Chapter 8
C assia
Lukas kept me confined to the bedroom, which was his, for the entire week. He stayed away, for the most part. I don’t know where he slept or if he even needed to sleep. I’d never given vampires much thought, outside of the rare times I’d watched a movie with them in it.
The infrequent times I did see him, it felt like he was observing me more than doing anything else.
True to his word, he did have clothing brought in for me. A young woman named Katarina delivered the items, under his supervision.
Honestly, the selection was gorgeous. The materials were amazing and everything was beautifully designed. While the girl was putting things away, I did manage to get out of her that she’s human. But that was it. She was absolutely terrified of Lukas and when he glanced at her, she shut her mouth.
As long as he was hovering, I wouldn’t get another word out of her.
That was when I decided to try and start playing nice.
Throwing things at him and cussing him out at had been largely ineffective.
I didn’t even get the satisfaction of watching things—or him, break.
It was like he had eyes in the back of his head.
He just went and froze things mid-air, plucking them like they were apples on a tree and setting them back down.
All he said was, “I was grossly mistaken over the state of your manners.”
Because kidnapping women was so polite.
So, when yet another chicken salad sandwich was delivered to me, I asked to see Lukas.
I have no idea who the person was that delivered my food. I hadn’t gotten a name, but the guy rarely spoke. He just dropped off a covered platter and left.
“Miss?” His eyes were about to bulge out of his head.
Trying to keep the disappointment out of my voice, I said, “I just really want something different to eat. You said menu changes weren’t allowed so I need to ask someone else.”
He gave me a short bow and scurried away.
Five minutes later, the man I’d asked for walked in. There was no way my face didn’t turn a hundred shades of his favorite color when the first thing he did was glance at my hands.
“You asked to see me.” It was a statement, not a question.
“Yeah,” I replied. He was so imposing it took me a moment to remember what I was going to ask.
He waited patiently. “Can I please have something other than this?” I held the sandwich up and placed it down again. “It's not bad or anything, I just can’t eat the same thing every day. All day long. For every meal.”
“A different sandwich. That can be arranged.”
He turned on his heel but stopped when I said, “Something non-sandwich. Please.”
Lukas faced me. “That would require utensils. Utensils that you misuse for target practice.”
“It's not like you don’t catch them.”
He drummed his fingers along his thigh and his chin jutted as he looked at the floor.
“Please? I promise I’ll stop trying to stab you with them.” Just then, I remembered the stiletto in his desk. This whole time, I had something way better than ordinary silverware.
I could have sworn he subdued a smirk, and I watched him carefully. “As you wish,” he said, marching out the door.
With no idea if something else would be delivered, I picked at my current meal for a moment. Honestly, I had no complaints about the quality of the food. It was delicious.
Something comparable back home would have been extremely expensive. The ingredients were beyond fresh and flavorful. It was shocking everyone here was so fit and healthy, with this kind of food hanging around.
But, also, I’d never heard of a fat vampire. The reminder of what I was surrounded by soured my mood, and my appetite.
The weapon was still in the drawer, and I grabbed it, tucking it under my pillow. I had just left the side of the bed when Lukas returned.
It was an odd sight, seeing him holding food. He placed the new meal on the coffee table. There were a steak and some vegetables, and a buttered roll. It smelled good enough that my appetite sparked again.
“Do you eat? I mean food,” I corrected myself. “I have no idea if I’m supposed to ask that.”
“Occasionally. I have no need for it although that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy it.” He glanced at his desk, and I shifted on my seat. Could he possibly know? “Thank you for getting me something else.”
Lukas’s eyes narrowed just a fraction, and he rubbed his chin. I wished I knew what he was thinking. “You are welcome,” he said.
The door shut and with him gone, I dug in, trying to keep my appreciative moans quiet. The lights flickered, and it struck me how even foreign lands had issues with power grids.
There was a twenty-four-hour blackout once, when I was a kid. Someone had hacked into the power company and shut everything down. My mother fed me and my dad ice cream sundaes for dinner, and I thought it was the coolest thing ever playing with flashlights all day and night.
The event had turned into something kind of like a snow day, where all regular activities were shuffled to the side and my parents acted like little kids with me.
I missed them. A lot. It was pointless to think about them too much as it didn’t do me any good, but every now and then, I indulged.
The combination of flickering lights and the lack of personal security brought up old memories.
I had to wonder what kind of new ones I’d be forming here.
As I chewed the steak, I focused on the windows across the room. There were no clocks in the room, but if I had to guess, I would have said it was around midday. The sun’s angle indicated it had to have been pretty close to directly overhead. Would Lukas let me go outside?
After I cleared my plate, I went to the closet and grabbed some fresh clothing. Then I took a quick shower. One thing I’d forgotten to grab when I’d been taken from my apartment, was my cosmetics.
The ensuite had a drawer full of eyeshadow and liner, and a couple tubes of either lipstick or lipgloss. It was hard to tell as I’d never seen anything like them. Even the applicator of the one I held in my hand was weird. It had a bunch of tiny holes in it.
Irritation prickled up my back when I thought about how many women probably paraded through this bathroom, leaving their stuff behind on purpose. Then I remembered Lukas wears makeup.
I wouldn’t have to worry about him bringing people around and seeing things I didn’t want to see.
Then I remembered that I didn’t even want him.
I tossed the makeup down and slammed the drawer shut before yanking my hair back and putting it in a ponytail.
I needed to orient myself, and quickly, if I was going to figure out a way to get home.
All of my stuff was probably already gone.
There were likely wanted posters with my face all over them dominating the internet and street corners.
Still, I needed to leave and set the record straight. Nobody would believe I was capable of that much carnage, would they?
Just like always, the door didn’t want to open for me. I had examined the hinges and peeked at the locking mechanism many times. There was no reason for this. The only thing I could think was that Lukas put some type of spell on it, using whatever it was he used to manipulate objects.
A hand with black fingernails curled around the edge and pushed it open, saving me the trouble.
“Going somewhere?” It was Kiam, Lukas’s bestie. Or whatever he was.
Taking a step back, I said, “I don’t want to stay in here. What are you doing here?” I’d never been alone with the man and didn’t know what to think.
“Where do you want to go?”
“Home.”
He leveled a gaze. “We both know that’s not a possibility.”
“But why? You people have no right to keep me here.” I’d momentarily forgotten I was going for a truce. “Okay, well, I don’t want to be trapped in this room all the time. I’m bored. Can I go outside?”
“Lukas trusted me with your safekeeping. We’ll go for a walk.”
“You? Who are you?”
“My name is Kiam. I’m not natural born like Lukas. I’m from the same place as you.” The hallway was quiet and I tried to pay attention to Kiam while he spoke.
“You’re from New York?” I asked.
A couple of people I figured were servants walked quickly down the hall, one pushing a rolling basket full of material.
“No. The Third. That’s your Realm. The human Realm.”
“Realm,” I repeated. “There’s realms. So, what is this? You don’t really believe that do you?” I asked, but I wanted him to confirm the lie I kept telling myself.
He gestured at me to follow him. I’d come to a dead stop. “There are many. This is the First Realm. Land of born vampires and Kakian demons. You’ll see them around here.”
“What about humans? Are there people here? Not that you’re not a people. Wait, can I call vampires people?” My hand slid down my face. It was important that I got this right if I wanted anyone to trust me.
Kiam grinned at me. “We’re people. And yes, there are humans here—what do you think we eat?”
That part . Lukas had sniffed my neck more than once and I was just waiting for him to bite and kill me. “How do they get here?”
“We bring them. Shouldn’t you be asking Lukas these questions?”
“I never see him.”
Kiam watched me for a moment, and I wished I could read his mind. His mouth slid to the side, and he rubbed it, miraculously not smearing any of the dark lipstick he wore.
We turned a corner and the ceiling was higher, all arches and bowers, marble and gold. We were in what had to have been a castle. I’d guessed that before, from looking out the window for hours, but this confirmed the absolute luxury I now resided in.
The man beside me waited patiently while I took it all in. Several figures glided past us, dressed in elegant tunics or gowns, their skin hauntingly pale and faces, extraordinary in their beauty. I found myself standing closer to Kiam, all too aware of my position in the food chain.
“I won’t let anyone touch you,” he reassured me.
I scoffed. “I’ve seen how fast all of y’all move.”
He snickered. “They haven’t dealt with me, yet.”