Chapter 25 Sing Again
Lady Vespera stood near the punch bowl, surrounded by her sycophants. She was wearing a gown of screaming pink silk that looked cheap and garish next to the darkness of my dress.
Her face was a mask of horror. Her mouth hung open. She was staring at the pearls on my chest and she knew. She knew exactly what they were.
The glass in her hand tilted. Red wine spilled over her fingers, staining her white glove, but she didn't notice.
She looked small. She looked terrified.
I held her gaze. I didn't blink. I let her see the cold, hard hatred in my eyes.
Vespera flinched. She looked away, pretending to adjust her bracelet, her hands trembling.
"She knows she lost," I whispered.
"She knows she is in danger," Klaus corrected. "You just outranked her without saying a word."
He shifted his grip, sliding his hand from my fingers up to my forearm, then tucking my hand securely into the crook of his elbow. He pressed his arm against his side, trapping my hand there.
"Do not leave my side," he ordered.
The command was sharp, leaving no room for argument.
"I wasn't planning on it," I said, looking at the wall of vampires watching us. "They look hungry."
"They are," Klaus said grimly. "But they are confused. They don't know if you are a pet or a power. We need to keep them confused."
"How?"
"By showing them who holds the leash."
He turned us toward the dais at the far end of the room. The crowd parted instantly. It was like walking through a sea of red eyes and bared fangs.
I could hear their thoughts in their whispers.
We walked the gauntlet. Every step was a battle to keep my head high. I could feel the magic in my blood reacting to their presence. The siren inside me wanted to sing. It wanted to lash out, to break the crystal glasses in their hands, to make them kneel.
We reached the dais.
The Emperor sat on his throne of bone and velvet. He looked ancient, his skin translucent, his blind, milky eyes fixed on nothing.
But as we approached, he smiled.
"Peregrine," the Emperor rasped. His voice carried effortlessly over the room. "And... the Little Fish."
Klaus bowed, keeping me tucked tight against his side. I curtsied, the heavy silk pooling around me.
"Your Eminence," Klaus said.
The Emperor leaned forward. He sniffed the air.
"Salt," he murmured. "And... sorrow. Delicious."
He turned his head toward the crowd.
"Vespera!" he barked.
The name cracked like a whip. Vespera squeaked from the back of the room. She was pushed forward by the crowd until she stumbled into the open.
"Yes, Your Eminence?" she trembled.
"You promised me a beggar," the Emperor said, his voice cold and bored. "You said she would be amusing."
He gestured blindly toward me.
"This is not a beggar, Vespera. This is a weapon wrapped in night."
Vespera turned purple. "I... I thought... the dress..."
"Your taste is rotting," the Emperor dismissed her. "Leave my sight. You bore me."
Vespera let out a choked sob. She turned and ran, her pink dress billowing behind her as she fled the ballroom, the laughter of the court chasing her out.
I felt a surge of triumph, hot and fierce.
But then the Emperor looked back at me.
"Come closer," he commanded.
I froze.
Klaus’s arm tightened around mine. He didn't step forward.
"She is shy, Your Eminence," Klaus lied smoothly. "She is not used to the lights."
"I did not ask you, Peregrine," the Emperor said softly. "I asked the siren."
He extended a hand. His fingers were long, skeletal, the nails yellow and curved.
"Come here, child. Let me see the pearls."
I looked at Klaus. His jaw was clenched so tight I thought his teeth would shatter. He couldn't stop the Emperor. Not here. Not in front of everyone.
I stepped away from Klaus. The loss of his warmth was instant and painful.
I walked up the steps of the dais. I stopped in front of the throne.
The Emperor reached out. He touched the pearls on my bodice. His finger grazed my skin, dry and papery.
I shuddered.
"Real," he whispered. "Solid grief. Beautiful."
He moved his hand up to my throat. He touched the pulse point.
"And loud," he murmured. "Your heart... it beats like a drum."
He leaned back, satisfied.
"Sing for us," he commanded. "The hunt is about to begin. The prisoners are being brought up from the dungeons. We need music for the meal."
My blood ran cold.
"I..." I stammered. "I don't know the hunting songs."
"Improvise," the Emperor said. He waved his hand. "Go back to your keeper. But when the first drop of blood hits the floor... I want to hear you."
I scrambled back down the stairs.
Klaus caught me. He pulled me back into his side so hard I stumbled against his chest.
"I've got you," he whispered into my hair. "Breathe."
"He wants me to sing for the slaughter," I whispered, gripping his coat. "Klaus, I can't."
"You won't have to," Klaus said. His eyes were scanning the room, calculating.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean," Klaus said, "that I am about to cause a distraction."
The doors to the dungeon opened on the far side of the room. A group of thralls dragged in a line of prisoners.
The vampires in the room turned toward them. A collective hiss of hunger filled the air. Fangs descended. The glamour of the ball vanished, replaced by the raw, ugly face of the feeding frenzy.
"Focus on me," Klaus ordered.
He turned me away from the prisoners. He placed both hands on my face, forcing me to look only at him.
"Do not look at them," he said fiercely. "Look at me. Only me."
"They're going to kill them," I choked out.
"Look at me, Nerissa!"
I locked eyes with him. The sapphire fire was burning out of control now. The black veins on his neck were throbbing.
"I am going to get us out of here," he promised. "But you have to trust me. When I move... you move."
"What are you going to do?"
He looked at the Emperor. He looked at the hungry crowd. Then he looked back at me.
"I'm going to ruin the party," he whispered.
He released my face. He turned toward the center of the room.