SAMANTHA
I stood in the middle of my new penthouse, surrounded by velvet furniture and silk curtains and golden mirrors, and I felt like a caged bird in a gilded cage.
The maid had not stopped watching me since the servant left. She was very vigilant. Wat hing me like an eagle. She was young. Pale. Her eyes were empty. She stood by the door with her hands folded and her back straight.
I walked toward the couch. It was soft. Plush. I wanted to sink into it. I wanted to lie down and close my eyes and forget about everything.
"I want to watch television," I said.
The maid shook her head. "Miss, you cannot do that."
I stared at her. "What do you mean I cannot do that?"
"The princes do not allow slaves to watch television. It is forbidden."
I bit my tongue. I walked toward the window. The garden was beautiful. Green grass. Flowering bushes. I wanted to sit on the bench and feel the sun on my face.
"Then let me go outside. To the garden."
The maid shook her head again. "Miss, you cannot do that either."
"Why not?"
"The princes have not given permission. You must stay inside until Prince Darlington arrives."
My hands curled into fists. I walked toward the kitchen. There was food on the counter. Bread. Cheese. Fruit. I wanted to eat something.
"Then let me have something to eat."
The maid's voice was flat. "Miss, you cannot."
"Are you going to tell me I cannot do everything?"
"You cannot eat before the prince. It is disrespectful. You must wait for him."
Anger filled my chest. Hot. Sharp. I turned to face the maid. My voice came out louder than I intended.
"Do not tell me what to do," I said. "I am not your prisoner. I am not your child. I am a woman. And I will do as I please."
The maid's expression did not change. Her eyes remained empty. Her voice remained flat.
"Ladies are not supposed to argue," she said. "It is unbecoming."
I wanted to scream. I wanted to throw something. I wanted to run out the door and never come back.
But I stopped myself. I took a breath. I forced my voice to be calm.
"You are right," I said. "I am sorry. I forgot something in my old room. Something important. I will not take long. Ten minutes at most."
The maid studied me for a moment. Her eyes narrowed. Then she nodded.
"Ten minutes," she said. "Not a second more. Or I will be forced to report you."
I nodded. I walked to the door. I opened it. I stepped into the corridor.
The moment I was out of sight, I ran.
My feet carried me through the palace. Past the guards. Past the servants. Past the empty corridors and the locked doors. I knew where I was going. I had been there before.
The library.
It was in the oldest part of the palace. A place where few people went. The books were dusty. The shelves were tall. And no one would think to look for me there.
I pushed open the heavy door. It creaked on its hinges.
The library was quiet. Too quiet. The air smelled of old paper and forgotten things. Dust motes floated in the pale light that filtered through the high windows.
I walked inside. My footsteps echoed on the stone floor.
"Hello?" I called.
No answer.
I walked deeper into the library. Past the shelves. Past the reading tables. Past the large desk where the librarian usually sat.
The desk was empty.
But there was a woman standing by the window.
She was young. Dark hair. Pale skin. She wore a simple grey dress. Her eyes were ancient. Older than her face. Older than the library. Older than the palace itself.
I stopped walking.
"Vera?" I asked.
The woman turned. She smiled. It was not a kind smile.
"Hello, child," she said.
I stared at her. My mouth fell open. My heart pounded.
"You... you..." I stammered. "Were you not an old woman? The last time I was here, you were old. Your hair was white. Your face was wrinkled. You could barely walk."
Vera laughed. It was a soft sound. Almost musical.
"I am still old," she said. "I just choose not to look it."
I shook my head. "That is not possible. People do not just change their age. People do not just..."
"People do not just what?" Vera stepped away from the window. She walked toward me. Her feet made no sound on the floor. "People do not just transform? People do not just hide their true selves? You of all people should know that appearances can be deceiving."
I stepped back. My shoulder hit a bookshelf.
"You should not be coming into old people's business," Vera said. Her voice was calm. Measured. "Why did you come to the library?"
I swallowed. My throat was dry.
"I wanted... I wanted knowledge."
"Knowledge of what?"
"Lycan curses. The triplets. Their bloodline. I wanted to understand what they are. What I am getting into."
Vera stopped a few feet away from me. She tilted her head. She studied my face.
"You should not have come," she said.
"Please." My voice was shaking. "I just wanted to read. I just wanted to learn. I will not tell anyone about you. I swear. Just let me go."
Vera walked closer. The air around her grew cold. The lights flickered.
"Who or what are you?" I whispered.
Vera did not answer.
She just kept walking.
I tried to move. My legs would not obey. My body was frozen. Stuck.
Vera stopped in front of me. She looked down at my face. Her eyes were dark. Bottomless.
Then she opened her mouth.
Fangs slid out from her gums. Long. White. Sharp.
She smiled.
"Say your prayers, baby girl,"Vera said, her face changed from the humble woman that I knew into something else.