in finding Sanai. I’m just not sure where to begin.
“I got a bill from Club Toxic this evening,” says Gaius. “It was for a private room. But I was here at home all night.”
That’s as good a place as any to start. But before I can open my mouth, a car pulls up in the drive. It’s not Cari’s car. This is a luxurious town car, with tinted windows.
I know who will step out of it before I see her. I’m already moving towards her. My heartbeat kicks up. My thoughts are consumed with her.
And then I see her.
Chapter 14
I like this part of the desert state better. It brings to mind the rolling vineyards in northern Africa. Even though it’s the dark of night, I can make out some vibrant colors in the wine country. The smell of Carignan berries tickles my nose. My tongue detects the sweetness of Marechal grapes nearby. The two scents together rouse my hunger, making me think of Arneis.
His blood tasted of the sweetness I now smell. Was he brought up in wine country? He said he is related to the Serranos. Those three brothers trade in wine. It’s why the queen and I are going to see them: to expand the wine trade from our vineyards in Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia.
“You’re different.”
I turn to the Queen Mother. She is eyeing me with those shrewd eyes. I’m not sure what she sees. The fact that my sacred berry has been plucked?
“You seem more sedate. Perhaps even more mature.”
I purse my lips instead of responding. I don’t want her to know that the reason for my overnight growth spurt is a man. Or do I want her to know it? I loved everything that happened between Arneis and myself. Everything up until the end.
“When we go home, I’m giving you more responsibility.”
Home? To an enclosed palace and eunuchs, where I have to keep my legs closed and my mouth shut about the advancements in the world? Is that the life I want?
The answer is clear in my mind. It rings loudly in my ears. I can’t go back. I want to stay here in this monochrome city, where there lives a man with eyes the same color as the grapes in the vineyard outside the window.
“What if I stay here?” I say. “It will be inconvenient to travel across the ocean each time we need to have a meeting or deal in a transaction.”
“You expect me to throw one of my daughters to the wolves?” The corners of the queen’s mouth turn down.
“Your daughter is a vampire, and has your blood. A dog would heel under my command.”
Queen Malika grins at this. Her chin lifts and her chest thrusts out as she regards me.
I mirror her movements. I love this woman. I have looked up to her for so many years for all she’s done for my people, for my family, and for me personally.
But I come to a realization then—one just as big as losing both my virginity and my heart to a man who hates my kind. Just like I am not the demoness who hurt Arneis, I am not my queen. And I do not want to be her.
I open my mouth to tell her this, but the car comes to a halt. I hear the crunch of tires underfoot. I feel the world stop around me. I smell him before I see him.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew there was a possibility that he might be here. His features had faltered when he’d called me a monster, as though he’d had trouble making the falsehood stick in his mind. As he looks at me now, I know he doesn’t see something from his nightmares.
Arneis walks out of the front door of the impressive house, a palace in its own right. He is flanked by two large males. But my gaze keeps going back to him.
Shame colors his dark eyes. The purse of his lips begs me for my forgiveness. I give him my hand.
“Princess Sanai Amina Mohamud of the queendom of Orun. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
Arneis takes my hand in his. He doesn’t bow over it and kiss my knuckles as he should. Instead, he stares deeply into my eyes, trying to communicate a depth of feeling that only I can understand. Or so I think.
“What is the meaning of this?” asks the queen.
“Your Majesty.” The other two men step forward. “Gaius Serrano at your