AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Sorry for losing my temper. Please join me for breakfast in the morning. My guests will have gone. Sebastian.
I crumpled the paper in my fist. Great, I was held captive by a temperamental vampire with anger issues. If I couldn’t beat them, then I’d join them. I wasn’t going to find anyone by being a bitch or sulking in this room. No, I would play whatever weird part I was expected to in this house.
If Sebastian wanted me to be grateful, I would fake it. If he wanted me to join him for breakfast, then I’d go. I would do what I believed my mom would do. I would earn their trust and use that to get out of here.
I went to bed, feeling a little comfort knowing that wherever she was, I’d underestimated her. She was probably working on a plan to escape too, and if anyone could do it, it was her.
SIX
A gown of shimmering blue had been laid out for me. I wanted nothing more than to throw it across the room, but it beat wearing a nightdress. Once on, I tied the ribbon at the back. Sebastian had guessed my size right. My cheeks reddened at the thought of him looking at me like that.
I made my way downstairs, tiptoeing down the spiral staircase linking two floors, which led out to a corridor of rooms. The second set of stairs opened out to a bright foyer. I’d only guessed the number of stories this house had based on the other buildings across the street from my window, but it was far bigger than I had imagined. I hadn’t gotten a chance to see it before now because Sebastian had flown me onto the roof and taken me down through a hatch to the top floor and then to the room I’d now spent three days in.
The antique gold chandelier was far grander than anything I’d seen in Baldoria. Lights reflected from diamonds that trickled down from the arms like teardrops. My feet, squeezed into a pair of slip-on flats, made little sound as I walked across the marble floor. I rubbed my arms as goose bumps spread over my body and the cool air hit my lungs. I supposed they didn’t need it.
Voices sounded from within a closed room. I spotted a makeshift sign from paper withThis way, mortal girlscribbled on it and an arrow pointing to that room. I rolled my eyes and stepped forward, but panic suddenly shot through me, rendering me still.
My plan was to be nice to them, and I’d spent the night thinking about how I’d pretend to be their friend and give them what they wanted—or try, considering it was most likely my magic, and I was a terrible sorceress. I saw no other option if I were to escape, or better, get them to help me find my mom and Draven. It was better for them to think of me as an ally, a friend of sorts—if their cold hearts knew of that—or at the very least, a willing prisoner. But they were monsters, the things from bedtime stories and legends, evil, soulless creatures cursed by a goddess who hungered for blood or souls. I was nothing to them.
Inhaling deeply to calm my nerves, I pushed down the silver handles and opened the double doors to a long table covered with platters of food. The vampire who’d been in my room, Zachariah, sat stiffly in one chair with a goblet filled with wine—or worse.
Sebastian leaned back in a chair at the head of the table, draping one arm over the side. “I’m surprised you came down to dine with usmonsters.”
Zach didn’t look at me when he spoke. “It seems she’sfinallyshowing some manners.”
A woman stepped through doors behind me. Her dark eyes complemented her skin, and her thick lips pulled into a grimace in Zachariah’s direction. “Don’t act all virtuous. Most vampiresaremonsters. Besides, give the girl a break. If I’d been kidnapped and taken to another kingdom, I’d be pretty pissed too.” A ghost of a smile crossed Sebastian’s expression.
I almost smiled too—almost.I decided I hated her the least out of the three of them.
“You must be hungry.” She pulled out a chair and gestured for me to join her. I stared at the platters of food, and my stomach rumbled.
“Don’t you only drink blood?” I asked tentatively.
“Yes, we only drink blood. We weren’t sure what you liked, so we got different options.” She moved her braided, dark hair over one shoulder.
I couldn’t help but steal a look at Sebastian. He leaned his elbows on the table as he circled his finger around the rim of his cup. At least he tried to seem of this age, with a standard, blue mug, whereas Zachariah drank from some silver thing I imagined a king sipping from a couple hundred years ago.
Sebastian’s wings were tucked behind his back, his piercing eyes focused on the platter of food in front of me. I noticed tattoos peeking out from the rolled-up sleeves of his shirt, black markings which swirled in patterns, and a crescent moon that sat nestled between two curls of black reaching his wrist.
I averted my eyes when he caught me staring, feeling heat flood my face. Of course, I didn’t want my observing them to be taken as my having any interest in who they are, and from the way his lips tugged into a lazy grin, I presumed he took it the wrong way.
“I’m Erianna,” the woman next to me said, breaking the awkward silence. “I live here, with Seb and Zach.”
I almost choked on the water I’d poured.Seb. It sounded almost amusing for such a frightening creature. “Sorry.” I patted the sides of my mouth with a napkin. “It’s nice to meet you, Erianna.”
“I wish it were under better circumstances,” she said, her brown eyes regarding me as I reached for the scrambled eggs and slices of toast. Being stuck in that room had returned my appetite, and when I woke this morning, I felt a need to fill the emptiness in my stomach—a feeling I hadn’t had in weeks. “However, with Nightshade after you, you’re safer here than in Baldoria.”
“Wouldn’t they be looking for me here?” I asked, remembering how Zach had told me they knew a vampire had taken me.
“Yes, but they’ll be looking in all the wrong places.”
“You mean in blood dens?” I made a face but remembered my goal here. I needed to show them I could be trusted. “I know you all need to feed,” I added.
“Think of them as grocery stores for vampires.” Sebastian leaned back in his chair. “It helps to not be so disgusted by them.”
The muscle in my jaw ticked. “Except we don’t keep live cattle in our stores,” I pointed out, making the only comparison I could think of.
His voice charged with challenge. “Would you prefer if we bottled blood and kept the mortals in stables and fields?”
