So now, at last, “shortly” had come. As she waited outside Council chambers, in this cold, silent hallway, Alanna couldn’t hear what was going on behind the solid doors. She should be able to hear the occasional murmur caused by a raised voice, which was why this hallway was kept clear during Council sessions. However, the blocker had a devastating side effect. The exceptional strength, speed and senses that came with being a third mark were neutralized. For the first time since she’d become Stephen’s third mark, at age sixteen, she felt merely human.
Lady Lyssa’s command to “regain your health” was the second hardest thing that had ever been demanded of her, but the queen was the closest thing to a Master she had now, however temporal that would be.
Alanna recalled the fingers on her stomach, the vampire attached to them commanding her to answer Lord Brian. She also thought about the Scot’s soothing tone. He’d spoken often while she was being painted by his Master. His accent was like music, the way he dragged out the vowels in some places, made them dense and strong in others. Fiiinal . . . Book was buek . . . Certainly was cairtenly. And the wonderful rolling rs . . .
The effectiveness of the blocker had brought on exhaustion and desolation, sending her into unconsciousness. When she woke, they hadn’t been there, and there was no paint on her body. She’d looked thoroughly for any trace of it, and found nothing. During the days that followed, where she remained mute unless Lord Brian needed an answer to a question, she realized the men touching her had been some strange mental defense against Stephen’s torment. But it felt more real than the most hideous nightmare he’d sent her, and since what made the nightmares so awful was how very real they felt, that was saying something.
“Alanna?”
She lifted her head to see Jacob, Lady Lyssa’s servant, standing in the doorway. She hadn’t heard the heavy portal open. Exhorting herself to focus, be attentive as she should, she slid her weight to the balls of her feet and tried to rise gracefully in one motion. It worked, but the effort was phenomenal. She was still so weak.
Offering assistance to any InhServ was a deep insult to them. Requiring help was a mark of shame. But the broad-shouldered Irishman with steady midnight blue eyes was an odd sort, not the usual kind of servant. One never knew what he might do.
She stepped into the chamber. The dimly lit oval room with stone walls, iron chandelier and crescent-shaped table elevated on a platform was as intimidating as it was intended to be. Even the floor-length velvet tablecloth was the color of dried blood. It was easy to imagine black-cloaked Inquisitioners here, staring down upon hapless souls.
She’d expected to face the whole Council. Instead, only Lady Lyssa was present.
The oldest living vampire was a master at that eerie stillness that could make her almost invisible, except for the itchy feeling suggesting a predator was watching. Correctly realizing she didn’t need any props to make her more scary, the queen had the head Council chair positioned on the flagstone floor, not on the raised dais behind the table. An empty chair faced her, several paces away.
Alanna knelt, keeping the proscribed distance from a Council vampire. “I’m here to serve, my lady. What is your will for me?”
“You are aware of the dilemma your existence presents, Alanna. What do you think we should do with you?”
Even without looking up, she felt the weight of those jade green eyes boring into her. Lady Lyssa was barely over five feet. The porcelain skin and sharp nails, the long black hair she often kept clipped over one shoulder, enhanced her beauty, but they also reinforced how striking and untouchable she was. Except to Jacob, who stood behind her chair now.
An InhServ, when requested to respond, only offered opinions on how something should best be done to serve her Master’s interests. So Alanna framed her answer accordingly.
“I am a liability, because I cannot help you find my Master. He might use my mind to determine what your plans are, if I am kept in proximity to Council. I submit to your judgment and willingly sacrifice my life.”