They gave me a bedroom that was bigger than my entire apartment, and somehow that made everything worse.
Kael had escorted me here after my audience with Queen Thalia, his hand on my elbow like he thought I might bolt at any second. He wasn't wrong. Every instinct I had was screaming at me to run, to fight, to do something other than meekly accept this beautiful cage they'd locked me in. But the wards pressing against my magic reminded me that running wasn't an option. Not yet.
"Someone will bring you clothes and food," Kael said from the doorway, his expression unreadable. "Try to get some rest. Tomorrow we begin your training."
"I didn't agree to training," I said, standing in the middle of the room and refusing to look impressed by the four-poster bed or the fireplace or the window that overlooked the city lights.
"You didn't agree to any of this," he acknowledged. "But here you are anyway. You can spend your time fighting the inevitable, or you can learn to survive it. Your choice."
He closed the door before I could respond, and I heard the distinct click of a lock engaging. Of course. Because this was a prison, no matter how many silk pillows they threw on the bed.
I sank onto the mattress, which was obscenely comfortable, and dropped my head into my hands. Everything that had happened tonight felt like a fever dream. The party. Azrael crashing through my window. The vampires. My power exploding out of control. Luna's face when she'd realized what I was. And now I was trapped in a vampire stronghold, claimed by a Queen who saw me as a weapon, with no way out and no idea what came next.
My phone was still in my pocket, miraculously intact. I pulled it out with shaking hands and immediately tried to call Luna. It went straight to voicemail.
"Luna, it's me," I said after the beep, my voice cracking. "I don't know if you'll get this. I don't even know if you want to hear from me after everything you saw tonight. But I need you to know I'm okay. Sort of. I'm at the vampire Court, which sounds insane saying out loud, but it's real. It's all real. And I'm so sorry I never told you. I'm so sorry you had to find out like this. Please call me back. Please let me know you're safe. I love you."
I hung up and stared at the phone screen, willing it to ring. It didn't.
The next hour passed in a blur of pacing and panic. I tried the door. Locked from the outside. I tried the window. Warded so heavily I could feel the magic pushing back against my palms like an invisible wall. I tried to summon my shadows, but the moment I reached for my power, the wards clamped down, making my head pound and my stomach turn.
Trapped. Completely, utterly trapped.
A knock at the door made me jump. Before I could respond, it opened to reveal a woman I hadn't seen before. She was vampire, that much was obvious from the pale skin and the way she moved with that preternatural grace. She carried a tray of food and a stack of clothes.
"Dinner," she said shortly, setting both on the desk by the window. "And something to wear that isn't covered in plaster dust."
"Thank you," I said automatically.
She paused at the door, looking back at me with an expression I couldn't quite read. "Word of advice. Don't trust Kael Thorne. He may seem honorable, may act like he's trying to help you, but he serves the Queen first and always. Whatever kindness he shows you is just a leash wrapped in velvet."
Before I could ask what she meant, she was gone, the door locking behind her again.
I stared at the food, my stomach growling despite everything. They could have poisoned it, I supposed, but if they'd wanted me dead, there were easier ways. I picked at the bread and cheese, my mind churning.
Kael Thorne. Second-in-command of the Nightfall Court. The vampire who'd somehow talked me down from my power spiral, who'd looked at me with those ancient eyes like he was trying to solve a puzzle. The vampire who'd kidnapped me and claimed it was for my own good.
I didn't know if I could trust him. Didn't know if I should trust anyone in this place.
A soft sound made me freeze. It came from the shadows in the corner of the room, a whisper of movement that shouldn't be possible in a space this warded. I stood slowly, my heart hammering.
"Don't be afraid, little witch." The voice was familiar, rough silk and dark promises. "It's just me."
Azrael stepped out of the shadows like they were a door he'd simply walked through. His wound was bandaged now, the black blood no longer visible, but he moved carefully like it still hurt. Those amber eyes found mine, and something in my chest loosened just slightly.
"How did you get in here?" I whispered. "The wards—"
"Are designed to keep out vampires and demons, yes." He smiled, sharp and dangerous. "But I'm the Prince of the Shadow Realm, Seraphine. Shadows are my domain. There's no ward in existence that can keep me out if I'm determined enough."
"You shouldn't be here," I said, but I didn't move away from him. "If they find you—"
"They won't." He crossed the room to me, and up close I could see the exhaustion in his face, the way his power flickered around him like a dying flame. "I needed to make sure you were alright. That bastard Thorne took you before I could stop him."
"He was right though," I admitted quietly. "Those demon things would have killed me. I couldn't control my power. I still can't."
"That's because no one's taught you how." Azrael's hand came up, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear with surprising gentleness. "Shadow magic isn't like regular witchcraft. It doesn't follow the same rules. The vampires can't teach you what you need to know. They don't understand what you are."
"And you do?"
"More than they ever could." His eyes held mine, intense and searching. "My mother was human. My father is the Demon King. I've lived between worlds my entire existence. I know what it's like to have power that doesn't fit into neat little boxes. Let me teach you, Seraphine. Let me show you what you're really capable of."
"How?" I gestured around the room. "I'm locked in. Warded. They're not exactly going to let me wander off with a demon lord for magic lessons."
"Then I'll come to you." He said it like it was simple, like infiltrating a vampire stronghold was something he did every day. "Every night, through the shadows. I'll teach you to control your power, to understand it. And when the time comes, I'll help you escape this place."
"Why?" I asked. "Why help me? What do you get out of this?"
Something complicated crossed his face. "Because you're the key to ending a war that's been destroying both our kinds for two decades. Because my father will use you to tear down the Veil if he gets his hands on you, and I won't let that happen. And because when I looked at you tonight, when your power exploded and you were drowning in it, I saw someone who deserves better than being a pawn in someone else's game."
I wanted to believe him. Wanted to trust that this beautiful, dangerous creature wasn't just playing his own game with me as the prize. But I'd learned young that trust was a luxury people like me couldn't afford.
"I'll think about it," I said.
"Don't think too long." Azrael stepped back toward the shadows. "Thalia will start your training tomorrow. Once she gets her hooks in you, once she convinces you that the Court is your only option, it'll be much harder to break free. Promise me you'll at least consider what I've said."
"I promise," I said, and meant it.
He smiled, and for just a moment, he didn't look like a demon lord at all. He looked like someone who understood what it meant to be trapped. Then he was gone, melting back into the shadows like he'd never been there at all.
I sat on the bed, my mind spinning. Kael wanted to train me, to mold me into a weapon for the vampires. Azrael wanted to train me, to help me escape. And I didn't know which one was lying, which one was telling the truth, or if maybe they both were and I was just too naive to see it.
What I did know was that tomorrow, everything would change again.
And I needed to be ready.