“Please? Just try it. The idea of you starving—” He stopped himself, his words choked. “I can’t have that.”
“Okay,” I whispered, taking his arm in two hands, feeling the desire to ease the tumultuous emotions in his words and gaze. I felt both nervous and sick to my stomach, something Kolvar realized as he lifted his arm, pulled me onto his lap, and helped me bring his wrist to my lips. I let the blood wash into my mouth, not taking a sip as much as a taste from the open cut.
I expected a surge of revulsion to hit me.
Instead I was hit with a wonderful, woodsy scent that ran over my tongue and had me letting out a soft moan as the hot liquid filled my mouth. For the first time in forever, my parched throat felt quenched as the warmth seemed to infuse every element of my body with an electric shock all at once. Tears broke over my lashes and dripped down my cheeks, and I held Kolvar’s gaze as I began to actively drink his blood.
This was so wrong.
Removing the thought of what I was actually doing, I tried to focus on what I was feeling. My stomach cramped uncomfortably at first—although not as bad as with Malakai—but the more blood I drank, the more that subsided. More so, that warmth from his blood seemed to be filling me in a way I had never thought possible and my disgust began to transform into the pure instinctual need I had to survive—to take what he was offering. I hadn’t even realized I’d dug my nails into Kolvar’s arm, holding his wrist securely against my lips, until he smoothed a hand through my hair and momentarily distracted me.
My lips broke from his wrist as a shudder ran over my skin and a whimper slipped from my lips, feeling like every vein in my body was on fire. I closed my eyes and hissed as he wrapped an arm around me and murmured soft words that I couldn’t fully hear. When I finally opened my eyes, his face was filled with curiosity, awe, and sympathy at the shock on my face.
My fingers shakily came up to my lips, which were now smeared with blood. At the sight of my crimson fingertips, I felt a surge of overwhelming panic. I let out a small sob in my throat and looked up at him. “I don’t understand… I feel so full. I’ve never felt like this before.”
Self-hatred slammed into me at the idea of liking something that had represented so much darkness in my life. But the instinctual part of me demanded that I ignore that and focus on the fact that I felt full for the first time that I could remember since being in Malakai’s castle.
What was going on with me? Why would my body crave blood now, when I couldn’t remember ever having that desire as a child or during my imprisonment? Was this something to do with being a Thrall? Or was it something more? I didn’t think Thralls drank blood in large quantities like this, ever. At least not like I just had. I clearly wasn’t a vampyre—I didn’t exhibit any of their traits, and vampyres didn’t drink each other’s blood. I had heard Malakai mention that once; apparently it didn’t hold the same nutrition as human blood. Confusion had me shaking my head as a rough exhale left my lips.
“I don’t understand either,” Kolvar admitted, “but we will figure it out. You…you aren’t a normal human. I don’t know what you are, but you’re not a human.”
I heard his words, but I didn’t know how to process them—at least not yet.
“Please don’t tell the others.” I pulled back in sudden concern as my eyes widened in fear, my hands tightening on his jacket. “Don’t tell anyone.”
I had never given orders before, but this new secret was a dangerous one. It meant something was different with me, and I couldn’t afford for anyone to know that. Not when I had finally escaped.
“Your secret is safe with me, I swear.”
“Thank you,” I whispered, putting my head down. For whatever reason, I trusted he wouldn’t tell them.
I tightened my hands on him as his lips brushed against my forehead in a sweet, affectionate kiss. I melted against him, and moments later when he placed me back on the bed, I found myself hoping he would join me.
“You’re going to sleep in here,” Kolvar said before nodding towards the door. “I’ll be right across the way.”
“Isn’t this your bedroom?” I asked, feeling horrible for taking his space.
“It is, but right now it’s yours,” he stated evenly, his tone not brooking any argument. He then gently reached back and placed the knife in my hands. “Keep this with you. I want you to feel safe, Kyella. I’ll make sure you continue to have blood, okay? But I want you to rest and take care of yourself; that’s the only thing I want you to worry about.”
I had no doubt the blood would help in that matter since I was already feeling far better than moments ago. My eyes felt heavy as I placed the knife on the table next to the bed. It was a sweet gesture, to provide me with a way to defend myself in this unknown place with vampyres I barely knew.
When he urged me to lay down and then covered me with a blanket, I didn’t fight it, a yawn breaking from my lips. The knowledge of what I craved and what it could mean was weighing on me, enough that when he brushed his lips against my temple, I gave into the darkness of exhaustion instead of facing it.
ChapterTen
Kyella
Ihadn’t realized just how exhausted and drained I’d been before coming on this ship, which was why when I woke up from a heavy slumber, I felt disoriented, confused on how long I’d been out. There were no windows in Kolvar’s quarters, and between that and the steady rocking of the ship, I had no idea what time it was. I could’ve been asleep anywhere from two to twenty-four hours.
With how stiff my muscles felt, I’d guess somewhere on the longer end of that spectrum.
I quickly found out that it had actually been around fourteen hours when Kolvar walked through the door, predicting I would be hungry and offering me a glass of blood. He had assured me it was his blood, and while I took it—gulping it down, quenching the raw thirst that had always been present but never completely satisfied until now—I couldn’t help but feel disappointed he hadn’t let me drink from him directly.
Which was ridiculous. Not only was that a very intimate thing to do, especially if not forced, but there was no reason I should’ve wanted that. Then again, it seemed there were a lot of things I wanted with Kolvar and the other Lords that had never crossed my mind before.
Not that I hadn’t felt desire before—there had been times when I’d felt its touch, times when I had even tried to relieve the frustration myself—but with them, it was the first time I’dtrulydesired someone. Which was another reason I didn’t ask him about the glass, not wanting to make it obvious how I felt, especially considering how sweet and caring he’d been. I didn’t want to risk making him uncomfortable.
So instead, I’d gone back to bed after drinking the blood, beginning a sluggish cycle of sleeping and drinking blood every few hours.
