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She did, and Haven followed. His guard trailed obediently behind, casting a warning glance Cy’s way. As they stepped over the threshold and shut the door, Cy was enveloped in silence for the first time in weeks. Alone. He was alone in the vampyre’s chambers. His heart pounded at an unnatural pace.
He was bound close enough to peer through the vampyre’s belongings and in his desk drawers. He might find a weapon of sorts, something he could use to attack or defend himself. Perhaps even a tool to use to pick the lock at his neck. Cautiously, he rose to his feet and moved as much as his chain would allow to where the vampyre’s traveling cloak lay sprawled on the bed’s silken sheets.
“What are you doing?” a voice hissed from behind him.
A small, skeletal form raised its head, blue eyes observing him from where it sat, huddled in the corner. A pet. Cy hadn’t known he was even in the room. He cursed himself for not paying more attention. Likely this was the “refreshment” that had been provided for Haven upon his arrival.
A shock of warm brown curls fell over the boy’s ears. His eyes were filled with concern and defiance.“You shouldn’t be doing that,” he stated coldly.
Cy raised his brows. “Doing what?”
“Whatever you’re doing. It isn’t allowed. I’ll tell.”
“You’lltell?”
The pet nodded, his chin wobbling.
“Why would you do that? I could free us both.”
“I don’t want to be free. You shouldn’t either. The only freedom in this world is death.”
Cy grunted. “What the hell do you mean? You like living this life, then?”
“It’s better than being out there.”
Cy realized all at once that this pet wasn’t bound with a chain like he was. If Cy could win him to his side, this pet could potentially help him escape.
“What’s your name?”
“Riley.”
“I’m Cypress. Cy.”
Riley studied him, watching him like a dangerous animal he’d prefer not to let out of his sight. “Cypress. You’re a pet, a gift to Lord Bathory. So you’ll obey and do as you’re told.”
“You can’t mean that. You’d rather submit than fight back? To find your family? To have a new life?”
“Shut up!” Riley snarled. “There is no life outside of the vampyres! If you make one more move or say one more thing, I’ll stop you. And even if you overpower me, I won’t let you get away. I’ll tell them what you did, where you went!”
“Why?” Cy gripped his hair in his fists, anger rushing through him. “Why would you do that?”
“Don’t you get it? Vampyres are the only way to stay alive in this world.”
“No! There’s life outside of this place. I’ve seen it, lived it. I’ve fought hard for that life. With the Veritas.”
“You’re a fool if you think humans can ever beat them! It doesn’t matter how hard they fight, how much ground they take. The Veritas will fall. Their mission is doomed. Human liberation? What a joke! We don’t live in that world anymore. We live in theirs now. So we adapt, or we die. We serve, or we become food. You’re lucky to be a pet. Didn’t you hear what Lord Haven brought with him? Cattle. You could just as easily be one of them or a dog for the fights. But no. You’ve been given the best life left for a human in this world. I won’t let you squander it.”
So this pet was a snitch through and through. Loyal to the vampyres. Cy had seen it before. Humans selling themselves, throwing themselves at the feet of their overlords for even the slightest glimpses of power or reprieve. But it was always the same with vampyres. Humans always had an expiration date. Riley would come to know that eventually.
Nevertheless, there was clearly nothing he could do with Riley in the room. With a heavy sigh, Cy moved back to the wall and settled back down to his knees, feeling those large blue eyes watching him. So be it. He could be patient.
Haven Bathory strodeback into the room several hours later, never once glancing at either of the pets he’d left behind. He flung himself to his back on the bed so his long golden hair splayed out around him like angel’s wings. The soft fabric of his undershirt fell away to reveal the porcelain white skin of his shoulder. Staring up at the canopy of the bed, silent, unmoving, his fingers twisted in the sheets beneath him. Cy could see the taut tension of his jaw. His eyes, too, were clenched shut.
How easy it would be to sneak up on him, stake him through the heart or behead him. If Cy had weapons, he could end this vampyre before Haven was even aware he was being attacked. The urge to hurt, to hunt, to end, stole through Cy like a torrential downpour, and it was all he could do to tamp it back down. Focus on anything else.
His eyes caught movement. Riley rose to his feet, padding forward on long, gangly limbs. He approached the bed, but Haven didn’t seem to notice. A sweat had broken out over the vampyre’s brow, his eyes clenched shut in obvious pain. Cy couldn’t tear his gaze away.
“My Lord?” came Riley’s soft voice.
