Laurel forced herself to breathe, her mind started to race. Eden was a vampire. Was he dangerous? Was he a spy or just taking refuge in the werewolf kingdom? Why would he be here if that were the case? His hands began to shake as the nurse came back with more towels, breaking the silence in the room. Laurel wrapped her hand in one of the towels and stood. “I should get this seen to,” Laurel said, “I’ll see you later, Eden!”He nodded, turning a kind smile on her, but the hunger in his eyes was still there. She hurried out of the backroom and snagged a bandage and rushed back to the castle.She went to her room and closed it behind her without a word before setting to pacing.How could Eden be a vampire? How had he managed to hide it all this time? Was he connected to the poison attempt? Was he connected to Laura's death? She stopped and shook her head. Eden had been nothing but kind to her. There was no real reason to suspect him other than being a vampire. In the same way that th

“Patience,” Helena said. “A noblewoman is never in a hurry though she has purpose when she strides.”Laurel walked surefooted and familiar with Helena. The books barely trembled as she glided around the room with Helena. Delia clenched her jaw. The sight irritated her as she thought of Laura’s grace and how much Delia hated it.“Poise,” Helena’s voice pulled her from her thoughts as they reached the other side of the room. “For no one must know her mind before she speaks it, not even her husband. To be an enigma serves her cause… To be calm is to master yourself. How can you lead people when you cannot lead yourself?”The words floated through Laurel’s consciousness, sending her back in time to when she was taking the same lessons as Laura. She had taken these words to heart and found strength in them. “Grace for the very sight of her gliding into a room should shock those within into silence, charm them into listening, and set the tone for how she is to be treated.”Helena walked wi

Basil had finished the bottle of whiskey all of an hour after waking up screaming His entire body ached from the day's work but his guilt and confusion woke him. Yet another dream about Laura. How many did that make now? Too many.He got out of bed and went into the antechamber where a fresh bottle of whiskey sat waiting for him. He opened the bottle ignoring the glass beside it and began to drink. The alcohol burned on his way down, but he knew so long as he drank enough of it the burn would dull the other ache in his chest. The bottle was half empty when he decided it was too hot in his room. He left, staggering down the corridor and the stairs. He barely missed falling over himself going to reach the ground floor. Then, he let his feet take him where they always took him after every dream about Laura: the graveyard.The paths had been swept recently. He supposed the graveyard attendants had taken note that he was spending more of his nights here and made sure to clean up fr

He had been reviewing proposals for several days before Eden's proposal crossed his desk: well thought out, meticulous, and in agreement with his escort requirements. He’d used his foreknowledge of Adolph’s new policies to his advantage. It should have made him relax, but it only made him more suspicious. A vampire descendant in the werewolf kingdom could be harmless, but it was unlikely.The things Eden wanted to import weren't dire necessities, but the lack of them could cause problems for the hospital and several other businesses that were vital to the capital. What could he be trying to gain for asking for such a small contract? It was almost negligible in the face of Eden’s caravan’s capacity for transport and trade. Something didn’t sit right with him and he knew if he set it in front of the ministers to approve they would not ponder such things.A knock sounded on the door and Chasel entered with a scroll."An update," Chasel said as he closed the door behind him. “Go on, tel

If Delia had to mop another dirty floor, she’d scream, pull a nurse’s hair out, and bash her brains in. The nurses and cleaning staff of the hospital were all dull and irritating, never taking the hint that Delia didn’t care about any of the people in the hospital’s well-being. Still, the hospital was better than the orphanage. Being surrounded by all those pathetic children reminded her of her childhood in a way she never wanted to think about. Trying to play nice with Laurel and obeying her orders was going to drive her crazy. She needed another plan to get Basil to think differently about her. “You are slouching,” Helena said primly, cutting into Delia’s thoughts as the book clattered to the floor. “Try again.”She wanted to lunge across the room and tear the woman’s hair out, but knowing that Adolph had hired her stayed her hand. She didn’t need to make an enemy of Adolph. She couldn’t afford to. Eden was gone, but she knew he’d want to see some sort of progress when he got ba