1 Chapter 1

1

Everyone always thought there were two kinds of vampyres: those who were born and were considered royalty among their community, and those who were turned and weren’t.

And surprised wasn’t the word for the reaction when Ioan Mic and his twin Aurel arrived on the scene They were half-bloods—only one parent was a vampyre, while the other was a sabor, one of those highly valued beings whose blood was good for whatever might ail a vampyre.

Ioan knew neither he nor Aurel would ever become vampyre king. For one thing, they weren’t pureblood vampyres, so they’d have to be satisfied with simply being dukes, like their Uncle Adam, even though both Adam’s parents were vampyre.

For another, well, see the first thing.

It didn’t matter that their mother was the present vampyre king’s daughter. Grandfather wouldn’t choose them.

“Trust me, my boys. This is not a position you want.” Grandfather had sighed and rested a hand on their shoulders.

Ioan didn’t argue with Grandfather. He knew his cousin Valeriu would one day step into Grandfather’s shoes and be king. He and Aurel had other futures—Aurel would replace Adam as the Rege’s equerry when Valeriu became Rege—and Ioan couldn’t help but feel sorry for his brother for having to work with such an unpleasant king—but Ioan was just happy to pass the time waiting until his eighteenth birthday. That was the day Daniel Small would finally admit he loved him and would take him to bed.

Ioan had loved Daniel since he’d first arrived at Grandfather’s castle in Romania. Daniel was an American, and his limp body had been carried in by one of his countrywomen, a turned vampyre. He’d been hanging on to life by a thread, because he’d been almost drained by that damned Spanish vampyre.

Grandfather had had no choice but to turn Daniel, but it hadn’t been enough, and Daniel still wouldn’t have survived if not for Ioan’s other cousin, Tyrell, who happened to be a sabor

Ty had agreed to let Daniel drink from him, but he’d also promised Daniel that if it didn’t help, Ty would put him out of his misery. Meaning he would stake him. Ioan had shuddered. He’d heard tales of vampyres being staked, a brutal, bloody, and violent end, and he’d had nightmares for weeks afterward. As luck would have it, however, Ty’s blood had done the trick, and staking hadn’t turned out to be necessary.

Ioan didn’t like to think about that time—he’d come too close to losing the love of his life. He still got chills and felt sick to his stomach when he thought of what could have been the outcome.

But now…today was Ioan’s eighteenth birthday. Of course it was Aurel’s also, but since Aurel was the older, he liked to pretend things like birthday parties were beneath his notice. In spite of that, he liked cake as much as Ioan did—that was one of the perks of being a half-blood—chocolate cake! And after they’d had their cake and the purebloods had their goblets of blood, Ioan would get to open the best present of all: Daniel!

Ioan dressed in his finest clothes—a black velvet dinner jacket from America his mother had sent him, along with a white silk shirt that had a fall of lace at the throat and wrists and a navy blue cummerbund. Aurel had gotten a similar suit, but in fuchsia with a lime green cummerbund. Mama knew how flamboyantly Aurel liked to dress.

Ioan went to stand in front of the mirror and tied back his blond hair with a blue velvet ribbon that matched the cummerbund…and his eyes.

Perk number two of being a half-blood was being able to see his reflection in a mirror.

Now, satisfied with his appearance, he left his room and virtually bounded up the stairs to the grand ballroom on the third floor. Fortunately, no one was around to observe him. He knew he had to behave with decorum at all times, but sometimes he got too excited to remember.

It was great that Aurel would be around for their birthday. Beings tended to pay more attention to him and let Ioan fade into the background.

Ioan paused at the top of the stairs, waiting for his brother to join him. Aurel always liked to make a grand entrance.

A servant hurried up to him. “Pardon me, Highness. Duke Aurel asked you to go on ahead. He’s debating over which coat to wear.”

“Has he decided to wear the tux Mama sent?”

“You know him. He’ll stand before his closet debating—”

“—and decide on his first choice anyway,” they said together. They exchanged glances and chuckled.

“And may I say your ensemble suits you very well?” the servant said.

“Thank you, Costine.” Ioan smiled at his brother’s valet. The man bowed and hurried back to his duke. Aurel was the one who fussed over his clothes. On first meeting the two of them, acquaintances assumed Aurel was the gay one, something that amused them both because it was so wrong. Not that it would have mattered if his brother was gay instead of him; while they had their differences, they loved each other fiercely.