He smirked. “If you wanted to cuddle, you could’ve just said so.”
I scrambled backward. “I did not mean to do that.”
“Hurtful. I’m a good cuddler.” He winked and rolled onto his back, stretching out now that I was out of his way. Utterly humiliating.
“Why did you wake me up?” I grumbled, rushing to cover myselfwith the bedsheet.
“You mean besides saving myself from being thrown off by a bed hog?” he purred. “I thought we could sneak away to the city. There’s much I want to show you. We’d have to escape my generals, though.”
“Dodging responsibilities? That’s not very mature of you.” I chastised, but I was already crawling out of bed. No way was I going to miss the chance to see the city. Its looming monolithic buildings had taunted me every day for the past twenty-one years. The prospect of escaping those stuffy walls, even if just for a little while and even if chaperoned... well, I’d take it.
Roman jumped to his feet. “There are perks to being tsar, namely, I can do whatever I want.”
“You mean as long as your generals don’t catch you.” I shot him a glance over my shoulder as I opened my suitcase.
A grin spread across his face. “Exactly. You have five minutes.”
“That hat is ridiculous, by the way.”
Roman recoiled as if I’d spat on him. His hand touched the top hat resting beside him. “I like this hat.”
I rolled my eyes but smiled. I would never admit it to him, but he looked handsome. He wore a deep gray vest and trousers paired with a red dress shirt and a black trench coat. An ornate watch adorned his left wrist, and a large silver ring shaped like a raven’s head curled down his right middle finger. When he wore the hat, his curls spilled out in adorable puffs. A clean, normal look I hadn’t expected from the tsar.
We had scurried to the stables like my sister and I sneaking seconds from the kitchen. There was something thrilling about the secrecy, a giddy feeling spreading through me when Roman pressed a fingerto his lips as we hid around a corner, waiting for a member of Levis to pass. Breaking the rules felt exciting when there wasn’t the risk of punishment, especially with a partner in crime like Roman.
I dipped my head out the window anxiously until I caught sight of the city skyline ahead. The silhouettes of buildings stood out like monoliths against the smog. I had spent countless hours staring out the academy windows, dreaming of the day I could visit the city—freedom at last. Now I was entering with the very man who owned me. Funny how life worked like that.
The streets reminded me of the academy cafeteria—crowded, bustling with people, and loud. But the people surrounding me weren’t other young, blonde girls with similar faces and tight expressions. Here, there were all kinds of individuals, a stark contrast to the slumbering backdrop of the buildings. Carved from stone, each structure blended seamlessly into the next, creating neat, uniform rows.
“It’s quite something, isn’t it?” Roman said, his face close to mine as he looked out the window.
“It’s beautiful,” I breathed.
Roman chuckled. “That’s one word for it.”
“You don’t like the city?” I raised my eyebrows.
“There’s a reason I live in the country, doll.”
The carriage turned down a side street, weaving through narrow alleys of cobblestone and brick. The farther we got from the city center, the quieter it became. It felt as though the city’s heart was beating, yet it hadn’t fully awakened from its slumber. Humans and vampires alike hunched in the crevices of buildings, streetlamps casting a harsh yellow glow across their dilapidated forms. The city smelled worse out here, like urine and alcohol, making my nose crinkle in distaste.
A knock sounded on the hood. The carriage driver leaned over the side and smiled at us. “We’re nearly there now, Roman.”
“Thanks, Avram,” Roman called back.
“Do all your servants call you by your first name?”
Roman scowled at me, his tone sharper than I’d ever heard it. “I don’t have servants. I have employees.”
I raised my eyebrows. “There’s a difference?”
“Yes. They are my equals. I pay them to do tasks they’re better at than I am. Some choose to live in the castle because it’s easier, but they aren’t required to.”
“They don’t live with their own Houses?”
Roman shifted in his seat, crossing his arms over his broad chest. “Most of my employees are banished vampires. They have no House to return to. Many of them actually live in Solime.”
The bloodthirsty gaze of the banished vampire who had attacked me in Solime surged in my thoughts. His tongue against my flesh, the weight of his body pinning mine. Vampires just like him always surrounded me. I shuddered involuntarily but said nothing.
