This was not what I had in mind for the evening. After Sabine’s dramatic announcement, the familiars and I were ushered down an ancient stone staircase into an underground room. Its stone walls and floor lent a damp mustiness to the cold air. Ornate torches burned around the perimeter, but their flames did little to light the subterranean cavern.
“I don’t like this,” Quinn muttered next to me.
I shivered, wishing Jacqueline had given me a wrap to wear with this dress. Maybe she didn’t know about this part. Perhaps I hadn’t been paying attention when she warned me.
Quinn wrapped an arm around my shoulders, and we huddled together. Several others around us followed suit. No one spoke above a whisper.
“Did you know this was the first Rite?” I asked Quinn.
She shook her head. “Everyone failed to mention that, and believe me, I asked about tonight. They must have meant it when they said we aren’t allowed to talk about it.”
“Probably, because they make sure we can’t.”
“You think they’re going to compel us?”
I looked around us. This place was only a step up from being a catacomb or a dungeon. Whatever was about to happen was going to be memorable. There was no way every familiar who attended the Salon would keep this secret.
Before I could tell Quinn this, Sabine descended the stairs. In her hands she carried a basket shaped like a cornucopia. Next to her, an older woman wearing a red gown stood with her hands clasped, bound together by a dark rope. Behind them in two lines, beautiful women, dressed in white, followed their lead. Each carried a small basket of their own.
We all fell into silence as Sabine stopped.
“Tonight, we pay homage to the Bona Dea,” she said in a clear, strong voice that echoed off the stone walls. “Damia–mother of us all. From you, our life springs eternal.”
“Damia–mother of us all,” the woman in red next to her repeated. “From you, our magic bears fruit.”
“What in the ever-loving shit?” Quinn whispered.
My thoughts exactly. I felt like we’d wandered into the initiation ceremony for some cult. I spotted more than a few other women glancing around. We weren’t the only ones wondering what we’d gotten ourselves into.
“We welcome your spirit among us,” Sabine continued.
“We walk in your presence,” the woman in red added. She bent, unwrapping the cord that bound her wrists, and dropped it to the ground. But it wasn’t a cord at all. It hit the stone with a hiss that made my stomach fall along with it.
“Oh hell no,” I said as the snake began to slither across the floor.
The familiars parted, lifting skirts and looking around, panicked.
But there was nowhere to go. Vampires were blocking the stairs, and there were no windows. Sabine called out in a calming voice, “Men have made the serpent your enemy with their lies. You have been taught to fear it, but it only seeks to give pleasure. All of you here know the exquisite pleasure of the flesh. Damia teaches us to embrace that pleasure. Pleasure is power. Pleasure is feminine. Pleasure is the seed that will bear beautiful fruit. The snake is her servant, and it will not harm you. It seeks only to deliver its offering.”
“We walk with it to remember that we are the power in this world,” the woman in red continued. “Our bloodlines endure. Our fruit prospers. Damia embraces us and blesses us. She ripens our wombs and prepares them to receive our protector’s seed.”
Quinn giggled breathlessly, and I elbowed her in the side. I couldn’t exactly blame her. It was a bit over the top.
“And tonight, we will offer Damia our blood in appreciation for her gifts. A single drop from each of you, that we might continue to receive her blessings.”
Despite Sabine’s reassurances about the snake, several women continued to move out of its path as Sabine spoke.
“Fear has no place in pleasure,” she cried out to them. “The serpent is a friend to all that know its embrace. Show your courage, and be found worthy. A familiar must never fear the fangs. Tonight, it will not touch the daughters of Damia. You have prepared yourself for your place at her side.”
“So the snake is a vampire? Am I getting the symbolism right?” Quinn asked.
But I barely heard her because my heart began to pound so hard that it sent blood roaring through my veins. All I could see was the snake moving through the crowd. I didn’t care what it symbolized. I cared what it was looking for.
“Thea,” Quinn said quietly, “you look terrified. You heard what she said. The snake won’t touch any of us.”
“Unless–”
Before I could finish the thought, the women behind Sabine cried out in unison: “We welcome your spirit among us. We walk in your presence.”
Raising their baskets, they emptied them, spilling more snakes onto the stairs. Sabine smiled as she lowered her cornucopia, and serpents began to spill from it. They uncoiled like black ropes, crisscrossing each other as they spread across the dank rooms.
“Damia.” Sabine lifted her head and bellowed, “We embrace you. We offer our faith without fear. Bless us in the first Rite.”
“This just got so much worse,” Quinn said, sounding completely freaked out. But she didn’t move. None of the familiars moved. This was the test.
One I wasn’t going to pass.
“Damia calls you forth.” Sabine removed her gloves and handed them to a woman behind her. Another passed her a silver chalice. “You are found worthy. Come to–”
Gasps from the crowd cut her off, and she fell silent as the snakes all began to move together, forming a thick line of writhing darkness. Serpents slithered around the feet of familiars, moving to join the others in a black parade. A few women looked like they might pass out, but it soon became clear the snakes were banding together, as if herded by some invisible force.
“Oh, fuck,” I muttered as they slithered closer and closer. The first serpent, the one the woman in red had released, reached my feet. It took every ounce of restraint I possessed not to move as it began to climb my skirt. The rest joined it, forcing Quinn to move away as the snakes encircled me like a wreath. A moment later, the first one slithered up my stomach past my breasts and slowly made its way to my neck. Its scales scraped across my bare skin, and I felt acid rise into my throat. It coiled around my neck and rested its head against my throat.
I didn’t dare move. Sabine had said the snakes wouldn’t touch the daughters of Damia. I hoped she was just talking about witches, but the sinking feeling inside me knew it was so much worse than that.
Everyone had fallen silent, but now whispers began again. If I weren’t the talk of the party before, I would be now. Sabine, who had stayed utterly still, snapped back into action. Depositing the chalice into her companion’s hands, she swept down the steps and marched toward me. The snakes that circled me parted for her. She stepped closer and plucked the snake from my throat. It unwrapped itself into her hands, and she tossed it to the ground.
“Well, well.” Her blue eyes flashed like lightning in the dark. “It seems one of us doesn’t belong here.”
We glared at each other.
“I think you already knew that,” I said.
“Quiet, vestal.” Her voice was a deadly whisper meant only for my ears. She lifted her voice and addressed the group. “The Rite will continue. Sister Agnes will accept your offerings to Damia, and then we will proceed to the upper rooms for entertainment and conversation.”
The woman in red, who must be Agnes, moved to the side of the stairs. Familiars formed neat lines, each eager to offer their drop of blood and get away from this horror show.
I, on the other hand, was surrounded by magical snakes and one angry vampire mother. Sabine grabbed my wrist, flinching slightly when her bare skin met mine. But she didn’t drop her hold. She yanked me toward the stairs and away from the rest of the guests.
Quinn shot me a worried look as I passed her, and I did my best to force a smile. I doubted she bought it.
Sabine’s nails pierced my skin, and I yelped. But when I tried to pull away, they dug in deeper. “Stop fighting me,” she murmured. “Or you might not make it out of here alive.”
She dragged me upstairs to the now empty corridor and finally released me. Blood welled from the puncture marks she’d put into my wrist. Sabine’s nostrils flared, and her eyes darkened. I wrapped my hand around the wounds quickly.
She laughed, tossing her head to the side. “I am not my son. Your blood does not tempt me.”
“Could have fooled me,” I shot back.
She rounded on me, backing me toward a small corner off the foyer. “Is this your plan?” she demanded. “Is that what has my son so ensnared? Has he been feeding off you?”
“W-w-what?” I sputtered. “No!”
“I knew I smelled something in your blood,” she continued without acknowledging my response. “A virgin! What the hell is Julian thinking, or is this some petty revenge against his family?”
“This might shock you,” a calm voice interjected, “but this has nothing to do with you, Sabine.”
She spun around, stepping out of the way so that I could see my savior.
Jacqueline.
My shoulders sagged in relief to find Julian’s best friend standing there. She was dressed in neither the vampires’ chosen white, nor the red of the familiars. Instead, she wore a black leather dress that hugged her willowy body and stopped a few inches above her knees. Her blonde hair was gathered in a loose braid that hung over her shoulder. But it was the unimpressed look on her face that stood out the most.
“Jacqueline,” Sabine said, her voice dripping poison, “you’ve deigned to join us. Although, I see you still don’t respect our traditions.”
“Really?” she said to Sabine. “I thought you would have learned your lesson when Cam–”
“Do not say that name to me,” Sabine cut her off. “And this is different. Julian is the heir to the Rousseaux bloodline. I will not have him tethered to some mortal.”
“That is not for you to decide,” Jacqueline said firmly. She pushed past Sabine and took a place at my side.
“Vestals are not admitted to the first Rite. The last time a virgin breached the Salon du Rouge, she was sacrificed to Damia to show our penitence.” Sabine glared at me. “I saved your life, girl. You owe me.”
My mouth fell open. She could not mean any of that.
“Well, thank God that it’s not the eighteenth century,” Jacqueline said in a dry tone. “No one is going to sacrifice a virgin in the twenty-first century.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to understand.” Sabine sniffed with obvious disdain, redirecting her disgust at my friend. “You never have. If you had agreed to the arranged marriage, this wouldn’t be happening at all.”
“Not this again.” Jacqueline exhaled heavily. “Julian didn’t want to marry me any more than I wanted to marry him.”
I turned surprised eyes on her, but she shook her head. Now wasn’t the time or place for her to tell that story.
“Sometimes marriage is about duty,” Sabine continued.
“Maybe it shouldn’t be,” Jacqueline said. “And it’s not up to you whom Julian picks. If he chooses Thea–”
“He will not choose her!” Sabine shrieked. “He will not fall victim to some gold-digging virgin.”
Her words cleared the final shock clouding my brain, and I realized I wasn’t going to let anyone–even Julian’s mother–speak about me like that. “Why would I want to sleep with him?”
“Of course you would,” Sabine said dismissively.
“I’m not about to be your son’s slave–and it doesn’t matter because what we do and don’t do is none of your business!” I stomped my foot, forgetting I was wearing dangerously tall heels, and nearly broke my ankle.
“No woman would pass up the chance to permanently bind a vampire to her.”
“But I’d be the one getting bound, so I guess it’s up to me.” At that moment, I didn’t care what I said before. No, I wouldn’t allow myself to be tethered. But that was my decision, and there was no way I would allow Sabine to have any input in it.
Sabine’s eyes narrowed as a wicked smile curved across her face. “I see my son was smart enough to keep that from you. I’m surprised Jacqueline didn’t spill that little fact.”
“Sabine, enough,” Jacqueline said in a low voice.
But I turned a sharp look on her. “What are you talking about? I know what tethering is.”
“No, it appears you do not,” Sabine said in a haughty tone. “Because if you did, you would know that it binds both parties. The female is subject to the male’s orders and whims, but in return, she receives lifelong protection from him. He must guard and care for her. The tether can’t be broken.”
Something in my chest split into two. Now I understood why Julian had kept this from me. He meant it when he said he would never lose control. But only because he knew what would happen to him if he did.
He would be forced to keep me.
My stomach lurched, and I nearly vomited. Managing to keep control, I grabbed my skirt and started toward the door.
“Thea, wait!” Jacqueline called after me.
“Don’t you dare,” Sabine said. “Let her go. The sooner this charade ends, the better. She will have no place in this family. I will not have my son indebted to this human!”
That was it. I spun around, steps from the front entrance. “I don’t want your family or your money or even your son.”
“Good.” She lifted her head, triumph written across her striking face. “I pray Julian comes to his senses as well.”
Tears smarted my eyes as I turned toward the door, but Jacqueline was standing in front of it.
“Move,” I demanded.
“No, I won’t let you leave thinking he’s afraid to be tethered to you.”
“Of course he is!” Sabine added as she moved closer. “Let her go and put an end to this.”
“I’m afraid that’s impossible,” Jacqueline snapped. “There is no end to this.”
“I wish you had told me,” I said softly, not caring if either heard me. “If I had known he didn’t want me either, I wouldn’t have come.”
“Either?” Sabine repeated. “You can’t expect us to believe you would let him go! Not when you’re so close to claiming your prize.”
“He wasn’t a prize to me.” I choked on a sob.
“Please, Thea,” Jacqueline pleaded. “If you just talk to him…”
I shook my head. I didn’t know what I’d do when I came here tonight. “I can’t trust him.”
“It’s not what you think,” Jacqueline said. “He never even worried about being tethered to you himself.”
“Lies!” Sabine called. “No vampire wants to be bound to a woman with no means of escape.”
I knew she was right. Even my own father had left my mother while she was pregnant. I’d seen it happen.
True love. Destiny. Soul mates. Those things only happened in books.
“Julian didn’t care,” Jacqueline continued loudly, “because he’s already bound to her.”
“Impossible. She’s still a virgin!”
Jacqueline looked to the floor and took a deep breath. When she lifted her face, she glanced between us nervously. “That doesn’t matter.” She cast another worried look at me before facing Sabine. “Thea is Julian’s mate.”
