Chapter 12 The Bloodless Court

• The chandeliers overhead shimmered with crystals that looked like frozen teardrops, casting refracted light across the grand hall like scattered stars. Mira followed Cassian’s stride, her heart thumping beneath a sheer silken gown that clung to her in ways she wasn’t used to. The dress was midnight blue, chosen by Cassian himself or, more likely, one of his staff. Its plunging neckline and open back exposed her skin to the cold air of the estate, though that wasn’t what made her shiver.
• It was the eyes everywhere she turned, immortal eyes watched her glinting with curiosity, malice, amusement. Vampires, Cassian walked beside her, calm and regal, dressed in a sleek black suit with silver embroidery. He barely blinked as heads turned. Mira, on the other hand, felt each gaze like the prick of icy needles, she tried to match his grace, tried not to let the tremor in her fingers show, but inside she was screaming. She didn’t belong here, she was mortal a prey and worse, she was his mortal. They entered the ballroom, It was a cathedral of elegance, with marble floors that reflected the room like a mirror and walls hung with paintings older than nations. Glasses of crimson liquid sparkled like rubies in every hand, music whispered from a string quartet tucked away behind a curtain of velvet. Laughter tinkled like broken glass.
• Cassian leaned down near her ear and said, “Do not fear them. No one will touch you while you’re under my protection.”