“Don’t be foolish,” I warn. She looks at me then, and I can hear the way her fingers tighten around the knife she’s tried to sneak into her lap without me noticing. She swallows and carefully sets it back on the table.
I sit back in my own chair, nursing my blood-spiked wine. I don’t particularly like it–I prefer it fresh–but it’s one of the things that makes me feel mortal again, and spiking it is the only way my body can consume liquids without rejecting them entirely.
It’s also a way to keep the humans in line, particularly the cattle. They fear becoming our next delicacy.
As Adelasia stares forward, I examine her face. The warmth from the hearth has helped some of the natural color return to her cheeks and lips. She’s no longer shivering, and her hair has begun to dry. The more nervous she becomes, the more prominent the vein running down her jugular entices me. The one taste of her blood was nowhere near enough, and I find myself craving it more than usual. Not blood, butherblood. My teeth begin to ache as I think about it more and more.
Just one taste…
In the tense moment of silence between us, while I’m lost in the quickly growing bloodlust, Adelasia jolts up from her seat before taking her dinner knife and plunging it into my chest.
I look down at the knife and grunt as I remove it. There's a thick layer of blood gathered on the blade. I stare at her as I lick the silver clean, and then smile in a way that has my fangs on full display.
I whisper to her a single word:
“Run.”
Six
Adelasia
He tells me to run.
So I do.
I fuel myself with desperation instead of fear as I sprint through the halls. I don’t even know where I’m going. I don’t know if there are other vampires lurking here. I reach a dead-end wall, and when I turn to run back the other way, my blood runs cold with pure, unfiltered terror.
Kaius is standing at the opposite end of the hall. The front of his dark tunic is wet from where his blood seeps through the fabric.
And his eyes–his eyes are pure black, with black and red veins pouring out from the sockets. His fangs are longer, his body is poised like a predator.
This is the demon we humans fear. The face of nightmares.
He walks towards me. Each step is slow but purposeful. As he passes the braziers lining the walls, they come alight with blue fire to match the cold fury in his eyes.
Those depthless, unholy eyes.
When he reaches me, I’ve forgotten how to breathe. He stands tall, beautiful, and deadly, mere inches from me.
“I warned you not to be foolish,” he says, before leaning into me, trapping me between the wall and his body. He inhales deeply at the curve of my neck. “What should be your punishment for such…disobedience?”
I shiver as I feel his fangs drag along my throat, though not enough to break the skin. He’s testing me. Intimidating me. Daring me to move.
“Please…”
He purrs into my neck. “Answer the question, Adelasia, before I rip out your throat.”
“Please. I’m sorry. I’ll do anything, just please don’t hurt me,” I beg, putting my hands against his chest to try and push him away. My chest heaves faster and faster with the anxiety and panic growing within me.
“Anything, hm?” he exhales a snort. “What could a humanpossiblyoffer me?”
“I’ll–I’ll–I’ll dance for you.”
Instantly, the braziers in the hall return to a normal, orange glow and his eyes return to their normal red hue as he reels back to look at me.
“Explain.”
“I…um…” I struggle to form words, somehow even more uneasy now than I was when he was poised at my neck. “I can dance for you. It’s my life. I don’t have any skills or experiences outside of ballet. I…I could entertain you and your court?” I give him a defeated sigh when his face shows no emotion at my proposal. “That's all I have.”
