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“We?”
“You can meet my friends another day. As for your other questions, no. I don’t plan on using you as a blood bag or for your magic.”
“Hmm,” I mumbled, unconvinced.
He clicked his tongue. “I’ll have Anna bring you something to eat. She’s mortal, like you.”
“You have slaves?” I couldn’t keep the disgust out of my expression.
He shook his head and turned. I glared at the back of his head as he closed the door. There was no way he was helping me out of the goodness of his heart, if he even had one. He was going to use me. I didn’t know how yet, but I sure didn’t want to stick around to find out.
Once his footsteps faded, I ran to the door. I wanted nothing more than to shove a chair up under the handle or push the marble dresser against it, but nothing would stop him from getting in if he wanted to. Vampires were strong, and heavy furniture would be nothing but a mere inconvenience to them. I slid down the back of the wood frame, burying my head in my arms. He was deceivingly mortal—he even looked it—but I knew what type of monster hid beneath, and I was trapped with him.
After twenty minutes, a mortal woman walked in, her smile meek as she dropped in a tray of sliced apples, crackers, cubed cheese, and butter. She didn’t utter a word and left without so much as glancing at me. She appeared to be in her forties, and I wondered how long she’d been imprisoned here.
I didn’t leave my bed for the rest of the night. Instead, I watched a spider crawl around its glittering silver web in the corner of the ceiling, weaving it bigger and bigger until an unsuspecting fly flew into one of its sticky traps.
Finally, I gave in and nibbled on a slice of cheese, but barely touched my crackers. When the sun came up, I thought of my mom, Draven, and the order of vampires who wanted me dead. When I tried to summon my powers to escape, only a flicker burned through my veins before sizzling out. Finding comfort in the soft covers on my bed, I closed my eyes, hoping this was some prolonged nightmare.
Inside my head was the only place where I could escape. I daydreamed about breaking out and finding my mom and Draven, then finding us a way back home. I created scenarios in my head until sleep took me, and for a minute, I allowed myself to pretend I wasn’t held captive by a vampire and my fate wasn’t in his hands.
FIVE
My heart leaped as I turned in my bed and found myself face to face with a blond vampire. He tilted his head as I pulled the sheets over my chest. “Gods, what the—” I trod carefully as I took him in. I didn’t want to piss one of them off right now. “You scared me.” I moved back against the white-bricked wall that the bed was pushed up against.
White hair fell like silk around his shoulders, matching his star-silver eyes, which narrowed when I gulped. “You’re the sorceress,” he stated coolly. “Olivia.”
“Yes.” I cleared my throat.
When his lips parted, I spotted the tips of his fangs, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood erect. “I’m Zachariah. I am Sebastian’s friend.”
Whether or not he really was his friend, I didn’t put it past him to sink those glinting fangs into my neck, even if Sebastian was under the illusion I was just his guest. “Where is Sebastian?”
“Attending to business. He’s placed me in charge of your safety.”
His words didn’t make me feel safe in the slightest, nor did I trust his intentions, especially when his gaze trickled down my neck every few seconds. I brought the covers up, hoping it would mask the scent. He ran a bony finger over the bare chest showing at the top of his unbuttoned shirt. “I will not drink your blood,” he stated. “It would not be appropriate.”
I inhaled sharply. “Good to know.”
“You are a guest. We do not drink from guests, so you can lower those covers.”
I didn’t. “As long as I am a guest, I don’t suppose that means I can request to be flown back home?” I asked, on the slim chance he’d be willing.
He paused, his arched eyebrows furrowing as he searched my expression. “We insist you don’t leave.”
“Would you stop me if I tried?”
“I am in charge of keeping you safe, and allowing you to leave this house would place your life at risk, so yes.”
“So I am a prisoner.”
“No.”
I repressed the urge to roll my eyes. “If I must stay here, can you tell me why Sebastian is keeping me here? I don’t assume it’s out of the kindness of his heart?”
“Because we are vampires, you would presume we are not capable of such things?”
I hesitated. “I mean, well, yes.”
