A Whisper in the Dark Read online

  Jessi and Kelsey are dedicating the first volume of the Charlie Travesty series to each other, for it would not exist if their friendship didn’t.

  Copyright © 2020 by Jessi Elliott and K.J. Sutton

  All rights reserved. This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission of the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

  ISBN 978-1-7770066-2-4 (eBook Edition)

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Front cover image by Seventh Star Art

  Published in the United States of America

  Also by Jessi Elliott

  The Twisted Series

  Twisted Fate

  Twisted Gift

  Twisted Desire

  Twisted Devotion

  Also by K.J. Sutton

  The Fortuna Sworn Series

  Fortuna Sworn

  Restless Slumber

  Novellas

  Summer in the Elevator

  There are those whose teeth are swords, whose fangs are knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, the needy from among mankind.

  ―Proverbs 30:14

  Chapter One

  Rain patters against the pavement as Cain kisses me.

  I thread my fingers through the soft curls at the nape of his neck. They’re slightly damp, and I can smell the woodsy shampoo he used, as though he just stepped out of the shower. Something about it makes my core tighten, and I moan into Cain’s mouth, pressing closer. His erection teases my lower stomach. “Fuck,” he groans. “Charlotte—”

  Headlights sweep past. From the corner of my eye, I see a car reverse and stop at the mouth of the alley. Alexei, my driver for the past fifteen years, gets out and circles the hood of the car. His silver hair—rare in our world, as humans don’t typically reach old age due to our brutal treatment of them—glints in the streetlights. “Are you ready to go home, Your Highness?” he calls, opening the back door.

  Before I can answer, a feminine voice shouts drunkenly to the stars, “Carpe noctem!”

  It sounds like she’s a few blocks away. Seize the night, she’d said. It’s essentially the party anthem for vampires who still frequent the clubs. For vampires like myself, who much prefer the company of a novel and a large glass of wine every night, I only go when Cain is able to persuade me with promises of decadent blood and delicious sex.

  I’m an introvert, not a prude.

  As the echo of the vampire’s shout fades to nothing, I realize Alexei is still waiting for my answer. Cain is waiting for me to speak, as well.

  I give the handsome vampire a sympathetic smile. We met on a dating app a few months ago, and I’ll freely admit that I’ve become rather fond of Cain… but going to bed before dawn is more tempting right now. “Sleep well,” I say.

  Before the vampire can persuade me otherwise, I duck under his arm and hurry toward the street. I hear Cain release a long-suffering sigh. We’ve had sex before, dozens of times, but now I’m leaving him with balls as blue as the streets of Lancaster.

  Morning is coming, anyway—there wouldn’t have been much time to enjoy each other. While our kind won’t burst into flame, as old human legends depict, sunlight does accelerate the depletion of our blood. We prefer the comfortable glow of moonlight, and as such, the rest of the city is forced to live by night, as well.

  After a moment, Cain apparently decides to follow me anyway. I hear his footsteps and glance behind, catching sight of his playful pout. I’m forced to pause when a group of fairies walks past, which allows Cain to catch up. Their wings glitter as they sing one of this month’s chart toppers, and I avert my gaze, thinking of the pair hanging in my father’s study.

  I can’t remember the name of the song, but I know the singer is a water nymph. There aren’t many left due to the limited number of natural springs and waterways, but those who survived the pollution and virus outbreaks have mostly adapted to life outside water.

  Just as Cain reaches for my waist, the fairies finish passing. I escape his grasp, laughing, and dart into the car. I raise my eyebrows when he slides in after me. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  Alexei lingers at the door, his lavender eyes on the vampire next to me. Cain ignores him. “Why, seeing you home, Your Highness. What kind of date would I be if I let someone else do it?”

  “It’s fine, Alexei,” I tell the old man, flashing him a grin that reveals my delicate fangs. I’m no helpless human.

  Apparently not reassured, a frown flits across Alexei’s face before he pulls back and closes the door.

  As the car moves away from the curb and merges into traffic, Cain’s long fingers reach for the hem of my knee-length maroon dress. My eyes meet Alexei’s in the rearview mirror, and the blood I drank not too long ago rushes to my cheeks. I shove Cain’s hand away. “Stop it,” I insist, trying not to laugh. “We’re not exactly alone here.”

  A line deepens between Cain’s brows. His scarlet eyes glance around the backseat before his gaze lands on the back of Alexei’s head. “You’re worried about the slave?” he asks, a note of incredulity in his voice.

  Now I’m frowning, too. “Yes, I am.”

  A brief silence falls between us, but Cain can’t be still or uncertain for long. Within a minute, he’s teasing me again, trailing the tip of his finger along the inside of my thigh. While I try not to giggle and continually block his wandering hand, he whispers in my ear. Charming, dirty nothings that make my insides heat.

  In a metropolis of over three million citizens, it can take a while to get home. Between kissing Cain and keeping track of his mischievous hands, I catch glimpses of the city, everything covered in an ethereal glow. It’s that halfway time, the sky trapped between night and morning, not quite one thing, not quite something else. My favorite time.

  A car driving alongside us pulls ahead at a light, proudly displaying a collection of bumper stickers. Caution: I don’t brake for vampires, one reads. Another shows a bible verse from Leviticus. You shall not eat any flesh with the blood in it.

  While the Vampire King hasn’t made it strictly illegal to speak out against our kind, I’m certain the owner of that Mercedes Benz is closely monitored by his security team. It’s probably a subspecies of some kind—shapeshifter, fairy, or nymph—because even the free humans who live within these walls don’t have the freedom to defy us.

  I lose sight of the other car when ours pulls onto Travesty Road. Turning back to Cain, I watch as he realizes he’s missed his chance. Heaving another sigh, the young vampire cups my face between his cool, smooth hands. His forehead presses to mine and his breath touches my mouth, a gentle exhale that smells of hard liquor. “How do you have such a kind heart, Charlotte of House Travesty?” he whispers.

  “How do you have such a nice ass, Cain of House Broadbent?” I whisper back. “It makes being annoyed with you so difficult.”

  Just as he starts to respond, familiar lights appear ahead. Two of them, each mounted on elegant stands flanking either side of the gate. Cain wordlessly reaches for the door handle, knowing this is as far as Alexei will allow him—only our staff and family are allowed through those gates.

  “I hope you have delicious dreams, sweet girl.” With a mischievous glint in his eye, Cain leans forward and gives me a long, thorough kiss. I don’t stop him this time, since it could very well be the last night
we see each other. Then, moving with a preternatural speed that stirs the strands of hair around my face, Cain gets out of the car.

  As he closes the door, he doesn’t say anything about the Awakening. I’ve seen him almost every night this week, so there’s nothing left to say at this point. His own happened last year, and since then, he has been living in Kin, spending his father’s money and dating his way through the city. That’s why we work well together—neither of us has any expectations of the other. Eventually, Cain will settle down and make a good match, and within the next few days, I’ll be Awakening and starting my new life.

  “Goodbye,” I whisper, watching him go.

  Cain must hear the words—there aren’t many other sounds to drown them out—but he doesn’t look back. As he’s swallowed by the glittering lights of the city, his stride is so confident, his whistle so boyish and charming. Seeing this side of him, it’s difficult to believe how vicious he’d been with that human at the club tonight. The purple-haired vampire groupie had been taken away by one of the bartenders with part of her neck missing.

  It was a good reminder that, no matter how affable a vampire seems, we are creatures ruled by hunger. Volatile, unnatural, and deadly.

  Too often, we even turn on each other.

  The ornate iron gate opens ahead, hinges moaning, and the sound pulls me back to the present. As Alexei drives through, sounds from the massive limestone fountain trickle in my ears. Then someone laughs, and I glance to my left, where some of my cousins play a game of croquet on the lawn. They’re followed closely by their Caretakers, and hovering beyond them, I spot several guards. Half of my family is too young to leave the mansion yet—a rule Father put in place to protect us from hunters and haters.

  One of them spots me and waves, which prompts the rest of them to do the same. I smile and wave back, though they can’t possibly see me through the tinted glass. As I lower my hand, my phone chimes with a text message, and I glance down at the brightening screen to see it’s from Julia. I met her around the same time I met Cain, and though we have almost nothing in common, we still have fun at the clubs together.

  There’s no time to read her text as Alexei slows to a stop before the mansion’s vast front doors. Tucking my phone away, I wait for him to get out, circle the car, and open my door. However much he dotes on me, the old man has never faltered from the strict guidelines expected of royal slaves. Even something as simple as neglecting to open a vampire’s door could lead to his death. Sighing, I step into the open again, my sharp senses picking up the rustling tree leaves hanging from the nearby apple orchard—each one stands for a seed Father planted on the day of our births.

  With nine immortal wives, there are many trees in that orchard now.

  “Thank you for finding me,” I say to Alexei sincerely, shifting from foot to foot. These heels have been hurting all night, and I can’t wait to get out of them. “You didn’t have to worry, though. Our curfews are a little relaxed during the week of Awakening.”

  It also helps that I’m the king’s favorite—he’s never been able to punish me to the same degree he does my siblings.

  Alexei bows, a formal gesture, but his lavender eyes are warm. “You’re welcome, Princess Charlotte.”

  Something about his expression makes me wonder if he came early on purpose, hoping to cut my time with Cain short. “Good night, you meddling old man,” I say with exasperation, beginning to turn away.

  “Dócha, wait.” When I face him again, Alexei is fiddling with something in his hands. Upon closer inspection, he reveals a wooden box. The top is carved with roses, vines, and birds. Noticing my interest, Alexei holds the gift out to me, exposing the tattoo around his wrist to the dim light. Just like every other one I’ve seen, it’s a simple, black band. The marks seem cruel to me, but they’re part of Father’s vision for our utopia.

  I pretend not to notice it as I take the box, wary of splintering the wood with my strength. It’s heavier than I expected it to be, though.

  “How beautiful,” I murmur, running my fingers over the small petals.

  The human gives me the faintest of smiles. “I carved it myself. It was a skill I once hoped to pass along to my children. Alas, it was not meant to be.”

  The hinges are gold. They don’t make a sound as I lift the lid. Inside, I find a small collection of tools. I raise a brow at Alexei. “What are these?”

  “It’s a chisel set.” He hesitates. “Perhaps it would be a good way to pass the time.”

  Apparently, word has spread about my restless days.

  For the past week, my stomach has been a knot of both dread and anticipation. While everyone else sleeps, I pace the floor of my suite, only capable of thinking one thought, over and over again—soon, I will be leaving the mansion.

  It’s strange to imagine, no longer being surrounded by my family. By my home. By the humans I’ve grown up loving. For the past two decades, we have all lived within these decadent walls. It has not always been peaceful, of course—vampires are endlessly seeking new ways to distract ourselves from the boredom of immortality. Oftentimes, it leads to violence and death.

  But even that hasn’t made me stop loving them.

  “Thank you. Really. I love it,” I say to Alexei, blinking rapidly. After the Awakening, the only occasions I will see this dear human are when I return to the mansion for royal events and holidays. Thinking this, I resist the urge to embrace him—someone is always watching, even if there seems to be no one in sight. Security cameras. Spies. Paparazzi.

  The human bows again. As he straightens, I want to tell him that he’s been more of a father to me than my own. I want to tell him that I look forward to seeing him every day. I want to tell him what a difference he’s made in my life. When I look at my siblings and cousins, so many of them have an emptiness in their eyes—they look at humans and see livestock.

  Humans like Alexei taught me otherwise.

  But I can’t tell him any of that, or properly thank him for such a thoughtful gift. That’s not the world we live in.

  Sending him one more grateful smile, I turn away and head for the giant door looming over us. The wood is a foot thick, dark as the rich soil its tree grew from. As I pull it open, noise overwhelms me in an instant. My enormous family, filling every room and hallway of this place. After spending hours at Crimson, I’m not in the mood to answer their questions. Are you excited for the Awakening? What color do you think your eyes will be? Do you hope you’ll end up in Cain’s district?

  I use my vampiric speed to ascend the wide, marble staircase. In doing so, I pass the French doors leading into the garden. Father’s two Bengal tigers, their fur even more white and unearthly in the moonlight, follow my movements with their bright eyes. Most of the time they sit like statues, blending in with the ferns. I’ve always found them unnerving, though—I avoid their gazes and hurry on.

  At the second landing, I almost stumble over a dead human.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry, so sorry, Your Majesty,” a girl whispers from behind, rushing past to grab hold of the body. She keeps her eyes downcast as she starts to drag it away. “I was just searching for some fresh rags. I should’ve—”

  “What is your name?” I ask gently, stepping over a pool of blood.

  She still doesn’t lift her head. “Anna, Your Majesty.”

  “Do you know who did this, Anna?”

  The question makes her go still—doubtless her survival instincts are taking control. Anna finally glances upward, probably wondering which royal vampire will be the cause of her downfall.

  When she sees who she’s speaking to, though, I can almost smell the relief rushing through her veins. “It w-was Henry, Princess Charlotte,” she says, her voice wavering again, not from fear of me… but terror of him.

  “Thank you.” I smile at her, careful not to show my fangs. The poor girl is one fright away from collapsing. “Please find someone to help you clean this up. You’re much too small to do it alone.”

  She
bows repeatedly, stammering out a response, but I’m already turning away, unable to stomach the sight another second. If I were to help her, or reveal any hint of caring, someone could see. Word could spread to Father, who’d worry that our slaves are overstepping their bounds. More death. More bodies.

  Feeling ill, I hurry up the rest of the stairs. It occurs to me that maybe, on the verge of my Awakening, I can finally muster the courage to talk to Father about his beloved heir. Henry exercises none of the control that seems necessary for a leader. Should he actually ascend to the throne, I worry about the fates of everyone in this city, both vampire and human alike.

  I reach the final landing and, just a few steps to the right, my bedroom door. As I unlock it, I can’t stop myself from glancing down, through the railings, to the trail of blood now staining the tiles below. A shadow passes over my heart. However much I hate Henry for his casual disregard of human life, even I haven’t completely tamed the monster inside. Instead, I keep it in a cage, where there’s always danger of opening the door. It’s a constant struggle to keep that creature from taking control. From consuming the rest of me.

  With this dismal thought, I hear the lock turn, and I hurry to open the door.

  The moment I step over the threshold, I make sure to secure the lock again—sisters are the noisiest creatures left alive on this earth. I put my purse and keys on the table, along with the box Alexei made for me. Then, going to my dresser, I open a drawer, pull off my clothes, and put on a pair of white silk pajamas. Normally, I prefer the ratty T-shirt I stole from my sister, Valerie, but on the morning surrounding a vampire’s shift to maturity, they never wake alone. Everyone wants to see the moment their brand-new eyes open. It’s become tradition for Fledglings to put extra effort into their appearance during the Awakening.