BLOOD OF THE CRIMSON THRONE

I should not be here.

The thought hammered against my skull as I flattened myself against the throne room wall, silver tray biting into my palms. Blood servants belonged in kitchens. In corridors. Anywhere but this massive chamber where vampires gathered to remind everyone exactly who held the power.

Someone had miscounted tonight. Or Marcus was drunk again when he assigned the posts. Either way, here I stood with two dozen other servants while the five great bloodlines assembled before their king.

King Kael Draeven lounged on his throne like a predator pretending to rest. Black stone. Blood crystal. The seat fit him. All sharp edges and casual menace, those red eyes tracking nobles the way a wolf watches a herd for the weakest one.

I had glimpsed him before over twelve years in this palace. You could not avoid it. But never this close. Never where he might actually see me looking back.

Keep your head down. Disappear. Live another day.

The only rules that mattered when you were hiding what I was hiding.

"Your Majesty." Lord Cassian Morweth stepped forward, all golden hair and perfect features. The kind of beautiful that made you forget about the rot underneath. "We gather on this Blood Moon to witness your strength, as tradition demands."

What he meant: prove you are not dying like everyone whispers.

Court politics were not subtle. Every vampire in this room smelled blood in the water. Their king fed less. Appeared less. Snapped more. And tonight they would watch him either prove them wrong or confirm what they already suspected.

"The Blood Moon rises." Kael's voice could cut glass. "Let the ritual begin."

Two nobles came forward from House Silvane, wrists already extended. The old ritual. The king fed from the bloodlines to remind everyone their power came from him. That he could take whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted it.

Kael moved down the throne steps like water, like something that had never been human. He took the woman's wrist first. Brought it to his mouth.

Fangs extended. Pierced skin. Blood welled up dark and rich.

Nothing happened.

Three seconds of absolute stillness. Then Kael dropped her wrist like it burned him, jaw clenched so tight I heard his teeth grind from across the room. His eyes flashed black before bleeding back to red. The woman stumbled away looking confused and terrified in equal measure.

"Your Majesty?" The male noble held out his arm, voice shaking just slightly.

Kael bit down harder this time. I watched the muscles in his throat work. Watched him try to swallow what his body would not accept.

He could not feed.

The room understood before he pulled away. Whispers spread like poison. Vampires who had been standing rigid as statues started shifting, glancing sideways. Looking at Cassian, who barely hid his satisfaction.

The king was dying. Here. Now. In front of his entire court.

"Perhaps Your Majesty requires different sustenance." Cassian practically purred the words. "Something more... basic."

Human blood. He meant human blood. The insult hit like a backhand. Kings did not feed from humans in public. It was degrading. An admission that you had fallen so far down the hierarchy you might as well be a fledgling again.

Kael's eyes went solid black. "Careful, Morweth."

"I only want to help, Your Majesty. If vampire blood no longer sustains you, perhaps the old ways are best." Cassian waved carelessly toward us servants lining the walls. "After all, what else are cattle good for?"

Every drop of blood in my body turned to ice.

No. Please no.

"Fine." The word came out of Kael flat and dead. But underneath I heard fury that could burn the palace down. "Bring one forward."