Chapter 12 Vespera’s Intrusion
The dress Klaus had ordered for me was a weapon disguised as clothing.
It was emerald green, the color of kelp forests when the sun hits the shallow water. The velvet was heavy, crushing against my ribs, and the neckline plunged deep enough to make me feel exposed, yet the collar rose high and stiff behind my neck like a cobra’s hood.
I stood in front of the vanity, staring at the stranger in the mirror. My hair was braided back with silver wire, pulling my features tight. I didn’t look like Nerissa Thalassyne, Princess of the Deep. I looked like a conquest. A trophy polished and set on a shelf for General Draven to appraise at noon.
The heavy iron lock on the door slid back.
I turned, smoothing the heavy skirt with damp palms. "Klaus? Is the General here?"
But the door didn't open with Klaus’s usual decisive force. It creaked, hesitant and guilty.
A guard I didn't recognize stepped inside. He was young, his uniform ill-fitting, and he wouldn't meet my eyes. He held a small, heavy pouch in one hand that clinked with the sound of gold coins.
"My apologies, mistress," he mumbled, stepping aside.
"Who—"
"Thank you, corporal. You can wait in the hall. And do try not to spend it all on cheap gin."
The voice was sweet, cloying, and laced with arsenic.
Lady Vespera glided into the room.
She was a stark contrast to the dark, masculine energy of the tower. She wore pink silk that looked like spun sugar, frothy and excessive. Her blonde curls were pinned with pearls and her lips were painted a wet, glossy red.
The guard closed the door, leaving us alone.
My stomach tightened. "Get out."
Vespera laughed. It was a light, tinkling sound, like ice hitting glass. "So hostile. Is that how you greet your betters, little fish?"
She walked around the room, trailing her fingers over the furniture Klaus kept so pristine. She touched his desk, his quill, the back of his chair. It was a territorial display. She was marking what she believed was hers.
"Klaus isn't here," I said, stepping away from the vanity. I kept the heavy chair between us. "And he gave orders. No one enters."
"Peri gives a lot of orders," Vespera murmured, picking up the seashell Klaus had given me. She turned it over in her hands with a look of distaste. "He likes to feel in control. It’s his... coping mechanism. But the guards? They know who really runs the social calendar. And a few gold coins can make anyone deaf for ten minutes."
She dropped the shell. It hit the table, chipping a small piece of the iridescent rim.
I flinched, anger flaring hot in my chest. "Don't touch his things."
"His things?" Vespera’s eyes snapped to mine. They were pale red, watery and mean. "You think this trash matters to him? He went to the docks, picked up some garbage, and threw it at you to keep you quiet. It’s what one does with a noisy pet. You give it a chew toy."
She stepped closer, the smell of her perfume hitting me. It was overpowering, designed to mask the scent of death that clung to all vampires.
"You smell," she noted, wrinkling her nose.
"I bathed," I said stiffly.
"No," she shook her head, a mock-pitying smile stretching her lips. "It’s not dirt, darling. It’s... you. You smell like low tide. Like rotting seaweed and salt. No amount of velvet can cover that up."
She circled me, her heels clicking on the stone floor. I turned with her, refusing to let her get behind me.
"Does he make you sleep on the floor?" she asked. "Or does he let you up on the furniture? I know Peri has strange tastes, but surely he doesn't let a fish in his bed."
"I am a Princess," I said, lifting my chin. "My lineage is older than your entire empire. I do not sleep on the floor."
"You are a prisoner," Vespera hissed, the smile vanishing. She stopped inches from me. "You are livestock. The only reason you are wearing that dress and not hanging on a meat hook is because Peri is bored. He likes projects. He likes to take broken, ugly things and see if he can fix them."
She reached out and flicked the diamond collar at my throat.
"But he always gets bored, Nerissa. Always. And when he does... I’ll be waiting with my jar."
"He won't give me to you," I said, though my voice trembled slightly. "He needs me."
"He needs the ocean," Vespera corrected. "He doesn't need you. Once we figure out how to extract the magic without the song... well, you're just surplus meat."
She looked me up and down, her gaze lingering on my chest, my waist, with pure, unfiltered jealousy.
"Look at you," she sneered. " trying to stand tall. Trying to be human. It’s pathetic."
She raised her hand.
It wasn't a calculated strike. It was impulsive, born of spite. She swung her arm, aiming a sharp, open-palmed slap at my cheek.
Time seemed to slow down.
I saw the movement. I saw the flash of the ruby ring on her finger. I saw the intent in her eyes.
I didn't think. I didn't cower.
I moved.
My hand shot up, faster than a human, faster than she expected. My fingers clamped around her wrist, stopping her hand inches from my face.
The impact jarred my arm, but I held on. My grip was iron. Sirens were not delicate; we crushed crabs with our bare hands. We fought currents that could snap masts.
Vespera gasped, her eyes going wide. She tried to yank her hand back, but I didn't let go. I squeezed. I felt the delicate bones of her wrist grind together under my thumb.
"Do not," I whispered, my voice dropping into a low, dangerous register that vibrated in the air, "touch me."
"Let go!" she shrieked, panic replacing the arrogance. "You filthy creature! Let go!"
"I am not a creature," I said, stepping closer, forcing her back. I could smell her fear now. "I am the storm that is going to drown this city. And you are just a parasite."
Vespera’s face went purple. She raised her other hand, claws extending, aiming for my eyes.
The temperature in the room plummeted.
The condensation on the windows turned to ice patterns in a heartbeat. My breath came out in a white cloud.
The door behind us open.
Vespera froze. Her clawed hand hovered in the air. Her eyes shifted from me to the figure standing in the doorway.
Klaus.
He was still wearing the simple black shirt from earlier, but now he wore a heavy coat draped over his shoulders like a cape. He stood perfectly still, his hands clasped behind his back. His face was a mask of absolute, terrifying neutrality.
He didn't look at me. He looked at Vespera’s wrist trapped in my hand. Then he looked at her raised claws.
"Am I interrupting?" he asked.
His voice was soft. It was the most terrifying sound I had ever heard.
Vespera snatched her hand back. I let her go, stepping back to put distance between us. I rubbed my palm on my skirt, trying to wipe off the feel of her cold skin.
"Peri!" Vespera gasped, clutching her wrist. "She attacked me! She grabbed me! Look, she bruised me!"
She held up her wrist. There were indeed red marks where my fingers had dug in.
Klaus walked into the room. He moved slowly, deliberately. The guard who had let Vespera in was nowhere to be seen likely fled or already dealt with.
Klaus stopped in front of Vespera. He towered over her. He didn't look at her wrist. He looked into her eyes.
"You are in my tower," he said.
"I... I just came to welcome her," Vespera stammered, shrinking back. "To help her prepare for the General. And she assaulted me!"
"You bribed a guard," Klaus stated. "Five gold coins."
Vespera paled. "Peri, don't be like this. I was doing you a favor. She's wild. She needs discipline."
"She caught your hand," Klaus said. A flicker of something dark sparked in his sapphire eyes. "Which means you tried to strike her first."
"She insulted me!"
"She is a prisoner of the State," Klaus said, his voice dropping an octave. "She is under my protection. If you touch her, you are touching my property. If you damage her, you are stealing from me."
He took a step closer. Vespera took a step back, hitting the edge of the table.
"I told you once," Klaus whispered, leaning down until they were face to face. "I told you what would happen if you crossed this threshold uninvited."
"Peri, please," Vespera whined, tears of fear welling in her eyes. "I love you. I'm just looking out for you."
"You are looking out for your own vanity," Klaus said. He straightened up, dismissing her with a turn of his head. "Get out. Before I decide to see if sirens can eat vampires."
Vespera let out a choked sob. She looked at me with pure, undiluted hatred, then hiked up her skirts and ran. She scrambled out the door, her heels clattering frantically down the stone hallway.
Klaus didn't watch her go. He stood staring at the empty doorway for a long moment.
Then, he turned to me.
The cold anger vanished, replaced by a sharp, clinical assessment. He walked over to me, invading my personal space without hesitation.
"Did she hurt you?" he asked, grabbing my chin and tilting my head to the side, checking my cheek.
"No," I said, my heart still hammering from the adrenaline. "I stopped her."
"I saw."
He let go of my chin and took my hand, the one that had grabbed Vespera. He turned it over, inspecting my palm.
"You have a strong grip," he noted dryly. "For a fish."
"I told you," I said, pulling my hand away. "I'm not helpless."
"I never said you were helpless," Klaus said. "I said you were reckless."
He walked over to the table and picked up the seashell Vespera had dropped. He ran his thumb over the chipped edge. His jaw tightened.
"She touched this," he murmured.
"She said it was garbage," I said quietly. "She said you just picked it up to keep me quiet."
Klaus looked up. His eyes were dark, swirling with emotions I couldn't name.
"Vespera sees value only in things that sparkle," he said. "She doesn't understand the value of things that endure."
He put the shell down carefully, as if it were made of glass.
"General Draven will be here in ten minutes," he said, his tone shifting back to business. "Fix your hair. You look like you've been in a brawl."
"I was in a brawl," I pointed out.
"And you won," Klaus said. He walked to the door, checking the lock mechanism. "But next time, Nerissa... don't catch the hand."
"What should I do?"
He looked back at me, a dangerous glint in his eye.
"Break it."
He opened the door and signaled to a new guard standing in the hall. A massive, silent figure in black armor.
"If anyone other than me approaches this door," Klaus ordered the guard, "kill them. I don't care if it's the Empress herself."
"Yes, Lord Commander," the guard rumbled.
Klaus looked at me one last time.
"Ten minutes." He repeated.
He closed the door.
I stood alone in the room, the smell of Vespera’s roses fading, replaced by the lingering scent of ozone and the cold, terrifying comfort of his protection.
I looked at my hand. It was still trembling, not from fear, but from the realization of what I had done.