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Katina frowns, pursing her lips as she considers me.
“There, there. I didn’t mean to frighten you. I only meant to warn.”
She sounds sincere, and her eyes are wide and concerned, which only manages to befuddle me more. At the auction, I knew everyone was my foe. Here, I could very easily be duped into thinking that Katina could be a friend. That’s dangerous and only a trick of my mind. It’s typical Marina, wanting to see the best in people, even when there is none to be seen.
“Your distress is palpable; you must learn to control it. Vampires can smell your emotions. Here you might be safe, but out there”—she motions toward the windows—“that will get you killed.”
Out there.Does that even mean something to me anymore? As a prisoner, how long will I be cooped up here before I’m disposed of and another unsuspecting person is stolen to replace me?
Katina turns on her heels, going toward the walk-in closet. I hear her sifting around until she finds something that pleases her. I don’t even need to look to know that her idea of what works and mine are going to be entirely different.
“You have to try to cooperate, Marina.”
She knows my name. What else does she know about me? My blood type? My grades from school? Was I being followed before I was abducted? Or was it just a case of wrong place, wrong time?Were these the monsters from my past?
“There are always eyes, watching, waiting for a reason to swoop in and end you. The Crown will protect you if you behave. If you don’t, not even he can save you.”
Save me?Does he think buying me from the auction was saving me? No. Saving me would’ve meant stopping the auction. Or at least allowing me to go home afterward. He didn’t save me, and I fear nobody can.
“What’s that?” I eye the blood-red dress she holds in her hands. It looks like something out of the eighteenth century. “I’m not wearing that,” I say, crossing my arms over my chest in defiance.
She sighs animatedly. “You will, or you’ll go naked. Your choice,” she shrugs.
“There is an entire closet full of normal clothes,” I say, pointing toward the door. “Where the hell did you find that, anyway? I looked through there and I don’t remember seeingancientclothes.”
She rolls her eyes. “It’s beautiful and you’ll look... well... better.” She purses her lips and I scowl. “You’re having dinner with the Crown and his brother. Royalty, my dear. You need to look the part.”
“Will they be dressed like this?” I say, motioning toward the offending garment.
“Doesn’t matter.” She waves her free hand. “I was asked to dress you, and dress you I shall. Now, take that off and let’s get started.”
Twenty minutes later, battered and bruised by the horrific corset dress Katina shoved me in, I’m already regretting that I was sold off to someone intent on torture before simply killing me. I’m a ball of fury and I’m ready to unleash it at this dinner with evil royalty.
I won’t leave this world without a fight.
Chapter Nine
“Where are you taking me?” I try desperately to sound brave, when internally I’m quaking in fear. All the bravado from earlier is gone as I inch closer to Julian and whatever nefarious plans he has for me tonight.
“I already told you—the throne room.”
I know nothing about these creatures, yet they seem to know everything about humans. They have an unfair advantage. It’s hard to tell if any of the fictional books and movies I’ve watched and read have depicted vampires at all accurately. I’m going in blind and completely helpless. I’ve never so much as taken a self-defense class, which means I’m thoroughly screwed and at the mercy of the monsters.
“What’s going to happen to me there?”
She stops and turns toward me.
“That all depends on you. The Crown wishes to have you dine with him.” Her hands fly up as if to sayduh. “If you behave, I’m sure no harm will come to you... today. However, if you step a foot out of line, you’ll take your last breath.” Her red claws rake tenderly down my cheek, almost affectionately. “It’s a shame you’re human. We could have so much fun together.” She licks her lips seductively.
My nose scrunches at her peculiarity. I can’t tell if she wants to kill me or kiss me at this particular moment. Neither is favorable. We continue to march down a hallway lined with red carpeting and gold walls. The place screams wealth, in a gaudy, masculine way. The walls are filled with aged portraits of ghastly men. The sneers plastered across their faces and evil eyes that appear to follow me as I continue past make them even creepier.Always watching.
As we descend further down the long expansive hall, male voices fill the air, growing louder by the second.
“Shall we share, for old times’ sake, brother?” a familiar jovial voice questions.
“I’m in no mood for sharing, Lawrence.”
The husky voice of my captor curls around my insides, torturing me with unwanted tingles. I stand tall, pushing all the foreign feelings away. I won’t let this man corrupt me. He can’t own my thoughts or sensations if I don’t allow him to. And I won’t. He may take my blood, but he’ll never take anything more from me.
