Why did it have to be Adrian who kept his promises?
I sighed and sat up, too restless to sleep, and left the bed. I dressed in my tunic and cloak, deciding to step into what remained of the night. If I was in High City, I would have wandered beyond the gates of the castle in search of stars, but there were few left as the early morning grew brighter. Even if I had wanted to be alone, I did not trust these woods or the monsters I might have attracted, so the camp would have to do.
I peered through the tent opening, finding a few of Adrian’s soldiers lingering near the fire that had been built between us and the rest of the camp. I had a feeling they’d been stationed there to guard me until Adrian returned, and I wondered where Sorin, Isac, and Miha had gone. I was growing fond of the trio, but I thought it would be harder to convince those three to let me walk around the grounds alone than it would these four strangers.
I stepped out of the tent. The air was cold against my skin and my tunic too short for this weather, but being outside in the open made me feel as though I could breathe again. The vampires who were gathered around the fire looked over and scrambled to their feet.
“My queen,” one said. “May I be of assistance?”
“I cannot sleep. I am going to walk the perimeter of the camp.”
The three exchanged a look. “Can she do that?”
“I think what you mean is will Adrian like that?” I said. “And for the record, I do not care.”
“At least allow one of us to escort you,” another suggested.
“I can defend myself.”
“We are aware, Your Majesty, but—”
“I appreciate the offer, but I would like to be alone,” I said, and drew my cloak tighter around my body, and though they allowed me the space to stroll between the tents, I felt their eyes on me—no one was letting me out of their sight.
This was the first time I’d wandered farther than Adrian’s tent, which was some distance from the others, and as I cut through to the edge of the wood, I was not prepared for what I heard as I passed—passionate moans, chanted names, desperate pleas to let me come.
I suppose I should have expected more grotesque displays of sexual behavior based on what I’d learned about vampires, but I had not even thought of it beyond my own experience with Adrian. Hearing these pleasurable sounds, however, made me stiffen, and suddenly I worried over why Adrian had been in such a hurry to leave our tent.
What would I do if I found him with another woman? The thought filled me with an acute rage. In part, it was due to the fact that I had to give up my life to exist with him in a foreign land and also because I had asked him not to sleep with other women after we were married. If he broke that promise, I would make him suffer.
But I never heard his voice, only the cries of his army—in particular those of Sorin, who gasped Daroc’s name so loud, my heart jumped into my throat. I wondered at Adrian’s second-in-command. The stoic guard seemed far too serious to have any passion, but hearing what I was, I had clearly been wrong.
I turned the corner and glanced to my left, my eyes catching on a sliver of light that cut across the ground from a tent. I halted. There, through the opening, I saw Adrian holding a woman. Her head was bent back, her pale hair spilling into his lap, his lips pressed to her neck, and while their embrace looked sensual, I knew it had nothing to do with sex. He was feeding. Behind him were other vampires, mouths molded to necks and wrists, crimson spilling onto their skin and clothes.
Now I understood why I’d never seen any of them feed on the road and why we stopped traveling before sunrise. I should feel grateful that I hadn’t had to witness it before, but seeing this now, I found that I was both horrified and angry. The act was despicable but also intimate, and a horrible jealousy tore through me as the woman Adrian was holding arched into him, her fingers digging into his skin.
At my flare of anger, he looked up, his bright eyes meeting mine even at this distance. My horror overpowered my jealousy, and I turned on my heels and returned to the tent. I half expected Adrian to follow, but he didn’t. I crawled beneath his furs, taking a breath that rattled my whole chest before closing my eyes against threatening tears.
I was living in a whole new world.
I woke later and rolled over to find Adrian reclining in a chair across the tent. Candle flame flickered on a table beside him, highlighting his grim features. He was so pristine, so beautiful, I was glad I’d seen him with the woman earlier. I’d let a few kindnesses blind me to who he really was—a monster.