CHAPTER 6
Aimee
Killian is pacing back and forth, back and forth, berating Blaise for the last, I don’t know, half an hour? One hour? Gods know how much time has passed since my identity revelation.
I’m sitting cross-legged in the middle of the plush bed, munching on the tray of meats and roasted vegetables that was brought into the bedchamber a while ago by a servant that looked suspiciously human.
My brain must have still been hazy from the drugs they used on me, because that can’t be right.
How can the Vampire King have human servants, when everybody knows these leeches slaughter every human they find?
I probably didn’t notice his fangs; that’s all.
The not-human servant also handed me a plush, dark blue robe that now covers my immodest modesty.
“How the hell did you screw this up so monumentally, Blaise? I trusted you with this extremely sensitive task for a reason! You’re my second-in-command, for Akaori’s sake!”
Ah yes, Akaori, the primordial vampire, the one that is said to have been the first of their kind, making him their version of a God.
Well, maybe their God is better than ours, because I have no faith whatsoever in those motherfuckers. They have abandoned me time and time again, including right now, so I never utter their names. They don’t deserve my reverence.
“You sent me to retrieve the Vaureghain daughter. I brought you the Vaureghain daughter. How was I supposed to know there are two of them?” Blaise says half-heartedly.
“That is your fucking job, to know! If there are two of them, you should have known. If one of them is utterly useless, you should have known!” Killian bellows, his shadows spiraling out of control.
I wince at that word choice.
Useless.
It hits a bit too close to home.
I inhale and exhale and furiously rub the raw skin of my reddening wrists.
The cuffs are gone after they brought in a crone that can sniff out magic.
She confirmed my lack of powers, and since then the pacing and the screaming began, and they’ve been ignoring me, since I am neither a threat nor useful.
“He couldn’t have known.” I say more to myself than to anyone else. But of course they hear it, with their supernatural hearing abilities. Two sets of narrowed eyes, one dark like a moonless night, the other bright like the sea at midday, turn my way.
“What?” the Vampire King seethes.
“He couldn’t have known, since my existence is not necessarily public knowledge,” I say in response. Killian’s gaze is scorching, and all I want is to defy him, consequences be damned.
“It’s not like my family is proud of having a magicless Fae in their midst. I can only imagine that after I ran away, they erased any proof.
A noble Fae family, so close to the King, having a powerless heir, even a second-born—it’s such a disgrace.
” The words taste foul in my mouth. Talking this way about myself, so similar to what my sister kept drilling in my head throughout my childhood, feels just so damn wrong.
But it’s the undeniable truth, isn’t it?
“Why did you run away?” Blaise asks, curiosity obvious in his glare. He cocks his head to the side, regarding me as you would a rarity, an oddity. It makes me want to punch him in that defined jawline that looks like a witch sculpted it from marble.
“That’s none of your business, is it?” I hiss, discarding the leftover food and crossing my arms in defiance across my chest. Screw them if they think I’ll provide any answers to my kidnappers.
I’ve faced worse, after all.
I’ve managed to survive my sister.
Screw them if they think I’ll bow down to some pretty males with fangs.
“Murderous vampires.“ My inner voice tries to correct me.
“It might not be his business, but it became mine the moment you ended up here, even by someone’s idiotic mistake,” Killian counters. Blaise winces at the jab, his eyes turning downcast. He doesn’t look scared of his King, but he is aware this is not the moment for one of his sarcastic comebacks.
“Since it’s my story to tell, I am the one to decide if it is your business or not.
I most definitely say it’s not.” I narrow my eyes at him.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, my self-preservation tries to warn me I should tread more carefully.
They fed me and gave me clothes, but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t kill me in an instant if they wanted to.
I decide to ignore my common sense, and bluff my way out of this.
“Look, it’s clear this is more of a ‘you’ problem than a ‘me’ problem.
You need better spies, and better intelligence gathering.
Who knows, maybe you should put a woman as your second-in-command.
We are much better at sleuthing, after all.
” Blaise squints his eyes maliciously at the dig I throw his way.
“Nevertheless, you have no use for me, as you just stated, so if you will point me towards the exit of your castle, I will be out of your hair in the blink of an eye.” I dust off the food crumbs from my robe and rise from the bed.
“Some boots and warm clothes would be nice, but I can do without them too, if you don’t feel inclined to extend me such mercy.
But believe me, I don’t want to be here any more than you want me in your presence. ”
I turn towards the doors with fake confidence, but before I can even reach the handle, Killian’s shadows pin me on the wall, turning me around to face him.
“Not so fast, little menace. You’re not going anywhere.
” He crowds my space, his black whirlpools lingering just a second on the throbbing pulse of my neck.
“You might not be Aurora, but you still could come in handy. What do you think, Blaise?” he throws behind his shoulder, not taking his eyes off of me.
He studies me with his unnerving coal-black eyes, and I feel another sudden wave of liquid warmth coursing through my veins.
Oh great, my body is reacting to his unwanted attention.
On an animalistic level, I get he is all male, all powerful, and possesses the panty-dropping looks that all women crave.
But I am smarter than the average female, right?
My body should be listening to my mind, and not reacting to pheromones, chemistry and all that bullshit.
His mouth quirks up in a ghost of a grin, as if he’s sensing my turmoil.
“Ransom?” Blaise asks, unaware of the slight tension crackling between me and his liege.
“No, not ransom. Her family might not react to that. But I’m sure we can profit from the nurturing sisterly bond between twins.” I almost choke at that statement. “After all, what sister wouldn’t come running to save her poor, defenseless sibling from our unforgiving clutches?”
Mine! Mine, wouldn’t! My mind screams in response, but I choose to keep that information to myself.
It’s clear they are unwilling to release me, and it might be safer to play along, pretending that my sister gives a rat’s ass about my well-being, while I devise a plan to escape this predicament.
As long as I’m alive, I stand a chance. And by the time they realize Aurora would kill me herself rather than lift a finger to rescue me, I’ll be long gone.
“So am I to be your prisoner?” I ask with narrowed eyes.
He raises one finger and gently caresses the side of my face, down my neck, inching slowly to my cleavage and stopping just above my breasts.
I shudder at his touch, both in fear and unexpected arousal.
My mind and my body seem at odds, each having different, battling reactions.
I know all too well the fight, flight, freeze response my body can have in the face of danger.
I’ve even heard of fawn or flop, but horniness?
My head must be screwed up beyond repair if I find his unwanted gesture thrilling.
“No, not a prisoner. A guest at the Sangeries Castle. A little pawn on the chessboard of this kingdom. And who knows, maybe even entertainment.”
With that, he disappears in a violent whirl of shadows, leaving me flabbergasted against the wall.
Blaise chuckles and heads towards the door. “Careful, kitty cat. I told you that a potty mouth like yours would pique his interest. And I’m sure that nice, tight body of yours does it for him. It does it for me too, if I’m being honest.” He throws me a wink before opening the door and leaving.
“Fuck off, lackey!” I scream after him.
His hearty laugh echoes from the hallway. “Such a crude kitty. It’s finally going to be fun around here!”
The door closes before I can throw any more insults his way.
I can’t sleep for hours after they leave, wracking my brain for a solid escape plan.
The door is unlocked and there are no guards stationed in front of my chamber, so that’s one less problem that I have to tackle.
But why would they bother with keeping me locked up, when I am just a mundane Fae, surrounded by hundreds of vampires in all directions?
I am no threat to them, and they know it just as much as I do.
And even if I leave this room in the middle of the night, I have no clue about the lay of the land.
What is the easiest escape route? How many guards are stationed on each floor or outside the castle? Once out of these stone walls, what lies beyond the garden I see through my window?
I vaguely remember from the geography lessons we had to take as children in Vroni that Sangeries Castle is somewhere in the center of the Kingdom of Wrahta, outside of the capital, Drovillan, and separated from the far north by the Saunoque Mountains.
It’s more or less a two-day ride to Annerough from here, but it’s not like I can return there.
They would wait to snatch me again before I even made one step into the border town that has been my home for the last five years.
No, I have to accept that my life there has ended. My dancing days at the Twinkling Meadow are gone. I won’t ever feel the thrill of preparing for a performance. I will see none of those girls again, not even Sariah.
My mind pauses at that thought. Against my better judgement, and my reluctance to create any meaningful bonds with anyone, I must admit that Sariah grew on me.
She came close to being a good friend, as much as someone that doesn’t even scratch the surface of who you are, can be. She was there, and it mattered.
I exhale and rest my forehead on the cold window.
So I have to find a way to escape the Vampire King’s castle, find my way through enemy territory, and if I make it to the Fae borders, start from scratch in a new place, hidden from both my sister and her intended lover.
The Gods, both above and below, must hate my guts for some unknown reason.
Scratch that! Of course they do. When have they ever shown me any leniency?
Thud. Thud. Thud.
I knock my head against the glass in exhaustion. There’s nothing I can do tonight. I won’t be able to do much tomorrow either.
I sigh in defeat. My best chance is to take my time, learn my surroundings, memorize several escape routes, get proper supplies, and maybe even get my hands on a dagger, or two.
A solid idea starts to crystallize.
I have to play my weakness to my advantage.
Let them believe my sister will come to my aid. Earn their trust enough that they will let their guard down around me even for a fraction. And once they believe I’m no longer a flight risk, I can gain my freedom again. Or at least die trying.
I sluggishly move towards the bed and let myself fall into the comfort of the plush pillows. Before I succumb to a fitful sleep, I could swear I almost feel the ghost caress of shadowy tendrils, tucking me into bed.