After failing as a vampire hunter, 17-year-old Cleo is sent to an academy full of vampires as a false peace treaty. Her true objective is supposed to be finding the hidden heir to the dark world while befriending the current one, but the current hei...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
She wasn't dead.
The queen wasn't dead.
My pulse pounded in my ears.
Claude's mother wasn't dead.
A lump formed in my throat as I remained in my kneeling position. There was living, breathing proof in front of me. He wasn't alone. He still had a family. She was alive.
I felt torn. On one hand, relieved to find her alive, but on the other, horrified to realize that the whispers of her imprisonment were true. How could my father do this? How had he hidden it from us for so long?
I kept my head down, fists clenching at my sides.
What would the queen do when she found out I was the daughter of the one who'd kept her locked up all these years?
"Are you a hunter?" the queen asked, her voice tight.
"Yes," I answered.
Silence stretched between us for a moment. What was she thinking right now? She wouldn't trust me. I knew that. No matter my intentions, I was still a Levant. I was still a hunter by fate. The same kind that held her captive here.
"Stand up, Sweetie," the queen urged. "These floors are filthy."
Her gentle tone startled me. I'd been expecting hostility. I carefully pushed myself up, my legs shaking from adrenaline. I didn't know how to respond. Would she believe me if I brought up Claude right now? Would she think I was brought here as some kind of scheme?
I paused, the thought making something click. Was I brought here for some scheme? Why would they bring me down here, if not? My father knew I was aware of the queen's imprisonment. He knew how I felt about it. Had he put me here to rub it in my face? Or for some other reason? Why show me something he's kept away from me all this time?
"Why did they bring you down here?" the queen asked, still sounding concerned. "Why would they bring one of their own? Especially a child? What could they get from you?"
I paused. What could they get from you? What was that supposed to mean?
Before I could ask, I heard the door opening again. They were already coming back? Why? I grit my teeth, hurrying to the other side of my cell. If my father really had brought me here for some kind of scheme, it would be better to pretend like I didn't notice the queen was there.
I didn't recognize the hunter who appeared at the front of my cell this time. He wasn't one of the ones from earlier, but I almost wished he was. The hairs on the back of my neck rose as I took in his tall stature. He had three times the amount of muscles as the other hunters. Fighting against him would never work in my favor.
"Come here," he ordered, and I didn't dare disobey.
He grabbed me by my hair, startling me, and pulled me out of my cell. I gripped the roots of my hair, trying to keep it from ripping out, tears springing to my eyes at the pain. He manhandled me all the way to the cell that held the queen and my stomach dropped a sinking feeling took over me.
