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“Everything runs like clockwork in this Household,” Levi said, checking Trinity’s pulse against the watch he wore on his wrist. “Ares likes peace and quiet. We’re rather used to it.”
A Household that ran like clockwork, where everyone knew their places and no one caused trouble. The perfect cover for members of the Underground.
“Who is Cassandra?” she asked.
“Oh, dear,” Elizabeth said, masking her obvious relief with a look of chagrin. “Didn’t I tell you? Cassandra is the master’s Favorite. Whatever blood he took from you at the Claiming wouldn’t have been enough to satisfy his needs.”
“But he didn’t bite me,” Trinity said.
“He didn’t?” Levi asked, his unflappable demeanor giving way to genuine surprise.
Trinity touched her lip again. She didn’t know if she was telling the full truth or not, but she wanted to gauge the others’ reactions.
“When he does,” Abbie said, “he won’t hurt you. He’s very careful about that.”
“Have you ever been with him?” Trinity asked.
Abbie almost jumped. She recovered quickly and wrote out another note. “He has Cassandra for that,” she said, “though technically he can take blood, or anything else, from any of us whenever he wants to.”
“But he doesn’t,” Elizabeth said. “He doesn’t even keep a harem for variety.”
That was unusual, Trinity knew. Almost unheard of. A Bloodmaster relying on only one human for his blood? He must drink very sparingly, yet he showed no signs of weakness.
“Don’t worry about anything for now,” Elizabeth said. “You have the potential to rise high in this Household. Make the most of it.”
She and Abbie left the room, and Trinity closed her eyes for a while. When she opened them again, Levi was standing at the foot of her bed.
“You can shower now,” the physician said, indicating a door inside the room. “And you must be hungry. I’ll have someone bring you a tray.”
“Thank you,” Trinity said.
“I’m stepping out for a few minutes,” Levi said. “If you need anything, use the buzzer just inside the front door and someone will come.”
In a moment he was gone. Trinity sat on the edge of the bed, repeating Elizabeth’s final words in her mind.
Make the most of it. Could that possibly be some kind of code, letting her know that Elizabeth suspected her true purpose here?
That, too, she would learn in time. She was just heading for the shower when a stunning young woman walked into the room.
She wore a deep red gown of a fabric that caught the corridor lights and accented every lush curve of her figure, the neckline plunging in folds that opened just above her nipples. Her face was striking, her blond hair falling in glorious waves around her shoulders.
“So you’re the new one,” the woman said, smiling as she draped herself against the doorframe. “Elizabeth tells me you’ve been a little sick. The Claiming can be difficult for novice serfs.”
“Thanks for your concern,” Trinity said, keeping her expression neutral. “I’m fine now.” She offered her hand. “You must be Cassandra.”
The other woman ignored Trinity’s friendly overture. “How did you know?” she asked.
“You’re too beautiful to be anyone else.”
Cassandra’s smile flickered as if she suspected Trinity of a backhanded compliment. “I’ve heard a great deal about you, too,” she said. “You’re as lovely as they said. Or you will be, once you’re cleaned up.”
“Thank you. I didn’t expect to be so...warmly welcomed.”
“We’re all family here,” Cassandra said, her body relaxing. “But your arrival has created quite a stir, what with Ares Challenging for you and all.”
“So I gathered,” Trinity muttered.
“Well, I’m sure everyone will get used to the change. You are fortunate to have been claimed by Ares, but here’s a friendly word of advice—don’t expect too much.”
“Why should I expect anything?” Trinity asked.
Cassandra tossed back her hair. “You tell me.”
“You were just with him, weren’t you?” Trinity asked, feigning naive curiosity. “Was he different than usual?”
Ares’s Favorite almost permitted a scowl to twist her full red lips, but she covered her anger quickly. “He was...very energetic, shall we say,” she said. “Hot-blooded, to use a human expression.”
“I always heard Nightsiders were insatiable,” Trinity said, swallowing nervously for effect.
“Ares is a good lover. Very considerate for an Opir. Enjoy it while you can.”
Elizabeth had said nearly the same thing earlier, but somehow Trinity didn’t think that Cassandra meant it in quite the same way.
“You mean he’ll get tired of me?” she asked.
“It depends on what he wants you for. I’ve been his Favorite for three years.” She smiled unpleasantly. “I don’t expect that to change anytime soon.”
“Then why are you worried about me?”
“Worried?” Cassandra stroked her long, graceful neck, running her perfectly manicured nails over a set of small red marks that had almost healed. “Did I give you that impression?”
Trinity knew she’d made a mistake in resorting to sarcasm. “No,” she said. “Not at all.”
“I’m sure things will settle down again very soon,” Cassandra said, favoring Trinity with another false smile, “and once Ares is done with you, you’ll be given some task in the Household that will make you content, like everyone else here.”
“I hope so,” Trinity said. She gazed up at Cassandra like a lost puppy. “Maybe you could show me around when you’re not busy.”
Cassandra yawned behind her hand. “I’d love to help you, Trinity, but I’m on call twenty-four hours a day. I doubt I’ll have the energy.”
In spite of herself, Trinity felt a little sorry for the woman. She suspected that Cassandra’s sense of self came entirely from being the Favorite of Ares’s Household.
But pity couldn’t distract Trinity from her mission, and she quickly brushed it aside. “I understand,” she mumbled, looking down at the floor.
Cassandra placed a slender hand on Trinity’s shoulder. “Just give yourself a little time to adjust, and don’t be too hard on yourself.”
“Thank you,” Trinity said, laying her hand on top of Cassandra’s. “I think I won’t find it quite as difficult now.”
“I’m glad my little visit was of some help to you.” Cassandra glided to the door and turned around again. “Just remember, Trinity...it’s very important to remember your place. It won’t be so easy if you make enemies of your fellow servants.”
“Yes,” Trinity said. “Elizabeth said—”
“Cassandra.”
The voice was unmistakably Ares’s, and he was standing somewhere very close to the door. Cassandra started, and her confident attitude changed to one of uncertainty and fear.
Not of Ares, Trinity was sure. It was the fear that came from being caught doing something forbidden.
“Why are you here?” Ares asked, still out of Trinity’s sight.
“I only came to welcome the new serf, my lord,” Cassandra said, moving from the doorway.
“She was to rest,” Ares said, a trace of anger in his voice. “Go to your room.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Trinity heard Cassandra’s soft footsteps retreating, and then Ares was filling the doorframe, a dark silhouette with eyes that seemed to pin Trinity to the spot. He wore a long, deep blue tunic, and his hair was loose around his broad shoulders.
He entered the room and strode to her side. “Are you well now?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said, averting her gaze. “Much better. Thank you, my lord.”
He took her chin in his hand and drew her head up. “What is this new humility? It doesn’t suit you.”
Trinity shivered at the touch of his hand, the nearness of his body, the clear evidence that he was very much aroused. He’d just been “served” by Cassandra, but it was obvious that he was far from satisfied.
His desire still seemed at odds with his normally cool, controlled demeanor, but she’d seen just how much he could change from one moment to the next.
“Should I resist you, my lord?” she said, meeting his gaze. “Is that what you want me to do?”
He released her chin and stepped back. “When you have bathed and receive proper attire,” he said, “you will join me in my apartments. I shall see if you are worth the trouble it took to win you.”
Chapter 5
Trinity struggled to contain her sudden rush of desire, the moist heat between her thighs, the pounding of her heart.
She kept her face averted, praying Ares couldn’t detect her inner thoughts. It seemed impossible that she should welcome his touch, especially because such feelings on her part went well beyond the scope of her mission.
Still, she couldn’t keep pretending these feelings didn’t exist. Fighting them would only expend energy she couldn’t afford to waste.
And she needed him to trust her, to talk with her, to allow her freedom in the Household. When she “surrendered” to Ares, her attraction would seem all the more genuine. She’d be able to concentrate on the work that was of the utmost importance.
She met his gaze. “I will be honored to serve you in any way, my lord,” she said.
“Will you? Even after what I did to you?”
He meant the kiss, she thought. As if he still felt badly about it. Even guilty.
Surely that wasn’t possible.
“What must I do to prove myself?” she asked.
With a sharp, almost clumsy motion, he turned away. “Have you eaten?”
“I was told a tray would be brought here for me.”
“And clothing?”
“The same.”
“Then I will leave you.” He walked out the door with a single, smoldering glance over his shoulder.
Trinity’s mouth was dry, and her breath seemed to burn in her lungs. She quickly found the shower and removed her shift, intensely aware of her body, even more so than when Palemon had forced her to strip. Her breasts were tender, her nipples hard, her legs trembling.
She turned on the water, adjusting it to the coldest setting. But as soon as she began to lather her body with the sweet-smelling liquid in the dispenser, her imagination began to kick into overdrive. She felt hands caressing her breasts, teasing her nipples, working the soap into her stomach and lower regions. She felt the hand slip between her thighs, sliding into her natural wetness.
Ares’s hands. And his lips grazing her neck. His teeth...
Trinity half stumbled out of the shower and snatched at the towel hanging from a rack set into the wall. She rubbed herself furiously, removing every last drop of moisture from her body. Then she dragged on her shift and sat on the bed, closing her eyes and focusing on regaining her equilibrium.
When a young serf knocked on her door to deliver a tray of fresh, fragrant food, Trinity ate it as if she had an appetite. Soon afterward, Abbie arrived with a gown: a simple, floor-length, amethyst silk slit to the thigh and cut low in the neckline, though not as low as Cassandra’s. Trinity allowed the tailor to help her put it on. There were no undergarments to mar the clean lines of the gown or disturb the liquid caress of the silk gliding over her skin.
Elizabeth arrived just as Abbie was leaving. The two women exchanged a few brief words in the hall, and then the older woman came into the room. She looked Trinity over with obvious appreciation.
“I don’t know what to say,” she said. “Abbie has outdone herself this time....” She hesitated. “Are you all right, Trinity?”
“I’m fine,” she said with a look of carefully constructed tranquility. “I’m ready.”
Elizabeth sat on the edge of the bed. “I’m afraid we really haven’t been of much help to you,” she said slowly. “But I want to make sure you aren’t afraid of Ares. When I was quite a bit younger, I belonged to another Bloodmaster. It was not a pleasant experience. When I had grown too old to interest him, he offered me for open Claiming.” She released a breath. “It’s usually reserved for cast-off serfs, and most are only valuable for increasing the number of an Opir’s staff, and his or her prestige.”
“What happened to you?” Trinity asked.
“After the Bloodlords and Bloodmasters have chosen all those serfs that interest them and paid their former owners the pittance they are worth, the rest are available to Houseless Freebloods. You understand what Freebloods are?”
“Former vassals converted into full Opiri.”
“Made free to build their own destinies,” Elizabeth said. “Some become clients either to their own Sires or other Bloodlords. But they can also choose to fight their way up the ladder and form their own Households. For them, acquiring serfs is not a simple matter of bidding. They fight for their property, and many die.” She sighed. “Two very nasty Freebloods were fighting over me when Ares stepped in and claimed me. I have been here ever since.”
“So he saved you. What would have happened if he hadn’t?”
“Freebloods live on the edge. A serf’s life under such circumstances is fragile. And often short. Now I have a comfortable home where I can be useful. And I’m not alone.”
“Thank you for telling me this,” Trinity said.
“No need to thank me.” Elizabeth rose again, her eyes crinkling as she smiled. “I’m just saying that even if Ares doesn’t keep you with him, you’ll have a comfortable life. Cassandra deliberately sets herself apart from the rest of us. It won’t be that way with you.”
“No,” Trinity said. “It won’t.” Suddenly self-conscious, she smoothed the silk over her thighs. “When do I—”
As if in answer to her unfinished question, the serf she’d seen with Ares in the Claiming room entered the infirmary. Daniel, she remembered Ares calling him—a young man of medium height, with sandy hair and light blue eyes. “Good afternoon,” he said, the words as flat as his expression.
