A Violet Fire (Vampires in Avignon #1) - Kelsey Quick Page 0,30

his name. Cattle. All of them.

“And finally.” she takes a breath. “The fifth is our shared bedchamber and latrines. Curfew is at eleven every morning. No earlier, no later. Wake-up call is at seven every night. No earlier, and no later. Sheet and cleaning duty of the bedchamber will be assigned based on-”

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

A high-frequency sound erupts past my ears and across the room, stopping Anaya mid-sentence. I wince, lifting my hands to my ears instinctively only to throw them back down when the sound grows exponentially louder as a result.

Confused, I look down. And there, beneath the arument bandage that is soaked by my blood, is the light of my tag, flashing bright red, and emitting the offending noise.

My heart nearly stops, and shocked gazes fly toward me, making me the center of attention yet again. Anaya’s expression is especially memorable as I lift my eyes enough to see her mouth drop slowly, as if her usually-collected self snapped and she was doing all she could to keep it together.

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

The nagging frustration continues as I conclude…

…I’m being summoned.

chapter 7

Nothing can flush the panic that surges through my veins. Black dots swim across the pupils of my eyes as my heart pumps loudly from the bottom of my throat to the tops of my eardrums, drowning out every other sound. I look to Anaya, seeking some sort of guidance. I know that my expression is pathetic and vulnerable, but I can’t help it. My first meeting with Zein, of whom I insulted to an unimaginable degree just hours before, has come much sooner than I anticipated. I am horribly unprepared.

Wittiness, cockiness, bravery, strength. In an instant my best traits are all painted over, wiped away, leaving me with unintelligible mush for brains.

“You mustn’t make him wait.” Anaya shouts at me from the front of the room. Her unusual passion causes the other supply units to become uneasy. “Go. Before you upset him!” She says this as if I haven’t already done so.

Everyone shifts their stares back and forth, between us. I look to Savvy for comfort as I stand. She and Katarii both offer me nods of confidence and naive mumblings of “It’ll be okay,” and, “Good luck.”

Before I am even sure of what I’m doing, I find myself at the front of the auditorium, the band bolted to my arm still shrilly sounding. I take one last look up at Anaya as I pass through the doorway, and at the last second her face contorts with jealous anger; jealous that I’m about to be fed on. I can’t even comprehend it.

In what feels like an instant, I am at the end of the passage, nearing the seraglio’s entrance. I reach the front desk and the same skeletal vampire attendant from before sneers, showcasing his elongated fangs. He looks down and uses a small brass keypad to type in my numbers. The crude noise and flashing light from my tag stops. The vampire reaches up, to the right, and presses a metal button.

He grumbles. “That there tells our lord that you have been accounted for and are officially on your way. So, if you don’t mind...,” he extends his hand toward the exit. At the end of his hand stands a proudly-postured, vampire woman. She is donned in robes of white, gold, and lavender. Her white hair, which looks strange against her youthful face, is as straight and long as Sabbanthian wheat—falling nearly to her knees. She smiles widely at me in my approach.

“Hello. I am Madam Ceti,” she says, and her voice is so melodic that I dwell too long on it. “Follow me.” Her face scrunches up to participate in a giddy smile, giving off a senseless effervescence. What a strangely beautiful vampire… she might be crazy, too.

Madam Ceti turns to make her way down the hall.

I somehow manage to follow, traveling through the dark corridors of the castle with surprising grace this time around. As my toes slide along the cool grainy floors, a small reverberation of my resolve pulses through my body once again. The distance between Zein and I suddenly feels wider, despite truly being closer than moments before. I cherish the peaceful unrest that accompanies the illusion, for it allows my brain the space to start working again.

As I pass through the large mouths of connecting hallways, I analyze my surroundings in hopes that I might find a way to escape before facing him. But every window, every