King of Battle and Blood (Adrian X Isolde #1)(67)

“Then I shall be the first,” I said and then glanced down at my tray, finally paying attention to my food. “What is this?”

“Oh, it’s yetta,” Violeta said. “It’s a traditional Revekkian breakfast, though you’ll find everyone has their own way of making it.”

“And what is in yetta?”

It looked like a stew, and while it did not smell horrible, it certainly looked questionable.

“Oh, many things,” she said. “Sausages, bacon, spinach, tomatoes, tons of spices…that’s a goose egg on top, if you were wondering.”

I had been.

I dipped my spoon into the thick broth and took a tentative sip, surprised by how flavorful it really was. It came with a hard piece of bread that Violeta explained was supposed to be used at the end to soak up what remained of the dish.

“Nothing goes to waste,” she said.

I finished the bowl, partly because I found I wanted to please Violeta who had been so excited about the dish. After, she collected the tray and left with Vesna in tow. I was not alone long when there was another knock at my door. I was expecting Ana, who still needed to dress my wound.

Instead, it was Adrian.

I couldn’t describe the feeling his presence triggered inside me, but it was like shattering. My heartbeat swept into a frenzied pulse that made my body flush. Beneath his gaze, I felt uncertain of how to present myself—conscious of his eyes on every part of me, conscious of the words I’d said that had driven him from my bed and how we had parted yesterday.

“Adrian,” I said, his name sounding more like a question.

His expression remained passive and a little cold.

“I’ve come to invite you to High Council. I will be meeting with the noblesse,” he said. “We will be discussing the attacks at Vaida and Sadovea. I…thought you would want to join.”

“Of course,” I said and attempted to imbue my voice with as much authority and control as his.

There was a strained silence that followed, as if he wished to say more, though he did not speak. After a moment, he took a breath. “Ana will bring you. She will be in attendance as well.”

He started toward the door, and I fought the urge to call him back to me, feeling uncomfortable with his coldness, knowing it was because of what I said. Why did I feel this way about our distance? Hadn’t I hoped for exactly this upon arriving at the Red Palace? I should be relieved it had worked so well.

“Adrian.” His name slipped from my mouth, and I wished I could take it back. He halted and stared at me, and my lips parted as I searched for words to speak.

“I…” What was I going to say? I’m sorry? Come back? Those words made me cringe. “Violeta is going to market tomorrow. I would like to go with her.”

“I am not opposed,” he said. “But I will have to send Isac and Miha to accompany you.”

“Not Sorin?” I asked.

I was used to all three acting as my protectors.

“Sorin is on assignment,” Adrian said.

Oh. Despite my curiosity, I did not ask for more information. Instead, I thanked him.

The way he looked at me made me think he wasn’t used to expressions of gratitude, and I supposed that was fitting, given that he was the Blood King.

He was about to turn once more when I called him back again. “Adrian.”

This time, I saw the frustration in the set of his jaw.

“Yes?” the question was clipped, almost a hiss, and I fought my own irritation.

“I’d like to send for Vesna’s family, her mother and two sisters.”

“You wish to relocate them?” he asked.

I hesitated. “Is that possible?”

“I will have to speak with Tanaka.”

“Please.”

He nodded, and with that, he left.

Ana arrived a short time later and dressed my wound. She wore white today, which made her hair look pale, her skin near translucent, and her lips far more crimson. The color made me think of fresh blood, and suddenly I wondered who Ana had taken as a vassal. I hesitated to ask, considering I had insulted her at our first meeting when I’d asked if Adrian had turned her, but drinking blood seemed far more common than siring another vampire, so I did.

She surprised me by blushing.

“Her name is Isla,” she said.

Now I was even more curious. “Have I seen her? Was she in the great hall the other night?”

“No, she is visiting family in Cel Cera.”

“If she is gone, who do you take from?”

I was mostly curious because of Adrian. Did he have a line of mortal women to cycle through if Safira was unavailable? She’d called herself his favored vassal—did that imply he had others? And now that I’d asked him to stop drinking from her, who would he choose?

Ana hesitated and then answered, “I don’t.”

My brows knitted together. “Won’t you starve?”

“I won’t starve,” Ana said with a small, amused smile. She focused intently upon my arm, smoothing a cooling salve evenly upon my skin. “She will only be gone four days.”

“Why wouldn’t you drink from someone else?”

“Because I do not wish to,” Ana answered.

It took her looking at me for it to sink in. Isla was not only her vassal but her lover.