One second. If he hadn't hesitated, the artery would have burst. The shallow scratch on her neck wasn't enough... his jaw tightened.

Dion shoved her back. The invisible chains snapped, and Ruby Kingsley slumped into the velvet chair. Her limbs were lead... her eyes stared at nothing.

Dion hauled her up by the arm. "Do exactly what I say if you want to keep breathing."

Ruby didn't move. She didn't speak. He dragged her toward the shelves, where a stone panel groaned open and swallowed her into the dark of the secret chamber.

"Felix! Get in here!" Dion barked.

The guard entered, a Bloodbound Servant in tow. Dion pointed to the floor near the hidden door. "Bleed. Right there."

Felix's brow furrowed. He watched the red stain the ivory rug, then covered the mess with a heavy bronze bust.

"Is there... a reason for this, Highness?" Felix asked. His nostrils flared, catching the scent of the hidden human.

"No," Dion snapped. his eyes turned a darker shade of crimson. "You know the price of a loose tongue."

Felix bowed his head. "I know nothing, sir."

Dion smoothed his silk shirt. He tore a mangled, ink-stained page from his book and crushed it into the bin.

A sharp rap echoed off the study door.

Queen Bellaceline stood in the hallway, surrounded by a wall of steel-clad guards. Her pale lavender gown shimmered under the lamps.

Dion dropped to one knee. He pressed his lips to her silk-gloved hand. "Mother."

"I came for breakfast," the Queen said. She glided into the room. "I hope I'm not interrupting your studies."

"It is an honor, Mother."

Bellaceline reached out. Her silk-covered fingers traced the line of Dion's jaw. She smiled, though her eyes remained cold... unreadable.

They sat at the small table. Bellaceline pushed a plate of honey cake toward him.

"Eat," she said. "I hear your appetite has grown lately... yet you look the same."

Dion took a sip of milk. The liquid burned his throat as he choked, a mess of white splashing onto the table.

Ruby was behind the wall. Ruby, who ate half his rolls every morning.

"Take it slow," the Queen whispered. She offered him a silk handkerchief.

"The Royal Ascension Trial is coming," Bellaceline said. She leaned back, watching his face. "I expect you to lead the Knights."

Dion nodded. His eyes darted toward the bookshelf. Was she still breathing in there? Was she bleeding out?

"And your coming-of-age," the Queen continued. "The ball will need a partner. Have you chosen a lady?"

Dion's fingers gripped the edge of the mahogany table. The wood groaned. "Not yet, Mother."

"I can choose for you."

"As you wish."

The meal ended. Dion stood to escort her.

Bellaceline paused at the threshold. Her eyes swept the room, lingering on the heavy ornaments over the fresh bloodstain.

Dion stepped to the left. His shadow covered the seam of the secret door.

The Queen's gaze returned to him. "You've always been a smart boy, Dion," she whispered.

Her hand rested on his shoulder like a lead weight. "I don't think I need to say more."

She turned and vanished into the hall, her guards falling into step behind her.

Dion stood in the silence until the thud of the boots faded.

"Felix!" he called through the door.

"Sir?"

"Tell the professor I'm ill," Dion barked. "No lessons today."

He slammed the lock home.

Dion blurs to the wall. He swipes at the air, the bronze bust sliding aside. The stone panel groans open.

Darkness swallows the chamber. He catches a small silhouette against the masonry. A ragged, thin breath rattles in the corner.

He blurs to her side. Ruby scrambles back, her spine hitting the cold stone. Her knuckles turn white as she grips her own neck.

"Up".

She claws at the wall for leverage. One hand stays clamped over the bite. Dion's jaw tightens as he wrenches her wrist away.

Two red punctures leak heat onto her white skin. Dion's throat works. He leans in, the tip of his tongue tracing the damp line of her pulse.

Ruby freezes. Her face twists into a grimace of pure disgust. The wet heat against her skin makes her stomach churn.

"Go".

He doesn't wait for an answer. He snaps his hand around her arm and jerks her toward the light of the study.

The barrier hums through the halls of Durell Palace. Dion drags her to the mouth of the Moon Archway.

"Back to Solara".

He lets go. Ruby doesn't blink. She turns and ignites, her skirts snapping like a whip as she vanishes into the dark.

Dion stands in the silence. He watches the spot where she disappeared until the echo of her boots dies.

A trace of sugar and warm iron lingers on his tongue. His fingers twitch at his sides. The satiation is a drug his Bloodbound Servants never provided.

The Queen's eyes flash in his memory. A warning wrapped in silk. He has no reason to defy her, not yet.

Restraint is a cage. If he doesn't stop now, the addiction will win. He sits at the desk, the quill moving in steady, precise lines.

"Highness, you've improved," the professor notes.

Dion stares through the glass. A bat tears through the moonlight. It looks like her skirts, fluttering as she ran.

Water splashes over the rim of the tub. Ruby scrubs her neck until the skin turns raw and red.

She collapses into the duvet. A nightmare takes hold—a dried husk in a coffin, her father wailing, Angelina screaming to burn Châtelet.

She bolts upright, gasping for air. The sun has already died. Twilight is a ghost on the curtains.

A shadow stands by the door. Ruby lunges for the pillow, shoving it toward the intruder. "Who—who are you?".

The figure steps into the amber light. "Don't scream. I'm just the messenger".

Felix stands in a stiff uniform. His eyes are the color of burnt earth. He extends a white envelope.

"I am Felix, guard to Prince Dion. Take this".

Ruby snatches the paper with two fingers. She keeps the pillow between them like a shield.

"My duty is done." Felix blurs. The air rushes into the vacuum where he stood.

She stares at the trash bin. The envelope hits the bottom with a soft thud.

Seconds pass. She fishes it out, her brow furrowing. The vampire is a persistent itch she can't scratch.

The paper is rough, torn from a draft book. A single line of ink cuts across the center.

Don't come looking for me anymore.

Ruby flips the page. Nothing. Just those six words.

A laugh bubbles up in her chest. She wants to frame it next to her riding trophies from Aurelia.

She's free. The monster is bored. She falls back onto the silk, a grin stretching across her face.