AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He tilted his head toward her, expectant.
While moments ago, those same lips had filled her with a longing she'd been reluctant to feel for years, now, the prospect of kissing him again only filled her with anger. She didn't want to be forced to kiss him, or anyone, for that matter. But she also understood that if she didn't follow his demands, there was a very real risk that she would never see Jay again. And that could never happen.
"First, prove that you have him," Rosalie said. "What is he wearing right now?"
Dominick smirked like he'd expected the question. "Dressed rather fine in preparation for bedtime, don't you think? Black slacks, a silken shirt, almost like a little vamp rugrat."
Rosalie didn't react, even though the description was accurate, and confirmed that he did, indeed, have Jay. Finally, since there was no way to avoid what would come next, she grabbed Dominick's shirt and yanked him forward, kissing him.
Her rage pushed her to show Dominick that he could not control her as easily as he wanted. She cursed him inwardly as his lips moved with hers, the heat of his mouth making her insides tremble. He was taking advantage of her because she was so desperate to find Jay and get him back safe—which she would do, whatever it took.
But even though part of her wanted to stay in his embrace forever, Rosalie pulled away as soon as he allowed it. The kiss had left a bitter taste in her mouth, and she could only think about getting away from him.
"Now, will you let me see Jay?" she asked forlornly. "Please."
Dominick licked his lips. "I will consider it," he said in a voice weighted with finality. "Come to my chambers tomorrow night. We can talk then about what you'll have to do for me before I let you see Jay again."
His promise lingered in the air between them—a single chance for her to prove herself worthy of seeing Jay once more. She wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around her son and never let him go, to apologize for ever allowing this to happen to him. Even to the point that she would do whatever sick this Dominick surely had in mind for her now that he knew she could be controlled this way. Being under Dominick's control disgusted her too much for her to enjoy it.
"I'll come," she finally muttered through gritted teeth, not trusting herself to say anything else without shouting at him in fury.
Dominick nodded, satisfied with the outcome of the conversation, and released Rosalie from his grasp so she could finally walk out of the garden. Before she made it back to the castle, tears were brimming in her eyes at the thought of the horrible things Dominick would make her do to get Jay back.
Chapter 6 - Dominick
Dominick honestly couldn't recall the last time he'd seen a child. Surely far more than the four months, almost five, that he and his court had been trapped in his palace. Having none of his own, he'd never taken an interest in seeing any of them—though inevitably, the other vampire nobles who were attached to him and many of his human servants and slaves had children—they were usually kept to their quarters and the village just beyond the castle grounds, now out of reach until Dominick's curse was lifted.
Unlike the other kings, whose misfortune also resulted in a curse, Dominick never felt the urgency to remove it. He wanted it gone, yes. He craved his freedom more than Rosalie did. But having limited resources available to him to break it, Dominick's approach to escape had so far been more ... passive.
After all, he'd been more fixated on making the most out of having Rosalie in the same building as him and winning her over than getting out and her fleeing to the other side of the kingdom permanently. And now, with this little boy sitting on the armchair by the fireplace, kicking his feet as if he was loathed to sit still for long, the pieces to claim Rosalie as Dominick's own again were falling into place.
Dominick took the glass of iced tea, with a single lemon slice split over the edge, and handed it to the boy—Jay. He took it eagerly with both hands. "Thank you, Your Majesty."
"You're a polite child," Dominick observed. "Who taught you your manners?"
It was unusual for a child of the serving class to be so ... educated. Refined. Dominick had gathered over the hours spent with Jay that even for a child, he was mature.
Jay smiled and answered earnestly, "My mama. She always said that no matter how hard life is, you should always be kind."
Dominick couldn't help but smirk at the response. "Are you supposed to be kind to monsters, too?"
The little boy shrugged and took a sip from the glass. "I don't know. No one ever told me what to do if I ever met a monster."
The reply threw Dominick off guard and made him pause in surprise. "You mean no one has taught you how to protect yourself from a vampire?"
Jay tilted his head to the side, squinting as he looked at Dominick. "Not all vampires are monsters, and even then, you can't judge a monster by its nature, only by how it uses or misuses its capabilities."
"You must have had a naive teacher, child. Of course, all vampires are monsters. That is why Rosalie doesn't want to become a vampire, you know. She's afraid of becoming a monster like me."
"That's not true," Jay said adamantly. "The blood-drinking grosses her out, but she's used to it. Humans are murderers just as much as vampires are, but what she's really scared of is losing what connects her to the world. The dirt, the sun, the trees. There are some things you can't enjoy as a vampire. It means giving up on some freedoms to gain others. It's a sacrifice that someone can't make without understanding what they are trading for immortality."
"And how would you know that?" Dominick asked.
"Because that's what Old Rick used to tell me. He was the vampire that used to always come to our house to check on me and give me snacks, but I haven't seen him since we got trapped here."
In all honesty, this was the same advice that Dominick would have given himself had he been presented with the choice. Becoming a vampire was not something to be done on impulse—it was a heavy burden and an even heavier responsibility. Perhaps he had made a mistake, after all, by pushing Rosalie so hard to agree to become a vampire like him. He should have given her more time and grace to decide on her own.
And because of his harshness, he'd lost her.
