Chapter 9 · Untitled Chapter

"Hands off." Adrian's grip locked around Lynn's wrist. His body went rigid.

Lynn shoved herself off the floor, ribs screaming from whatever had tried to claw its way out of her. "What's wrong?"

"They heard it." He crossed to the window and pulled the curtain back a fraction. "Every vampire in the district. The Council. Victor's people. All of them."

Her stomach dropped. "Heard what?"

"The seal breaking." Adrian kept his eyes on the street. "Royal blood has a frequency. When yours cracked open, it broadcast to every bloodline within a hundred miles."

She didn't want to ask. "What'd they hear?"

He turned. His face had gone pale. "That the king's line isn't dead. That it's here. That it's you."

The room tilted. Lynn caught the edge of the table. "I'm not royal. My father was a hunter. My whole family—"

"Your father sealed royal vampire blood inside you when you were a kid." Adrian crossed the room, speaking fast and low. "I don't know why. I don't know how he got it. I know what's in you, and now every vampire who wants power knows where to find it.