CHAPTER 7 #2
“I’d like to be alone with my thoughts for a while.” I lie smoothly with a smile plastered on my face. “No need to wait for me. I can find my way back on my own when I’m done. Thank you, Nella.”
“As you wish. I will come to your chamber to bring you lunch later.” With that, she turns back the way we came, and disappears out of sight around a corner.
“Finally!” I whisper to myself as I slide open the doors and step out into the frigid air. The cold bites my cheeks, and I’m thankful that Nella insisted I wear the thickest, fur-lined cape, as well as warm gloves and sturdy boots.
The snow crunches under my feet as I walk forward, and I appraise the view with focused eyes.
The gardens seem to spread in every direction, with a tall marble fountain sparkling in the winter sun more in front, as snow-covered trees line both sides of the walkway.
Far in the distance, I can spot the impossibly tall stone walls, and I start walking, assessing my surroundings.
Two hours pass, and I can’t find any gates or footholds to climb the steep gray walls. How the hell do these creatures get in and out? No wonder I am allowed to stroll at my leisure, unguarded. There is no way in or out of here!
I sigh in defeat as my limbs start to feel numb from the harshness of the biting air, and head back towards the dark, looming castle.
The structure is imposing, all gloomy and menacing, with stony exterior walls made of granite, and sky-high medieval spires that rise above everything else.
It reminds me of one of those sleeping dragons—majestic yet deadly—from the fairytales grandma used to read us once a year, on our birthdays.
It was the only time she would put us to sleep with a different tune than that stupid prophecy.
As I approach the fountain in the middle of the garden, I notice a figure sprawled on a stone bench on the right side, like a cat luxuriating in a patch of sunlight.
It’s that insufferable second-in-command, and I try to change my direction silently, but it’s too late.
He lazily opens one eye, and a slow grin forms on his roguish face.
“Ah, the kitty cat has left the warmth of her cozy lair. Trying to find a way out of here? I’ll save you the trouble, pretty princess. There are none!” he laughs with contempt.
“I didn’t know I was to be hauled up in that darn room all day long,” I huff, a slight cloud of steam forming in front of my face. “Just needed to stretch my legs for a bit.”
“Ah, but next time you can seek my company. I would happily oblige in helping you out with stretching those long legs of yours.” His boyish grin grates on my nerves as he stands up and courteously offers me his arm.
I blatantly refuse to take his outstretched arm and continue walking, as he follows me.
“Don’t you have anything better to do, Blaise?” I ask, glancing his way.
“To be denied the pleasure of your scintillating presence? Never!” He gasps in mock humor as he grasps his chest dramatically. What a rake!
I roll my eyes at him.
“Besides,” he says in a fake sweet voice, “I have a few free moments before meeting up with Killian. And I find I enjoy tremendously how my every word annoys you.”
“That makes one of us,” I grumble dejectedly. “Why don’t you go back to working on your tan, huh? You’re a bit pale for anyone’s taste, Blaise.”
His deep laugh takes me by surprise as he gets even closer to me, his shoulder bumping into mine. His eyes sparkle with mischief.
“Oh, kitty cat, I promise you, I am the favorite flavor of plenty.”
“Whatever,” is my only response. He’s trying to rile me up any chance he gets, but I don’t perceive any sense of immediate danger coming from him. That’s rather weird for a vampire, isn’t it?
We reach the heavy metal doors, and he opens them, taking a deep bow and letting me pass through. This male is laying it on thick with me, isn’t he?
“Come, let me offer you a glass of strong liqueur,” he says, pointing down the hall. “All that sun has made me quite thirsty, and you look like you need a little pick-me-up yourself.”
I don’t necessarily want to spend more time with him, but the idea of strong alcohol to warm my bones doesn’t sound half bad.
So I oblige and follow him into a small sitting room, all draped in burgundy and golden hues.
I take a seat on a sofa near the roaring fire, while he prepares me a glass of whiskey and pours himself a goblet of blood.
A fleeting thought occurs to me, and I frown.
“Who did you slaughter to get that blood?” I ask. He cocks an eyebrow at me in confusion, glancing between the goblet and me several times.
“Nobody, obviously,” he says matter-of-factly.
“Obviously,” I snort derisively. “So you just happen to have blood lying around at all times?”
His frown deepens, and his jaw ticks as he’s holding back his answer, before he sighs. “Something like that.”
I wait for a few heartbeats, but when he doesn’t provide any further explanation, I scramble to think about something else to say.
“So what’s with you lying in the wintry sun like that? I thought you creatures despised the sunlight?” I ask to fill the awkward silence while I take small sips of the strong drink. The liquid is smooth on my tongue, gliding down my throat and settling deep in my belly with a fiery heat.
“Ah, you want to know about our weaknesses, pretty princess. Sorry to disappoint, darling, but the sun is just a mere nuisance. It gives us a headache at best, but only in soaring temperatures. We won’t burst into flames anytime soon, if that’s what you were hoping.
” He downs his goblet before refilling it with more blood.
His mood changes from serious to playful in an instant.
“What other rumors should I dispel for you, hmm?” he asks as he licks his lips salaciously, blatantly sizing me up. Oh, Gods, I’m sensing this guy would thoroughly fuck me, given the chance.
“We have heartbeats, you know?” he says, looking at the flames playing in the fireplace.
“Everybody assumes vampires are stone-cold killers with no beating hearts inside their chests. Our core temperature is much lower compared to any other creature, but we still have functioning hearts. They pump blood, they feel, and they break just like anyone else’s. ”
“A heartbroken vampire,” I huff in disbelief, “I won’t believe that until I see one.”
“You don’t want to see one, kitty cat. Eternal sorrow is not a pretty sight.”
I make a face, mulling over what he just said.
The idea sounds preposterous to me, but I haven’t really spent that much time around vampires to know for sure if he’s feeding me lies or not.
I’ve always kept my interactions with these creatures to a bare minimum in Annerough, so all I have to go with is the consensus. Am I biased?
“Let’s see what else, kitty?” His flirty voice pulls me out of my thoughts.
“Garlic is an acquired taste for most vampires, I would say, but I love the pungent aroma of one’s blood after they’ve feasted on garlicky meals.
We can see our reflections just fine in mirrors, and most of us, vain as we are, spend quite some time appraising ourselves in front of them.
We are, after all, quite dashing, don’t you think? ”
“Someone thinks highly of himself, I see.” I scoff, only slightly bemused by his antics. He ignores my jab and continues.
“Stakes do us no harm, nor does silver. I personally find it quite tacky, though.”
“So cover myself in silver jewelry, got it.”
I think I’m starting somehow, maybe, just a tiny bit, to enjoy our banter. Must be the whiskey.
“If you prance around the castle half naked, kitty, only covered in silver, I would make an exception just for you, and peel it off with my teeth,” he says in a singsong voice.
“You wish!” A laugh escapes me unwillingly.
The balls on this male! He is slightly funny for an insufferable vampire.
“Enemy, he is the e-ne-my!” my inner voice chides, and I internally wince.
Against my better judgement, he seems to grow on me with his witty remarks and easy-going attitude.
But he’s the one who kidnapped me, and I should not forget that.
He throws me one of his signature smirks before locking his arms behind his head in a relaxed posture.
“What else, mmm? I know! Crosses! Oh, the horror of crosses!” I perk up at that, and he laughs heartily at my reaction. “They’re just so fucking ugly to look at!” he blurts out, and I deflate.
“Sorry to tell you this, pretty princess, but the only thing to kill a vampire is beheading. And in order to do that, you either have to be facing a newly turned vampire, still weak by our standards, or you have to be an extremely powerful magical creature. Neither of those things applies here.”
“I get it, I get it. Your kind is pretty darn invincible,” I mutter.
“No one is invincible.” He sobers up unexpectedly fast, changing his demeanor back to serious. His eyes regard me with a calculating gaze. “There might be some things that could be a hindrance to us.”
“Such as?” I ask, knowing that he probably won’t trust me with such information.
“Iron, kitty cat. It doesn’t kill us in the slightest, but it affects our abilities. We can’t use our hypersensitive senses when it comes to that damn metal.”
Ah yes, they teach us that during our educational years. Vampires cannot see, sense, or hear through or around iron. The Fae armies heavily used that metal during the war, so it’s not like he’s sharing with me a preciously kept secret.
“That’s common knowledge. Nothing else?”
His gaze darkens, and I sense our conversation is coming to an end.
“There might be other things, but you aren’t really trustworthy enough at the moment, are you?” He stands to leave and offers me a slight bow before heading for the door.
“I’m afraid our history lesson is done for the day. Feel free to call upon me any time you feel chatty, or particularly any other thing. Horny would be preferable!” He blows me a kiss and walks out of the room before I can come up with any witty remark.