Chapter 92 Tether
❀ Maeve ❀
Hours later, Jessica was beginning to look red. She matched the rich plum of the crabs peering out at us from beneath small rocks.
She didn’t seem to mind, so I let her carry on.
Unlike me, she could swim. But that didn’t stop me from warning her off the deeper waters.
My anxiety over her safety spiked with each lap she did.
“Jessica, you’re a speck in the ocean right now,” I called.
A particularly stubborn seagull that had spent the better part of the morning with us stood sentry with beady eyes. Its gullet was full, beak smeared with confectionery.
I waved it off to no avail.
Then I stood, stretching my back.
Toeing the water, I watched as the waves swept her along like a floating blob. Yet she always resurfaced with laughter on her tongue.
She finally got her fill, trudging out to join me once again on the sand.
“Why won’t you let me teach you? It’s so much fun!”
“I’ve had some traumatic experiences,” I muttered, gazing far off.
My heart ached as I recalled the days with Bastian—in the stream, the tub, and the underground cave.
The way sunlight had glinted off his wet hair right after he’d flung me into the stream. The way he’d taken me in the tub after I’d tried to taunt him into marking me.
I missed the iridescent cave springs so much it pained me.
Could I convince Nikolai to trace me there, if only to see it? And then trace me back to my castle prison?
I sighed.
Jessica noticed.
“You’re unhappy here,” she said, like it was a hard-to-believe fact. As if I were strange for feeling that way.
“Knowing my circumstances, would you be?”
She blinked. “Yes.”
Of course she would. And of course I could, but my heart couldn’t be contained.
“Master Nikolai is happier with you here. He never used to smile or even acknowledge anything. You give him reason to.”
I raised a hand. “Okay. Not really in the mood for that.”
She stuttered. “I—I’m sorry, your grace. I got ahead of myself.”
I looked her over. “Has he been your only master?”
“No. I used to be a communal feeder at the castle. But after I met you, he decided I should be yours.”
Communal feeder.
I shivered. To have no control over who or when you lost your blood.
But like I’d already noted, she didn’t look worse for wear.
“You hated it, didn’t you?” I asked softly.
She squirmed, uncomfortable. “I’m grateful to be of service.”
“Does he drink from you?” My voice roughened, jealousy peaking uncontrollably.
“Just once. But it was years and years ago. He never called on me, or the others, that I know of, again.”
My brows furrowed. “Then how did he feed?”
“I don’t know. But sometimes, it was obvious he starved.”
I turned to observe the sea.
Was it possible he’d refused the life he’d been forced into? Rebelling, and suffering for it?
To be human one day and vampire the next. Having lost his entire family, then serving as a feeder himself.
That first day I’d met him in Blackbridge, he’d had bread. I hadn’t had the luxury of questioning it then. But a vampire with bread?
“How long has Lilith been a member of the Crimson House?”
Jessica blanched, no doubt reliving some abuse at Lilith’s hands.
“I’m not sure. But later than Master Nikolai. She fought her way into the castle and demanded to serve. The regent admired her courage and cunning, and turned her.”
I scowled.
Courage, my foot. She was an innately evil being and sought power so she could be worse.
But then something occurred to me.
Drusilla only had Nikolai and Lilith as her progeny—
“And Vladis?” My uncle, it was still hard to reconcile. I popped a cherry into my mouth. “How many does he sire?”
Jessica looked at me like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“Thousands.”
I coughed, nearly choking.
Eyes watering, I gasped, “What?”
Thousands? How? Why?
Jessica jumped up, rubbing my arms as I gathered myself.
“There’s so much you’re unaware of, your grace. You must learn the history and the secrets. It is the only way you might survive this kingdom.”
“Of course I know next to nothing,” I snapped, annoyed. “I only just found out my mother lied to me, my real mother—good turned evil vampire by the way, decimated the town I was raised in… and I’m supposed to be queen!”
I was breathing hard by the time I finished.
Jessica nodded along to my tirade.
“Why, and how does Vladis sire thousands? That’s not right. I thought male Crimsons were… like, useless in Veilmoor?”
Since it was a queendom, I’d actually been curious what the royal males did.
“His function, like all male royals, is to populate the kingdom.”
I stared at her. “Go on.”
“Female royals rarely sire. Their blood carries more power, and sharing it too freely threatens the crown. That’s why Lilith and Master Nikolai are the only ones who can trace.”
“And the other brother?” My second, late uncle, Ivaris.
“He did the same. Turning humans into lesser vampires. Vampires sired by male royals are weaker than Crimsons and don’t possess the tracing ability. They also cannot procreate unless they find a bride.”
“So if a lesser vampire doesn’t find his bride, or a female doesn’t find her mate, they can’t reproduce…” I murmured.
“Exactly,” Jessica said, her tone a touch patronizing.
I narrowed my eyes. She blanched.
But then, since vampires die if their sire does, the kingdom must have lost many when Ivaris died.
Which meant Vladis was one of the most important figures in the kingdom.
“So if Vladis dies,” I asked slowly, “Veilmoor becomes compromised? The entire population perishes?”
“No,” she shook her head. “As long as there’s a chosen queen, that queen holds absolute power. Even if the Crimson males die, as long as you live, you are the tether.”
My stomach roiled. My vision actually fogged.
It was all so… much.
Jessica wasn’t finished. She absently pulled her wet hair up with one arm. “With the way Master Vladis has been turning these days, you’d think he was building an army.”
“Is that so,” I encouraged.
Servants knew everything. Jessica was a well of information.
“Mmh. In fact, we might already be overpopulated,” she added.
I twisted a strand of hair thoughtfully.
I’d never really considered how vampire society functioned. Its culture, its habits.
I’d never even pictured them having families.
The urge to explore stirred in me.
As the sun began its slow descent, the sea churned with greater force.
I stood, committing the sight to memory. My skin tingled as my instincts anticipated the moon.
If I were a real, full wolf, the urge to change or howl would be overpowering.
My heart ached. I missed the howls of IronWolf, the ever-present scent of roasting meat, the security of community.
I missed the pack I’d never been allowed to bond with.
Then another sensation cut through my reverie.
I was being watched.
At first, I suspected the bodyguards had returned despite my orders.
I snapped my gaze to the mountainside—
My breath left me.
Nikolai leaned casually against the rock, eyes burning like twin sunsets from the shadows.