Page 32 of Dhampira

“How reassuring,” Lorcan murmured, his eyes on the courtiers.

Vander’s nostrils flared. I held my breath, waiting for him to respond, but he merely rubbed the mare’s nose.

“Very good,” Rasimir said. He clapped his hands once, then swept an arm toward the group of courtiers. “Come, you three. Let us join the rest of the hunt. I’ve kept them waiting long enough.” He gave me a conspiratorial smile. “They’ve been buzzing about you since I announced your arrival. But I told them to leave you alone. I wanted to be the first to introduce you.”

My throat tightened with nerves. I managed a weak smile as I lifted my skirts and moved over the grass. The vampires fell silent at our approach, and dozens of eyes fixed on me. The courtiers were a mix of men and women. Like Rasimir and Lorcan, they were tall and lithely built, with an aura of stillness that made me shiver.

Predators. Monsters in pretty clothes. The monster within me lifted its head, recognition pumping through my veins. But these monsters were different. They lay just under the surface of a thin veneer. Memories of Cyprio’s warehouse rushed me. In my mind’s eye, a richly dressed duchess lifted a pair of binoculars.

The wind picked up, making the pennants snap as we reached the tents. Vander stayed just behind Rasimir. Lorcan stopped at my shoulder and folded his arms over his chest. As one, the courtiers sank into a bow, the movement performed in eerie, perfect coordination.

“Rise, all of you,” Rasimir said. He took my hand and raised his voice. “My beloved daughter is returned to us at last. We rejoice at her safe arrival, and we celebrate her with a hunt. Nocta welcomes its heir!”

The courtiers cheered. Lorcan kept silent, his gaze on the crowd.

My cheeks burned. As the clapping and cheering continued, I sank into what I hoped was a passable curtsy. Rasimir beamed at me. The courtiers bowed and curtsied back.

Rasimir laughed. “Well, let’s not waste time. Mount up, everyone!”

The second he said it, servants streamed from the tents and began readying the horses. Bridles jangled. Leather creaked as courtiers swung into their saddles. Servants helped the women adjust their skirts. Several courtiers strapped quivers of arrows to their backs. A few accepted goblets of blood-wine, which they downed amid good-natured chatter.

Vander appeared at my elbow. “I’ll help you mount, Your Highness.” Once again, his expression was inscrutable, with no sign of the amiable knight who’d teased me on the road to the Drakhold.

Questions hovered on my tongue. Before I could voice them, he gripped my waist and lifted me into the saddle. As he guided my foot into the stirrup, he bent his head and spoke against the folds of my riding dress.

“Not here.”

My questions died in my throat, and worry settled around me as he mounted Maddox and then nodded greetings to a few passing courtiers. Once everyone was mounted, the vampires began forming a long line, their horses pointed toward the forest.

“This way, Princess,” Lorcan said, taking my reins. I was too numb to protest as he led my horse to the end of the row. Wind tugged at my hair. Atop the tents, the crimson pennants flickered like long tongues. Beside me, Lorcan’s demeanor was bored as he pulled on a pair of black gloves. Vander appeared astride Maddox on my other side. I looked between the men, last night’s scene before the fountain playing through my head. Neither man said anything, but a muscle twitched in Vander’s jaw.

Rasimir guided his horse between a break in the line. The circlet on his head gleamed in the diffused light as he rode a few paces ahead and then stopped with his back to us. Silence fell over the clearing. Ahead, the forest seemed to hold its breath.

And then everything changed.

Around me, courtiers eased their bodies forward in their saddles. Their eyes glittered. Lips parted, and fangs appeared. The air shifted, filling with…hunger.

Rasimir raised his arm. For one tense moment, he held it aloft. Then he dropped it.

A hunting horn split the air.

Alon burst from somewhere and took off for the trees. His loose shirt flapped behind him as he pumped his arms, his long legs eating up the grassy clearing.

My stomach dropped. Between the meeting and all the cheering, I’d forgotten about Alon. And now he…he ran like he…

No. I gripped my reins, nausea roiling my gut. No, this wasn’t happening.

“They should have dressed him in darker colors,” a male courtier said in a voice heavy with disappointment. “This will be far too easy.”

“Oh hush,” a woman next to him said. “This way, we can play a bit more.”

Bile burned my throat, and my breakfast croissants threatened to make a second appearance. My horse shied as I gripped my reins in shaking hands.

Vander’s thigh brushed mine. “Steady,” he murmured.

I jerked my head toward him.

“Eyes forward,” he said, his lips barely moving. When I didn’t immediately obey, the muscle in his jaw twitched again. “Do as I say.”