of me.

“That boy. Kiernan. The one who did that to you. He’s dead,” I said quietly. “I thought you should know.”

Her eyes widened.“What? Medra, what did you do?”

“Not me. Blake Drakharrow.”

Her eyes widened. “Because of me?”

“Not just because of that,” I hedged. I doubted Blake even knew what had happened to Florence. Or if it would have affected him one bit if he had known. No, he’d done what he’d done to Kiernan because someone had threatened me. His property. Not because he cared about either Florence or myself. “Kiernan threatened me after you left. Blake... He threw him into the fire.”

Florence covered her mouth.

“Is that typical?” I still had no idea. “Do highbloods usually kill each other like that?”

“The rules are different for highbloods,” Florence said slowly. “I’m starting to wonder if there even are rules for them at all. But if Kiernan did something to threaten you then I suppose Blake could easily argue that it was a challenge to House Drakharrow’s honor and he’d been within his rights.”

“Kage Tanaka was there, too. I think it had something to do with him.”

Florence nodded. “There’s a strong rivalry between those two. But they seem to keep it in check. At least, they did before this.”

I decided not to point out we were only a few weeks into the start of term. There was plenty of time for things to go to hell.

“What happened to you was wrong, Florence. So wrong. I’m so sorry it happened tonight. I thought the party would be fun. I made a massive mistake.” To my shock, I realized I was near tears. “You could have died.”

Florence slid around the ottoman, careful not to disturb the sleeping pup. “Hey. Medra. It’s all right.” She put her arms around me and I leaned into the embrace, smelling the scent of the lavender salve she’d been using. She smelled calm and comforting. Peaceful. I squeezed her back gratefully.

When she pulled away, her face was solemn. “Besides, you already had it happen to you. You know what thrallweave is like. Having someone in your head like that... It’s so violating. When I got back to the dormitory, the first thing I did was throw up.”

“I don’t blame you,” I said, eying her sympathetically. “And you’re right. It’s a horrible violation.”

“I’m glad Kiernan is dead,” she said slowly. “Isn’t that terrible? There must be something wrong with me.”

“There is nothing wrong with you, Florence,” I said firmly. “I’m glad he is, too. That wasn’t the first encounter I had with him. He seemed like a nasty piece of work.”

“But it’s so final. He’s just gone. Forever. Even he didn’t deserve that. Did he?” She hiccuped and I realized she was trying to hold back sobs.

I slipped my arm around her shoulders. “You didn’t do it. You didn’t hurt him. Neither did I. It was out of our hands.”

Was it true? I’d wanted to kill Kiernan, yes. But I hadn’t done it. Blake had beaten me to it. I doubted he was sitting by the bonfire crying and wracked with guilt right now. No, he was probably drinking with Regan. Or doing other things.

“None of this was your fault,” I repeated. “None of it. Kiernan knows the system better than either of us. He was a highblood. He knew what might happen. He acted like a bastard... and he paid the price.”

“Maybe he paid the price Kage Tanaka should have paid,” Florence suggested, saying exactly what I’d been thinking. “Didn’t he say Kage sent him over?”

“You think he was what? Expendable? That Kage knew what was going to happen? That it was some kind of a test?”

Florence shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t know how highbloods think. I’m realizing that more and more every day.”

“But you grew up with them. In a highblood house, I mean...”

“I grew up worshiping them. Idolizing them. Adoring them. But it was always from afar. I didn’t really see them up close that often. They had children my age, but we weren’t friends. The family my mother served lived in, well, basically a palace. We lived in a little cottage on the grounds with the other servants. I would see the highblood family from time to time and they were so beautiful. They looked so noble. Then there were feast days and rites at the temples. We all worship them, Medra. I don’t think you quite understand.” She shook her head. “One day we’ll go into Veilmar. Then maybe you’ll get it.”

“I’d like that,” I said. “I want to understand. I really do. Sellbloods, for instance. You said there were some at the party? The ones being fed from?”

She nodded.

“What are they exactly?”

She colored. “They work at brothels. But not the kind you’re thinking of,” she said quickly. “Blood brothels. They sell their blood.”

I stared at her. “Like thralls?” I didn’t see the difference.

She shook her head. “No, they’re not thralls. They’re not under any kind of enthrallment for one. And they don’t belong to a certain highblood or certain house. They might get some pleasure from the act. I’m not certain. Having your blood taken... Well, no one really claims it’s painful. Not that I’ve heard.”