Page 2 of Ravenous
Her cursed “gift” was exactly the reason she shouldn’t be locked in the crypt!
Co?tin frowned. So he hadn’t known. Or worse—thoughtheshould be the sire.
Lia told her father, “I’m not yet fixed into my immortal form, can’t even regenerate. Childbirth could kill me.”
“With my lineage, you will be hardy.” He planned to cage and breed his youngest child like an animal, like the blood donors.
Her gaze flicked to them.They donate nothing.Covered in bite marks, the Berserker mortals sagged against the far wall of the court, made docile with intoxicants.
Everyone in her family drank from them except her. Spittoons lined the walls to receive flesh if a bite landed too deep. Which often killed the Berserkers.
Her mother was infamous for those deaths, had reddened her eyes without ever hunting. Some whispered that she dreamed her victims’ bloodborne memories like stolen prayers.
Her father prolonged his meals. Tonight a collared female knelt at his feet, his “favorite snack.” Lia had long hated her parents, but never more than right now.
She forced herself to stay focused on her own fate, reasoning that she couldn’t help anyone from the crypt. “What you’ve described is hell, Father.” Every small dream she’d once hoarded began to shrivel. “I’m begging you—as your youngest child—not to do this.”
Neculain was unmoved by her words. “You have two weeks. Guards will see you don’t squander them.”
“And if I saynodown in that crypt?”
“Then you’ll never leave it. One hundred babes is the price you’ll pay for freedom.”
Her voice barely held. “What if none of them inherit my gift?”
He smirked. “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try another’s seed…”
Was this just a joke to him? Other species speculated that the vampires were all mad, but especially the royals.
Not for the first time, Lia thought:We vampires are the creepy, wrong ones.
Co?tin’s voice cut through the tension. “You did not consult your heir, one deeply invested in her fate.”
“She is not your Bride,” Neculain snapped. “Her time in the crypt will rid you of this insane obsession as nothing else will.”
“So that’s your reason?”
“Partly. But mostly I want an army to claw its way up from the ground with murder in its veins like the first bloodthief. When the Berserkers come, they’ll find retribution buried right beneath them.” His eyes gleamed. “Nothing could be more vampiric than sowing a blood harvest.”
In Neculain’s mind, the end was nigh.Best to go out in carnage and death.
He told Lia, “You are vengeance incarnate, the sinister future of our species. Act the part.” He rose and vanished with his captive.
Lia turned to her mother, tears burning. “Please stop him, Mother.”Help me, though you never have before.
Sereth swept from the court. “The king has spoken. Be bold in your fate, child.”
No one had taught Lia boldness. But she had begun to learn cunning.
A plan took shape, dangerous and unforgivable. Glancing over the blood slaves, she thought,I owe this kingdom no allegiance.
Before she could flee, Co?tin’s lips curled, revealing his bloodied fangs. “The crypt has weaknesses. Father might prevent me from having you. But I’ll be damned to the hells before anyone else does.”
Lia fled, heart pounding, half expecting his hand on her throat. But he stood like a statue with that rictus smile frozen on his face…
Outside the court, Nadje, her royal companion, hurried to meet her in the hallway. “You are pale, my princess.”
“Walk with me.” Lia swept forward, her skirts whispering against stone. Ancient family portraits glared from their gilded frames. Tapestries depicting veins, thorns, and spiders spinning hung on the opposite wall. Bloodreach’s weavers dyed their threads with blood and gore; Lia glanced down at her own gown, the crimson silk suddenly feeling like a death shroud.
