5. Montana

Trees surrounded me, swirling like fog. Darkness gripped the world and made me squint as I tried to find something solid to focus on.

A figure came into view in strange attire, looking like a warrior from one of Dad’s stories. Tall and roguish with streams of dark hair.

The world shuddered once more, and he was suddenly closer. His eyes shone like molten gold, and my heart stumbled with an ache of longing for his touch.

The world trembled around me and suddenly I was sat on a horse, swaying from side to side. Hills rolled out before me, merging into grasslands and trees.

The sun warmed my cheeks, and the wind toyed with my hair.

Arms tightened around my waist, and I looked down, finding the hands of a stranger holding me tight.

A voice filled my mind as familiar as my own. Callie’s voice.

“I’m coming for you.”

A cool palm on my cheek stirred me and I jerked backwards as I woke fully, thinking of Wolfe but finding Erik crouched before the velvet armchair I was curled up in.

He extracted his hand, giving me a slanted smile, his ashen eyes warmer than usual. “Good evening, rebel.”

Evening? I’d slept all day? Holy shit.

My mind spun with the web of dreams that had poured through my head, a journey alongside a warrior, the roughened touch of his hands. It had felt so damn real…

“What really happened with Fabian? Where did he go?” he asked.

“He had something to do in the city. A chancellor died apparently,” I said.

Erik’s eyes glittered. “Ah, that makes sense.”

I frowned as he rose to his feet, then perched on the bed opposite me. He was still wearing his navy suit from his day with Brianna, immaculate as always, his dark hair styled so perfectly that I had to wonder if it was possible for him to ever look dishevelled.

“Aren’t you concerned?” I asked.

“No.” He shrugged. “I was the one who had him killed.” He smirked darkly, and my heart rate picked up.

“Why?”

Erik pushed himself backwards onto the mattress and lay down on it, not answering.

I stood from the chair, moving forward and tentatively sitting next to him, his expression at ease as if having someone murdered was an entirely common occurrence for him.

“If you’re going to reveal that to me, then you might as well tell me why,” I pressed.

His gaze narrowed and he reached back to cup his head with one hand, making his jacket fall open to reveal the plane of his muscular body beneath his white shirt. “Chancellor Torin had been prying into my business for too long. I decided it was time to keep his nose out of things for good. Besides, he’s not the only one who’s been killed lately. My allies are being targeted, so I’m entitled to strike back.”

My mouth grew dry as I took in that information. It was strange to know vampires had their own feuds and were even willing to kill each other. I didn’t know how much I could ask and was even less sure if Erik would give me any answers.

“Your allies?” I frowned.

“Those I sired,” he said. “There is a certain allegiance that is formed between one’s sire and their newly made vampire.”

I wrinkled my nose. “Well, I’ll add that to the long list of reasons why I never want to become one of you.”

Erik snatched my arm, dragging me down beside him, and a breath jammed in my lungs as he rolled onto his side, his gaze cutting right into me. “So mouthy today.”

My heart thundered as he lifted a palm and pushed a coil of hair from my face, and for some reason, I didn’t push him away. His cypress scent was like a drug I was getting hooked on, but I’d always had strong willpower and I was determined not to get addicted. Especially not to a bloodsucker who had tied me to this very bed and declared me his prisoner.

My thoughts realigned and I asked my next question while he was still in the mood to offer me information. “Did you kill him yourself?”

The vampires were cold, undead creatures anyway, so I wasn’t sure if it made Erik a murderer exactly.

He released a breath of laughter. “Of course not. I have people for that these days.”

A stretch of silence dominated the space, and I decided it was best to move on from how many people he may have killed in his lifetime, because it was clear he held no objection to bloodshed. “Was this because of Faulkner? Did you find out who killed him?”

“Yes. And no, I haven’t. Not specifically anyway,” Erik growled, darkness invading his eyes, revealing the deadly creature who lived there. “I am certain Fabian was behind it, though. I sired Faulkner. He was loyal to me and no one else.” He ground his jaw, observing me as if considering whether to continue. “Faulkner had been doing some work for me, gathering intel on Fabian’s men. I suspect my brother found out and decided to send me a message. I, at least, had the courtesy to end Torin’s life quickly. The way Faulkner was killed… it’s clear Fabian wanted him to suffer.”

I shuddered. I’d sensed something truly dark in Fabian and I was far from trusting him or any of the monsters in this place.

Dad had once said, ‘A man who trusts a vampire is a fool. And a fool in this world will eventually be a dead fool’.

If he could see me now, lying on a bed with one of them, he’d be appalled.

My stomach prickled with guilt, and I pushed myself upright, reminding myself of everything Erik had done up to this moment. I was just his little human confidant, and a pawn in his next play against his brother. It was political, barbaric, and I didn’t want any hand in it, not least because if Erik was right about Fabian sending someone to kill his man, then my death could just as easily be in the cards if Fabian ever suspected I was working for his brother.

I moved to get up, but Erik caught my wrist, and I turned in surprise as he sat up beside me. “You’re not having second thoughts on our plan, are you, rebel?”

“Have you released my father yet?” I asked sharply.

“I will when you fulfil your part of the deal.”

“So you keep saying. But I’ve played along time and again, and you’ve done nothing to assure me you’re going to stick to your word.” I tried to tug my arm out of his grip, but he didn’t let go.

“What’s going on with you?” he growled.

“I just told you,” I hissed.

“No, it’s more than that. Something has you rattled.”

My throat bobbed, thinking of Wolfe and wondering how the hell Erik could tell I was shaken. I’d thought my game face was pretty sound, but he could clearly sense the change in me.

“Is it Fabian? Did he do something?” he snarled.

“No.”

“Then what is it?” he demanded, his fingers squeezing my wrist to the point of pain.

“You’re hurting me,” I breathed, and he glanced down at his hand on my skin, letting go and eyeing the red marks he’d left there.

“You’re so damn breakable,” he muttered, his brows drawing low.

“I’m human.”

“I am well aware.” His gaze moved to my neck for a fraction of a second, then he shoved to his feet, carving a hand over his face. “Did Fabian say something to you? Has he tried to twist you against me? Because if you dare betray me-”

He whirled around and I leapt to my feet in anger, cutting over him. “My family is on the line here. I wouldn’t risk their lives for anything.”

“Then trust me,” he said fiercely. “I have already ensured your sister will be brought here once she is captured, and I will fulfil the rest of my promise once you have fulfilled yours. The moment your father leaves that blood bank is the moment you will have far less reason to do as I command.”

“You could always release him and return him once my part is done,” I suggested bitterly.

“It is not that simple. Your father broke the law, so his release will have to be done appropriately, subtly. Not to mention if Fabian gets wind of me bending his laws, he will likely grow suspicious.”

“So how long am I supposed to wait? I can try and spy on Fabian, I can do all you ask, but where does it end? When are you going to deem my part done?”

“When you are married to him,” he said in a severe tone that sliced into my bones.

Silence descended, and his jaw ticked as he watched my reaction unfold. I nodded stiffly, sensing the bars of my cage closing in once more, that fate inescapable.

He took a step toward me, his demeanour suddenly softening. “It’s just politics.”

I didn’t look up at him as I folded my arms, realising how deeply I’d convinced myself it wouldn’t have to come to that. But Erik wasn’t offering me a path out of this life, that wasn’t the deal. Marriage was one thing, but it was going to culminate in something far worse. Being sired. That was a destiny I was going to find a way to avoid come hell or high water.

“Fine,” I murmured.

He slid his finger under my chin, tilting my head up to look at him. “I will protect you from him. If he is ever suspicious, or if he hurts you, you must tell me.”

“And why would you do that?” I scoffed.

“Because I brought you here, and I have made a vow to keep you safe. That vow will endure even when you are his by law. I will not forget it.”

“How very noble.” I tsked. “Placing me in danger, then promising to protect me from it.”

“I thought this whole thing would be simpler,” he admitted, a frown creasing his brow. “I didn’t expect to…” he trailed off.

“What?” I pushed, a heated energy rising in the space between us.

“Nothing,” he said tightly. “This whole ritual is just fucking with my head.”

“You’re not the one who has to endure the company of monsters, who has to live with the memory of one of them kissing me,” I said, wanting to hurt him after all he had done to me, and his features skewed in anger.

“I assure you, I have no further desire to lay claim to your hateful mouth, rebel. I have spent my day with a woman far more amenable than you, and her kisses tasted far sweeter than yours. I am almost tempted to take a wife after all.”

My lungs stopped allowing in air and rage climbed through my skin that went beyond all reason. I didn’t even know why those words hurt so much, but they somehow shredded me apart and left me raw.

I was hot all over from his words, embarrassed and angry, hurt and furious with myself for reacting to his venomous speech. I hated him. From the depths of my being to the edges of the earth. I fucking hated him.

My cheeks were betraying me, turning more scarlet by the second.

Erik started laughing, sensing it all from the rising of my blood to the fierce pounding of my heart.

“So you do care,” he said, victory gleaming in his eyes.

My teeth ground together, and I cursed myself for reacting the way I was.

“Why did you kiss me, asshole?” I blurted, feeling like a toy being made to dance for his amusement.

He tilted his head to look at me, mirth still gripping his features. “Why did you kiss me back?”

I gaped at him, having no answer and despising myself for it. Maybe I’d been drunk on some vampire pheromones he’d given off, but I knew that was just a lie I was trying to convince myself of. The truth was, I’d kissed him back because it had felt impossible not to kiss him. Like all the chaos in the world had suddenly felt a little easier to bear. Because for reasons that went beyond all sense, kissing one of the monsters who’d haunted me my entire life had felt like the clouds parting and letting in the sunshine. For just a moment, I had stolen something wild and free in that kiss, and I hadn’t felt like a creature with no meaning. I’d felt seen, and wanted, and desired. But why did it have to be my captor who made me feel that way?

I didn’t let any of that show on my face. And considering his mocking tone, I let a cold front drip over me and offered the words I hoped might cut him in the way he’d cut me. “You’re designed to lure me in. I didn’t know my own mind. Do you really think I’d want to kiss you if I had any choice in it?”

His jaw hardened. “I only wanted to tick an item off my bucket list anyway.”

“What’s a bucket list?” My eyes narrowed.

“Something for people who have hopes and dreams. You know, like item number one on your list would be pissing off a royal vampire. You can put a big tick next to that one, by the way.”

I glowered at him. “Let’s move back to the real issue here.”

“Which is?” he asked coolly.

“That you can never kiss me again, Erik.”

He barked a laugh, annoying me further. “Can I add an escape clause to that verbal contract?”

“Like what?”

“Well...I’ll promise not to kiss you again unless you ask me to. How’s that?”

“Ha,” I spat. “Agreed, because that’s never going to happen.”

He smirked like he knew better. “If I actually tried to court you properly, you’d be begging me to kiss you in a matter of minutes. It would be so pathetically easy that I’m already bored by the mere prospect of it.”

“You are so arrogant,” I snarled.

“No, I’m simply stating facts. You’re so flustered already; I could likely have you on that bed with my face buried between your thighs in less than two minutes if I really wanted you. And you’d be praising my tongue with every stroke against your needy clit.”

“Fuck you.” My clit betrayed me though, throbbing at the thought of him doing that to me. But my mind was well in control, and I sure as shit was never going to let that happen.

“I’m tired of this argument,” he drawled. “Are you going to stay in here all night? Fabian’s been waiting for you in the dining hall for nearly an hour now.”

My lips parted at his words. “Why didn’t you tell me?” The last thing I wanted to do was piss off Fabian, the vampire responsible for a thousand atrocities. Who knew how he might react if I stepped out of line too much? And wasn’t I supposed to be pleasing him for the sake of Erik’s fucking plans?

Erik shrugged. “I just did.”

“God, you’re such an ass.” I hurried to the closet, grabbing a dark pink gown from its hanger and jogging into the bathroom to get changed.

I slid into the thing which had off-the-shoulder sleeves and fanned out at the bottom in a sort of glittery tail.

“Keeping Fabian waiting will only serve to turn him on,” Erik called to me through the door, and it nearly swung into him as I stepped out of the room. It was a shame it missed. “And as much as I’m kind of disgusted with myself for being involved in that, I also know it is essential for him to fall for you.”

He caught my arm, forcing me to twirl for him as he took in my dress, his grey eyes full of fire. “Passable.”

He released my fingers, and I gave him an obvious look up and down as he’d done to me. “Assable.”

He bit down on the inside of his cheek. “You can be quite funny for a blood bag. Now, come on.” He took hold of my arm and guided me toward the door. “Let’s not make your date wait any longer.”

I went to protest but my right forearm suddenly seared with pain and I gasped, rubbing the exact spot that Wolfe had stared at earlier. What the fuck…

Erik followed my gaze, and I quickly dropped my hand, biting down on my tongue.

“What’s the matter?” he asked.

“Nothing,” I lied quickly. “Just a static shock.”

He raised his brows but didn’t question me further. I didn’t know what the hell was up with my arm but telling Erik about it was a terrible idea. That could lead to mentioning Wolfe, and if I did that, the general would make sure Callie didn’t arrive at the castle in one piece. And I wasn’t going to do anything that put her in danger.

We took the stairs down to the dining hall where I’d eaten on the first night. Instead of leaving me to it, Erik opened the door and guided me inside, keeping me closer than was really comfortable.

The large table had been removed from the room and four tables were set up around the space instead. Clarice sat at one opposite Hank, his dark eyes flicking to me as I arrived. Across from them was Miles, looking radiant in a white shirt and his sleek blond locks swept perfectly over the crest of his head. He was sat with Paige, who looked stunning in a sky-blue dress which hugged her curves, and beyond them, Brianna waited at a table alone, threading her fingers through her dark hair. Sitting at the final table was Fabian. He didn’t look angry as I’d expected, but there was a definite tension in his expression that spoke of the animal lurking beneath his flesh.

Soft music filled the air, the tinkling notes creating a strangely romantic atmosphere that made this whole thing more ridiculous. Were we really supposed to believe these vampires were courting us in any real sense of the word? I just couldn’t make sense of it.

Erik squeezed me tight, his eyes on Fabian as he pressed a kiss to my cheek, his mouth just a few inches from mine.

I fought the urge to cringe away, but I was back to being a puppet again, and he was the master of my strings.

“Enjoy your evening. I’ll be watching,” Erik murmured, then released me and made a beeline for Brianna, filling the room with his dominating aura.

I strode toward Fabian, and he rose from his seat as I arrived, his eyes sweeping over my dress before rising to my face.

“I thought you weren’t coming,” he growled, seeming offended.

“Sorry, I fell asleep,” I said quickly, moving to his side and gripping his arm. Figuring I needed to make up for leaving him waiting, I tiptoed up and brushed a feather-light kiss to his lips. There it was. A commitment to this plan in plain sight that Erik couldn’t deny.

Fabian slid his arms around me, pulling me closer and growling carnally against my mouth, making my heart shudder with the power of this beast. I twisted away before the kiss could descend into anything more heated and dropped into my seat with a bullshit smile that was all sunshine and daises. But inside, my emotions tangled into an intricate knot that I couldn’t unravel.

I was rolling the dice every day with these devils, and I had to tread carefully to pull this off.

Fabian eyed me like a wolf, then slowly sank back into his seat. “That was an interesting surprise, love.”

“It was hard to get you out of my mind once I returned to my bedroom.” I gave him a sultry look that spoke of wicked deeds and his eyes sparked with intrigue.

“That so?” His gaze darkened.

I said nothing, but sucked my lower lip, and he sat forward in his seat, resting his elbows on the table.

Erik was suddenly at my side, having used his speed to make it over to us, and my heart leapt in alarm at his abrupt appearance.

“Fucking hell.” I held a hand to my chest and Erik grinned, snatching my fingers and laying my hand down on the table.

“Apologies,” he said, taking a small box from his pocket. “I forgot to give you this earlier.” He leaned down, whispering to me but in no way quiet enough that Fabian wouldn’t catch it. “I suppose we were too busy ripping apart that black dress for me to remember.”

I blushed, even though we’d done no such thing, but Erik gave me a look of purest lust that made it so damn easy to picture.

“This is my time with Montana,” Fabian growled threateningly. “Return to your own courtier, brother.”

“Of course. Just as soon as I’ve given her this.” He took a delicate silver bracelet from the box with a rectangular pendant hanging from it, the royal crest on one side and a crown on the other with the letter E within the marking. It was beautiful, and obviously the most valuable thing I had ever been given. The point of it eluded me, just another shiny trinket that was worn to impress vapid vampires, I guessed.

“Are you done pissing on your territory, Erik?” Fabian sniped.

“Quite.” Erik stood up, tossing me a warm smile before walking back to his table with none of the haste he had used to come here.

Fabian snapped his fingers at a nearby guard and the woman leapt to attention like she had been stabbed in the ass with a fork. “The courtier will have her meal now.”

My gaze trailed back to Erik as he took his seat at the table and promptly took Brianna’s hand in his. My gut squeezed at the sight and ignited a fire in me I couldn’t stamp out, and I berated myself internally.

A waiter arrived, placing a plate of steaming food under my nose, stealing all of my attention from the parade of assholes in the room. Pasta with some red sauce stared back at me, looking utterly mouth-watering. I happily seized the distraction and started eating, my new bracelet tinkling against the edge of the bowl. Damn, for all its pointlessness, it was stupidly pretty.

The waiter returned with chalices of blood for the vampires, and I fought hard not to wrinkle my nose as Fabian sipped on his.

A light laugh from Brianna caught my ear but I refused to look over at their table.

“Did you have a nice trip to the city?” I asked Fabian.

“Not particularly,” he muttered. “Let’s talk about something else. It’s been a stressful day.”

“How come?” I asked. Come on, motherfucker, open up.

“More murders in the city. Rebels probably, but maybe not.” He ground his jaw, eyes swinging in Erik’s direction.

“Rebels?” I breathed, excited by the prospect. Perhaps the royals weren’t so secure after all if those rebels were capable of posing a real threat to them.

“Yes, troublemakers,” he sighed. “But like I said, I don’t want to talk about it.”

Shit, how was I supposed to spy on a guy who was clearly never going to tell me anything? I guessed I had to try and build a bridge of trust between us first, but doing so made me seriously uncomfortable.

For Callie, for Dad. I have to do this.

“Okay...so tell me about you. What do you like to do when you’re not running the country?”

Fabian relaxed back into his seat, seeming to enjoy having the spotlight on him. “Mostly, I train. I am adept with many weapons.”

“Like?”

“Swords, bows, guns. You name it, I am an expert at it.”

“I’d like to see that sometime,” I said, fluttering my lashes as if I was impressed, though maybe it was a little overkill. His words served to remind me of how powerful these royals were. They could rip off my head with their bare hands, let alone what they could do to me with a weapon.

“If you choose me at the ceremony, there will be plenty of time for that,” he said.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” I smiled flirtatiously and he regarded me hungrily, his eyes dropping to my new bracelet.

“What do you do in your spare time?” Fabian asked, and I realised I should have been prepared for this question.

I tried to think of a hobby I might have enjoyed back in the Realm if I hadn’t had the general worry of getting through a day there. I supposed there was one thing I’d done regularly...

“I like walking,” I said. More like pacing the perimeter of my cage. “And um...reading.”

The few books Dad had managed to stow in our house had been read so many times they’d been falling apart. And I’d still struggled with deciphering some of the words, so it was definitely a stretch, but it was a half-truth I supposed.

A prickling feeling in my gut told me Erik was giving us his attention again, but I didn’t look over at him.

“Uh huh.” Fabian sipped on his blood and red stained his lips before he licked it away.

A pang of nausea made me shift in my seat, but he didn’t seem to notice. He started telling me more about his training, and my eyes drifted around the room as he got into the incredibly dull detail of how he cleaned his favourite gun.

Clarice had moved into Hank’s lap and my jaw went slack at the way he grinned at her, his hand stroking her thigh and the lust between them clear. What the fuck? He looked thoroughly under her spell, and I wondered if this was how I’d looked last night when Erik had laid his mouth on mine. Was she bewitching him? Or did Hank want this as I’d wanted Erik in that fleeting moment of insanity?

My gaze slid to Prince Miles who was laughing about something with Paige. Both of them seemed at ease, and I wondered if I was the only one left in this place who was still trying to hate these royals. I didn’t know if we’d be getting any time together soon, but I wished I could have spoken to them to find out what they knew, what they were feeling. Were these smiles and laughs all fake? Or had the humans really been swayed to the whims of the royal vampires so quickly?

I let my eyes drift to Erik and my heart clenched.

He’d pulled Brianna up to dance and she smiled shyly as he taught her the steps, seeming enthralled by him. They held each other close as Erik guided her movements and his eyes flickered with light. Her fear of their kind had clearly turned to captivation. I didn’t know if it was the royals’ allure or if she just saw merit in this path now, a way to never return to the horror of the Realms. It wasn’t like I could blame her for that.

My throat tightened and I couldn’t seem to get in any air as I watched Erik and Brianna, transfixed. In the strangest way, they looked right together, but it was so difficult to marry this light-hearted version of Erik with the one I knew. He was clearly well versed in wearing a mask, and perhaps what I saw of him was just a deeper layer of falsity, the truth of him buried so deep that no one could ever dig it out. Perhaps at the heart of him there was just a bloodthirsty beast who would wield those around him in any way he could to gain power, and the world be damned.

“-broadswords, daggers. I can almost wield a slayer’s blade if I wear a leather glove. But they still manage to devour my gear eventually...”

My eyes snapped back to Fabian, his words suddenly interesting me. “Slayer’s blade? What’s that?”

His rust brown eyes sparkled as he leaned in closer. “The slayers were a group of mortals who tried to oppose us.”

My right arm tingled at his words and I nodded, hoping he’d go on, wanting to know more about the slayers after Erik had briefly mentioned their existence. Valentina had once been one of them, so what had made her join the vampires?

“We wiped them off the face of the earth.” He grinned maliciously, his pride over that clear.

“Erik mentioned that Valentina was one of them,” I said boldly, hoping he might shed some light on that snippet of information.

“Did he now?” Fabian growled. He took another sip of his drink, and I kept my eyes trained on him, willing him to go on. “She has made up for her crimes as a slayer. She came to us many hundreds of years ago and offered to help us defeat her kind.”

“Why?” I gasped and Fabian’s gaze narrowed.

“I suppose you’d have to ask her that.”

Maybe I will…

“So the slayers...they could kill a vampire?” I asked, knowing I was on dangerous ground but desperate to learn more. Anyone who could kill vampires sounded like my kind of people.

“Yes, they had many defences against us. Their strength for one. And their blades were designed to hurt us. We couldn’t even hold them without being burned by their runes. But none of that mattered in the end. Now the slayers are all dead.” He took a sip of his blood as if toasting that fact.

A thrill buzzed through me. That had to be the type of blade Wolfe had given to me. But why?

As I recalled the feel of its warm hilt and the way it had seemed to whisper to me, a longing grew in me again. A dreamy feeling floated over me and I rose to my feet, suddenly filled with an urgent need to be somewhere.

“What are you doing?” Fabian asked and I jolted out of the strange sensation.

What was I doing? For a moment, I’d been snared by the desire to find that blade. Like it had possessed me in some way.

I eyed Erik as he swept Brianna around the room. “I thought we could dance,” I said quickly to cover my tracks, quietly shaken by the power that had just fallen over me. “Can you teach me?”

“Of course.” Fabian stood, moving promptly to my side and pulling me into his arms. “Place your hands like this,” he instructed, resting one of my hands on his shoulder and keeping the other in his palm. He tugged me close, resting his free hand on my waist and caging me within the arc of his body.

“Follow my feet,” he said, moving slowly as I got the hang of it.

I was clumsy and continually stepped on his toes, but he corrected me every time without anger and soon we were moving around the room at a slightly faster speed. I had to concentrate so much on the dancing that I was able to push the blade from my mind.

As Erik twirled Brianna past us by one hand, his eyes flicked to me. “Perfect,” he told her. “You’re clearly a natural. Unlike some.”

I stepped on Fabian’s foot again, cursing myself as I tried to mimic Brianna’s grace, but lost my grasp on the steps again.

“You’re a terrible instructor, Fabian.” Clarice appeared beside him with her hand around Hank’s.

“I’m doing just fine,” Fabian said firmly, stopping me from knocking into his chest as he tried to guide my movements again.

“Stop pulling her around like a wolf with a bone.” Clarice snatched me from Fabian’s arms, wheeling me around and pushing me into the hands of Hank, leaving me dizzy.

He raised his brows in alarm. “I don’t really dance, your highness,” he told Clarice.

“You will when I’m through with you,” she said, a ring of power to her voice. “Now take her waist.”

Hank slid his arms around me, and the warmth of his skin was so nice in comparison to the vampires’ icy touch. It reminded me of home, of living among my own kind. And it stoked a fire in me which I hadn’t felt for a long time.

“Hi,” I breathed.

“Hey, wild one.” His soft eyes sparkled, and I gazed over his cheeks which were naturally flushed with human blood. He was so unlike the royals with their pearly skin and cold touch, and he was going through exactly what I was. Well, maybe not exactly, considering the political warfare I was wrapped up in, but still.

Clarice arranged our hands, moving around us at high speed. She took hold of my waist, stepping close behind me, and I immediately stiffened. “Relax, honey. You’re as stiff as a corpse.”

“At least I’m not as cold as one,” I murmured, and her fingers slid from my waist, one glance back telling me those words had had an impact.

Her beautiful features flickered to reveal something akin to pain, then she was smiling brighter than before, and I wondered if I’d imagined it.

“Lead her through the steps I taught you, Hank,” she directed.

I managed to relax a bit, able to concentrate more in the hands of Hank as we moved far slower than Fabian had allowed.

“That’s it, now follow us.” Clarice took hold of Fabian’s arms, yanking him closer, and they started dancing at a slow but incredibly fluid pace.

“Come on then,” Miles announced, jumping to his feet and sweeping Paige off her chair and into his arms, dipping her low and making her gasp in surprise. “This party is dead, let’s bring some life to it.”

“I’m surprised you weren’t the first out of your seat,” Erik remarked, and Miles gave him a boyish smile, twirling Paige under his arm and giving her little choice but to go along with it.

“I’m not sure even I can save this poor excuse for fun,” he said, glancing over at Hank and I as we shuffled around in an awkward circle.

Bloodsucker or not, he had a point.

Miles twirled Paige all the way over to the large brown box which was playing music.

“Your highness, please!” she cried as he started thumbing through something on the box while his other hand continued to incessantly twirl her with enough force to keep her spinning like a tornado.

“Oh shit,” Miles snorted, tugging her against his hip to stop her, and she dry retched like she was about to throw up. “You good there, Paige?”

She nodded, then retched again, and Miles patted her on the head like that would be any help at all.

“I’m going to take a seat, if you don’t mind, Prince Miles?” Paige asked.

“Sure. Do your human thing. Get it all up or keep it all in. Whatever feels right, yeah?” Miles said she staggered away to take a seat, looking queasy.

Miles picked out a song, shooting Clarice a mischievous grin. “You remember this one, Clary? Woodstock, nineteen sixty-nine. We drank so much goddamn blood that night. Pure carnage.”

“You thought you got high on that hippy,” Clarice laughed, stepping away from Fabian to dance all on her own to the quick tune which was full of drums and passion. She started moving in a new rhythm to before, the sway of her hips and the way she was touching her own body something wholly primal and effortlessly hot.

“I did get high on that hippy,” Miles insisted.

I frowned at Hank, who looked as disturbed as I did by the story, and we continued shuffling about like idiots, moving far too slow for the song that was now playing.

Fabian dropped back into his seat, manspreading his legs and sipping on his chalice of blood.

“Bet you can’t teach them how to dance to rock music,” he dared Clarice, and she smirked at the challenge.

“Brianna, Montana, copy me,” she instructed, raising her arms in the air, one hand gently caressing its way down the opposite arm while she swayed and rolled her hips in subtle movements that looked so natural on her, yet I knew without even trying that they’d make me look like a potato attempting the limbo.

Brianna followed Clarice’s instruction, rolling her hips and running her hands down her body as she followed the rhythm of the music, shutting her eyes as she lost herself to it. She was damn good too, but the vampires shared looks of amusement that told me this whole fucking thing was just another show for their entertainment.

“If you don’t wanna move like that, try this,” Miles said to me, leaping forward and swiping his hand across his body in a circle like he was playing an invisible instrument. He danced like a complete dickhead, shaking his head left and right, his styled hair coming loose to fall in his blue eyes. “Or this.” He jumped up and down in little hops, hands in the air, then coming close to his body, then up in the air again.

Hank released my waist and bounced a bit on his toes, and I waved my hands in the vaguest of ways, sort of hitting the beat. It was pretty embarrassing to be honest.

“How’s she treating you?” I whispered to Hank as everyone seemed distracted by the song.

“Fine,” Hank admitted, and I gazed up at his dark features and warm eyes. “I thought this place would be hell, but it’s not so bad here once you get used to it.”

“Do you miss home?” I asked, a longing filling me for my family.

“I miss the people,” he said. “Not so much the place.”

“Agreed.”

He tugged me closer, dropping his head by my ear. “Do the males treat you okay? I worry about the women here...”

“We’re all in the same boat,” I answered in confusion. “You’re in as much trouble as us.”

“I suppose...” His eyes filled with some knowledge that I sensed I was unaware of.

“Do you know something?” I whispered.

He nodded but before he could answer, strong hands dragged me away from him and I glanced up, finding Erik there glaring icily at Hank.

“May I cut in?” he snarled before shoving Hank roughly toward Brianna.

I gazed after him, desperate to learn what he’d been about to tell me.

“You’re not making much effort, rebel. Look at Miles, this is his favourite song. You’ll break his heart if you don’t try to enjoy it.”

“Boohoo,” I said dryly, glancing over at Miles who was now on his knees, head thrown back, swinging around in violent circles. “Wow.”

“Yeah,” Erik muttered, then grabbed my hands, placing them both around his neck. He tugged me flush against him and started to move my body against his, forcing my hips to roll.

I managed to keep up with each of his prompts, but in the more intimate position, we were pretty much grinding on each other, and if that counted as dancing then it felt seriously wrong to do so with an audience. My flesh started to heat, and I glanced up at him, fingernails biting into the back of his neck as his large hand splayed over the base of my spine, keeping me tight against him.

“It was rude of you to cut in. I was enjoying talking to someone with a pulse,” I said.

“I don’t give a shit,” he said.

I stamped on his foot with purpose.

“Oops,” I said innocently, and his mouth hooked up at one corner.

“How clumsy of you,” he muttered. “I suppose you can’t teach grace.”

I ignored him, spotting Miles back on his feet and dancing wildly with Clarice in the corner of my eye. He looked much more friendly than Erik; a constant smile was hung on his lips, and I wondered if spending time with him would be something of a break from pretending to seduce Fabian and dealing with Erik’s confounding moods.

“There’s a lot to be said for a girl who can dance,” Erik said, his eyes shifting to Brianna who was moving fluidly in front of Hank, the two of them finding a rhythm together, even though Hank’s steps were a little clunky.

“I must have skipped all those dance lessons back in the Realm,” I said, trying not to notice Erik’s obvious interest in her.

Erik tightened his hold on me, and his mouth dropped to my ear, his lips grazing the shell and making flames roar at the base of my spine.

“If you’d like a private lesson in my room later, you only need to ask, rebel.”

I tried to push away from him, but he held on, fingers curling against my back and fisting in my dress. What was he playing at? Was he mocking me? If he was, I couldn’t unravel his words enough to see the joke.

“I don’t think dancing is my thing, but if you’d like to teach me how to drive a blade into a vampire’s heart, that would be appreciated,” I whispered.

He chuckled darkly. “That can be arranged.”

My brows arched at his tone, and I leaned back to look up at him. “Can it?” I asked hopefully.

“Of course, because it wouldn’t matter if you were the finest swordswoman in the country, you still wouldn’t be able to get a knife in my chest.”

“At least let me try,” I urged with a grin as dark as his own.

“Perhaps I will.” He spun me away from him with one hand, then yanked me back against his body, making me stumble. He was so strong, I couldn’t do anything but follow his lead, and suddenly I was crushed against him once more, our bodies moving in sync, and heat spilled through me at how good this felt, despite how wrong it was.

When the song came to an end, Fabian pushed out of his seat, his gaze locked on me as he strode this way.

Erik muttered quickly in my ear. “Come to my room at midnight. It’s down the hall from yours, the one with the red door.” He released me and I gazed at him with wild, baffled thoughts darting through my mind.

Fabian snared my hand and tugged me into the arc of his body.

He glowered at his brother and tension tangled with the air. “I suppose you heard about Chancellor Torin and the other murders in the city?” he inquired.

“Indeed. What a loss to the world Torin is,” Erik remarked coolly.

“Yes, it is quite the blow. One of my finest chancellors has been reduced to dust. Do ensure your chancellors watch their backs, Erik. There is clearly a madman at large, so we must be vigilant.”

“Thank you for the warning,” Erik said with an arctic smile. “I have already been made aware after the brutal murder of my guard, Faulkner.”

“Faulkner?” Fabian frowned. “How terrible.”

“Quite,” Erik bit out.

Fabian tugged me away and my heart stuttered as he led me straight out of the dining room into the low-lit corridor beyond.

His eyes lit as he pulled me along, and I smiled mischievously back, pretending I was excited about a moment alone with him, even though I felt the exact opposite.

“C’mere, love.” Fabian tugged me close and I slapped my hand to his chest, pushing him back with a grin while my heart thrashed harder.

I had to commit to this now. Erik would keep his word to me if I seduced his brother, and I wouldn’t shy away from leading him on. But there was no chance of me ever letting this heathen take me to his bed. He was the monster who ran the Realms, the purveyor of our torment, using us in any way he saw fit to provide his kind with an unending supply of blood.

Fabian leaned back against the wall, watching me with intrigue. “Have I earned that kiss now?”

God, I did not want to kiss him. An angry creature had reared its head inside me and it didn’t want Fabian anywhere near it. But I had to do this for the sake of my family, even if I despised every second of it.

Closing my eyes, I gave in to the inevitable as I tiptoed up to press my mouth to his, his tongue pushing between my lips in lazy strokes. I bit it on instinct, and he growled like he liked that, his hands roaming up my sides. I tried to relax into it, to let him think I enjoyed it. I took hold of his arms, pulling closer as his fangs grazed my lip and danger dug its claws into me.

It was just a kiss. But it felt like more than that, like a promise of what was to come. This creature owning me in marriage and beyond. He was the ticket to my family’s freedom, and I was the price, but how far was I going to have to fall to secure it?

I pulled back when I was sure this had gone far enough, leaving my lips frozen from the icy touch of his.

“Come to my room,” he said, gripping my hand, his brown eyes full of sin.

“No,” I said immediately, pulling back and quickly recomposing myself. “I like making you wait.”

He growled, dropping his mouth to my neck, and I wanted to rip his lips off as he trailed them along my collar bone, but I tilted my head to the side instead, offering it up to him.

“The party is over, brother. It is time you returned to your quarters. I shall escort Montana to hers,” Erik’s voice sliced the air to ribbons, and I opened my eyes, finding him walking through the shadows like a demon sent straight for the depths of hell. Brianna scampered along at his side, looking to me with worry in her gaze, glancing from Erik to Fabian.

“Fuck off, Erik,” Fabian warned, throwing his brother a cold look. “Montana is clearly desperate to remain in my company.”

The arrogance of this asshole was unreal.

“Actually, I’m pretty tired.” I took the opportunity to slip out of Fabian’s arms and half jogged toward the staircase.

I glanced back to find Erik barring Fabian’s way, not letting him follow me as I hurried upstairs. A vicious snarl said a fight might be about to break out, but hell if I was gonna be there to be a casualty in it.

I barely took a breath until I entered my room, pressing a hand to my chest where my heart pounded an unsteady rhythm beneath my fingers.

How was I going to go through with this plan? If I picked Fabian at the ceremony, I was going to have to find a way to run before I ever had to marry him. Because there was no chance I was ever going to the bed of the man who was responsible for running the Realms and caging my kind in squalor.

I shut my eyes, despising this whole ritual I’d been wrapped up in. It was sick. And I could see my breaking point cresting on the horizon, because I could go along with this while nothing vital was taken from me. But at some point, I wasn’t going to get the option, and it was a price I hadn’t even considered I’d have to pay.

The clock on the wall told me it was nearly ten. Two hours until Erik wanted me to go to him.

I shuddered, knowing no good could come of that. Perhaps he simply wanted to lay his claim on me before my body belonged to his brother, but I’d die before I let either of them have me.

I’m staying here until I’m forced out of this room again.

With that, I pulled off my dress hard enough to rip it, then pulled on the silken pyjamas tucked under my pillow. I sat on the bed with my legs curled to my chest, letting my mind slip away to a place no one could find me. Dreams of anywhere else stole me from this castle and offered me some semblance of peace. Or at least numbness.

Midnight came and went, but I didn’t try to sleep, remaining in my bubble of false safety, finding it harder than usual to stay within it.

I finally crawled under the covers and rolled over with my back to the door, trying to figure out what to do, hoping an answer would come to me between the fantasies of my mind and the darkness of my reality.

At some point, the door quietly opened, and I shut my eyes, pretending to be asleep.

Get out of my room, Erik.

I couldn’t hear him moving, but I was certain he was closing in on me, and my skin prickled as he slid back my covers. I continued to keep up the pretence of sleep, willing him to go the fuck away and get the damn hint.

Something warm brushed my arm. My eyes flew open as heat skittered through my veins, and a strangely familiar voice entered my mind. Nightmare.

“Slayer,” a cruel female voice hissed, and I rolled over with a bolt of adrenaline telling me to move fast.

My eyes locked on the vampire, her expression as frosty as winter as she lunged for me. I wheeled the other way in terror, trying to escape her reaching hands, but she leapt onto the bed, yanking me backwards and throwing her leg over me so she straddled my hips.

I went to scream, but she slammed a palm down over my mouth, silencing me and crushing me to the mattress beneath her. “The royals will find you gutted in your bed with a slayer’s blade in your hand and they will praise my name for assisting them.”

Fear scored a path through my chest, and I thrashed furiously, clawing at her hand which felt glued to my mouth.

The vampire took a short knife from her hip, lifting it up, ready to drive it into my heart.

I sank my teeth into her hand before bringing up my fist and punching her in the ribs as hard as I could. She didn’t react, my attacks nothing more than moths dashing themselves against her stone exterior.

That deep and warming voice filled my head again, as if coming from the golden blade that lay discarded on the mattress.

Fight or die.

I grabbed the gleaming weapon, the blade singing the name Nightmare in my head once more. It flared with heat, the hilt kissing my palm, urging me on. With a blow that sent a tremor down the length of my arm, I stabbed her in the side with all of the strength I possessed.

She screeched in rage, jerking backwards so the knife slid from her skin, bright red blood spilling over the crisp sheets, giving me another window to strike. It was like the blade was telling me what to do, whispering encouragements while my mind was in a frenzy from seeing a vampire wounded by my hand.

I didn’t falter, knowing I only had a mere heartbeat before she recovered from the shock of my attack. I reared upright, raising Nightmare, knowing there was only one way this could end. With her death or mine.

The vampire grabbed my throat with inhuman speed and threw me hard across the room. I wheeled through the air, stomach lurching before I hit the window shutters with an almighty crack, then slammed to the floor.

My breath was knocked from my lungs and pain jarred through me, my grip on Nightmare the one focus of my thoughts. Splinters of wood showered down around me from the broken shutters, and I gazed up at my attacker. Horror seized my heart as she approached me a little more cautiously, still clasping the wound on her side.

“I am a member of the royal legion,” she hissed. “If you scream and call your pretty prince to you, he will only punish you for striking at one of his own.”

I shoved to my feet among the shattered wood, raising Nightmare and pointing it right at her. But I didn’t scream, doubt crawling through me from her words. Erik had warned Wolfe not to touch me before, surely he would punish this creature if I yelled for help?

That very word got stuck in my throat though. Screaming like a hungry babe in need of sustenance didn’t appeal at all. In fact, I realised I wanted this fight, like the call of it was thick in my blood. Like I had been made to stand here and face my enemy.

Nightmare burned with the heat of the sun, willing me into the fray, and perhaps it was why I wanted this. Some strange spell cast upon this weapon to bewitch me into believing I was capable of winning. Stand and fight. End this creature of darkness.

The vampire came at me, wielding her blade and slashing it through the air this way and that. She was tall and terrifying to behold, her dark hazel eyes promising my death. I surely had no chance against her, but Nightmare seemed to have other ideas, and I was starting to believe it.

The vampire lunged at me in a sudden movement, and I raised Nightmare, feinting left, then ducking the oncoming swipe of her knife. I somehow got beneath her guard, but her blade grazed my neck just enough to draw a sliver of blood.

Nightmare sung a tune that guided my hand right to the place it wanted to be. I rammed the dagger upwards, my arm juddering from the strength it took to see it through, and the blade sliced through skin and bone as if she was as human as me.

A look of horror crossed her face as she realised Nightmare was buried deep between her ribs. With a choked cry, her face crumbled, and her entire body began to shatter, bit by bit turning to dust and bursting into ash at my feet, even the blood which had splattered against my sheets fell to nothing but dirt in the face of her demise.

Her blade hit the floor with a heavy thunk and the sound echoed through my head with a finality that left me rooted to the spot. She was gone. Dead. Dust.

I had done that. I had killed an unkillable creature. And she had turned to nothing. Well, not quite nothing. But she was hardly coming back from a pile of soot.

“Holy shit,” I breathed, turning Nightmare over in my hand in disbelief.

The blade purred like a cat with a fresh kill at its paws, and I did a mental sweep of my body, half expecting to find myself mortally wounded.

A line of blood trickled down my neck from where her blade had nicked me, but apart from some bruising to my back, I was miraculously okay.

I gazed down at the dark robes of the vampire which were covered in the debris of her crumbled body, my victory tempered by disbelief. If only Dad and Callie were here to see this…

My forearm flared with pain, and I spotted a red mark growing there in the shape of a blade. The words of my attacker echoed through my mind. She had called me slayer and declared Nightmare a slayer’s blade, but if she was right, what did that mean for me?

Something swelled inside my chest, a mixture of triumph and strength creating a potent high. Nightmare seemed to praise my name, singing our victory, but just as a smile lifted the corner of my lips, I was delivered a sharp dose of reality.

“Rebel?!” Erik’s booming voice carried from the hallway.

“Oh fuck,” I gasped, staring from Nightmare to the crumbly vampire flakes on the floor.

Hide me. The blade’s voice flared in my mind, and I knew it was a damn good idea to obey.

I had less than a second to act as I tossed Nightmare under the bed and threw myself down onto the shattered pieces of wood on the floor. I shut my eyes, pretending I’d been knocked out and shooting a silent prayer to whatever holy being might exist out there in the universe to give me a break.

The door hit the wall as it opened and Erik heaved me into his arms a moment later, laying me on the bed.

“Montana, wake up,” he growled, running his finger near the cut on my neck. It hit me that this was the first time he’d called me by my name.

I blinked awake, fear rolling through me at how he was about to react.

“What happened?” he demanded, glancing at the remains of the vampire and the broken shards of wood from the window shutter.

I shook my head, not knowing how I was ever going to explain myself. But I had to get one thing straight at least.

“She attacked me,” I breathed. “She chased me over there and I think she...impaled herself on the broken wood.”

Shit, did that even sound plausible?

Erik’s grey eyes flooded with confusion. He was shirtless, his muscles tense and his skin cool against mine where his hands gripped my arms. “She attacked you?”

“Yes,” I confirmed. “I was sleeping. She came in and...”

I feigned a tremble as if I was oh so scared. But honestly, I felt invigorated. I’d just done the undoable, something I had dreamed of a thousand times over. My dad and I had invented a whole game dreaming up scenarios about killing the vampires, but never once had I considered it was possible for me to do it.

Erik moved to the vampire’s robes, sifting through them as if looking for something. Giving up, he turned back to me and my gaze dipped to his bare chest.

Scars marred his arms and a crescent-shaped one was stamped on his midriff, the marks silvery and unlike any scars I had seen before. I dragged my eyes up from the hard lines of his abs and the way his sweatpants hung low on his hips to reveal a deep V of tapered muscle diving beneath them. The moment I met his furious gaze again, I knew trouble was coming my way like a dark storm.

“Who the fuck would do this?” he snarled, raking a hand through his hair, messing up his usually perfect look.

“I don’t know,” I whispered, dropping a hand to my forearm and covering the mark there. “Would Fabian send-” I started, but he cut me off abruptly.

“No. Why would he?” Erik snapped. “He doesn’t know anything.”

What would Erik think if he knew I’d killed that vampire? And with a slayer’s blade no less. He might perceive me as a threat, one he would want to crush as swiftly as possible.

“Stay here,” he muttered, and I nodded as he sped from the room.

Moments later, Erik returned with a strange hand-held machine with a tube at one end. He turned it on and it made a loud whirring sound that took me by surprise. Erik moved to the vampire’s ashy remains, sucking them up with the object, the dust swirling around in a compartment at the top of it.

I gazed at him in alarm as he worked, cleaning up every scrap of the dead assassin just like that. When the dust was gone, he gathered the vampire’s robes into a linen bag from my closet, holding them tight in his fist.

Turning to me with his jaw pulsing, he said, “Don’t speak about this with anyone. I’ll deal with it.”

I nodded firmly, then pointed to the object in his hand. “What is that?”

He glanced down at it. “A vacuum cleaner.” He cleared his throat, heading to the door as I tried to place the term, wondering if my father had ever mentioned it. “I’ll be back soon.”

He exited and I blew out a breath, my heart drumming against my ribcage and refusing to slow. I’d killed a vampire. A fucking vampire.

I ran my thumb over the mark on my arm, sensing it was important somehow, linked to that blade. It was definitely a bad idea to let Erik see it.

Heading to my closet, I grabbed out a sweater, tugging it on to hide the mark, but that wasn’t going to be enough long term. I was going to be made to wear those fine dresses again, and then what would I do?

The vampire’s voice filled my head again. Slayer.

The term was plain enough. Slayer meant killer.

My thoughts turned to General Wolfe, certain he had to be behind this. It was too much of a coincidence that he’d clearly been accusing me of that exact same thing. So he had…what? Sent that bitch to assassinate me?

I sensed Nightmare’s presence in the room like another heart beating in my chest, and the air in my lungs thickened. I wanted to reach for it, to reunite with that warmth and let it whisper inside my mind. It should have frightened me, but it was excitement I felt. And a burning curiosity to learn of its origin, of why it felt so right to hold it in my hand.

Erik finally returned, and I prayed he wouldn’t be able to sense the blade in the way I could, the heavy pulsing of its presence a dead giveaway.

Locking the door, he turned to me with an anxious look.

“What did she say to you?” he growled, his rage evident, and at least it seemed the blade wasn’t drawing his focus.

“Nothing,” I lied.

His jaw locked tight as he marched into the bathroom, returning with a damp washcloth. He dropped down onto the bed, reaching out to my neck.

“Here,” he clipped, and just like he had done when I skinned my knee, he gently wiped the blood from my skin, frowning all the while. I couldn’t even feel the pain, the adrenaline in my veins still keeping it at bay.

“I can do it.” I reached for the cloth, but my hand only found his, the cold touch of his skin against my palm making my heartbeat stutter.

“I can do it,” he said in a tone that told me he was in no mood to be tested, and for once, I didn’t feel the urge to push back at him.

“This should never have happened,” he muttered to himself. “I’ll get to the bottom of it, I assure you. Someone in my household has betrayed us. No one else would be able to gain access to the castle. If only I’d seen the vampire’s face... Do you remember what she looked like?”

“She had dark hair and was tall with hazel eyes,” I said, trying to remember anything else about her.

He nodded stiffly, that information obviously not enlightening him. “Was she Elite?”

I thought about it, the way she had moved much slower than Wolfe, and certainly not as fast as a royal could move. “I don’t think so.”

“Alright. It is best if I stay with you tonight,” Erik announced.

My throat tightened at the thought of trying to sleep with him so close by. “No.”

“It almost sounded like you just said no to a prince of the New Empire. Try again.” He bared his teeth at me, fangs glinting in a threat.

“Alright,” I said, and his eyebrows arched. “No, thank you, prince of the New Empire.”

His jaw ticked and he tossed the washcloth across the room where it landed in my clothes hamper. “I did not ask for permission, rebel. I will be staying to guard my property regardless of what my property thinks of that.”

“Because I’m special?” I pushed, ignoring the shitty comments about me being his property and realising there might just be a link between my importance to him and the fact that I’d almost been killed. “Or my blood is?”

His eyes sharpened on me. “Nothing is more important than my sanity, and you are making quite the effort at cracking it. If you had come to my room like I’d asked, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“I didn’t want to be manipulated anymore,” I said coldly.

Erik frowned. “I wasn’t trying to manipulate you.”

“That’s all you’ve been doing since I met you, Erik. I’m tired of it already, and I’m scared of what will happen when I choose Fabian at the ceremony when my part of the deal is done and you no longer have any interest in what happens to me. I don’t want to be his wife, I don’t want to end up in his bed. But that’s what this leads to, isn’t it?” I spat.

Erik’s brows drew together. “I know this is difficult…”

I shoved his solid chest with a snarl. “You don’t know. You have no idea what this is like. You’re whoring me out to your brother and I can’t stand it, and all I want from you is help for my family. But you’re going to make me do the unspeakable to earn that priv-”

He pressed a hand to my mouth to halt me, his skin like ice against my lips.

“I know,” he reiterated, his eyes boring into mine. “I didn’t expect things to get this complicated.”

I leaned away from his cool palm, my tongue heavy. “It’s not complicated for you. You can dangle my father’s freedom over my head, and you know I’ll do anything to help him. What’s complicated about that?”

His Adam’s apple rose and fell, but he didn’t answer.

Despite his cold skin, heat seemed to radiate from his body, and my eyes travelled over the faint silvery scars on his torso.

He turned away and I caught his arm. “What aren’t you saying?”

He sighed. “I’ve become slightly, minusculey...attached to you, rebel.”

I released a small, empty laugh. “How kind of you to care so little about me.”

“I am a royal prince and I do not take wives or bed unwilling humans. So have some faith in me that I won’t allow my brother to hurt you.”

“That makes you trustworthy? That’s a pretty low bar for decency,” I hissed. “I have zero faith in you, because this is all your doing. So you can sit here and make pretty promises and try to convince me you have my best interests at heart, but it’s all just bullshit to try and make me cooperate. And if you think I’m too stupid to see that, then maybe you need to wake up and look harder at the humans you’ve enslaved. We’re not mindless fools and we never were.”

I shoved him again and he caught my arm, tugging me closer so our mouths were barely an inch apart. “I’m covering up a vampire’s death in your quarters, rebel. Is that not enough to make you trust me?”

“I’ll never trust a bloodsucker.” The words were my dad’s. Rule number one in this world: never trust a bloodsucker, little moon.

“Then we’re at a stalemate again.” He stood, releasing me suddenly and moving to the chair before dropping onto it. “Go to sleep so I can be at peace,” he commanded.

“If staying awake brings you torment, I will gladly go without sleep for days,” I muttered.

Erik came at me like a flash of lightning, shoving me down onto the bed and rolling me away from him with so much strength I was little more than a stuffed toy being tossed around in a hurricane. He locked his arms around me, yanking me back against his chest and hooking a leg over both of mine to stop me from moving.

“Close your eyes,” he ordered, a cruel humour lacing his voice. “And pray the gods take you swiftly into sleep before I get the urge to send you into a slumber you won’t return from.”

“Your death threats kind of fall flat after you risked your ass to cover for me,” I bit at him, wriggling against his arms, but I was trapped good and tight. “Fine, I’ll sleep. Just get your frosty paws off of me.”

He didn’t let go, if anything holding me tighter, and my body heated from how close we were to each other.

“You gave up the right to sleep soundly when you back-talked me,” he said. “So you’ll sleep like this, caged by me as the prisoner you are. That’s how you prefer it, isn’t it? Poor little rebel imprisoned by the monster.”

“Fuck you,” I hissed, jerking my shoulder back against his - for all the good it did me.

His muscles firmed as he fell quiet, letting me kick and fight and curse him until eventually I was forced to give up.

I released a slow breath and willed my heart rate to slow down, knowing the sound of it was bouncing its way to his bat ears. We lay like that with the silence thick and nothing but my frantic heartbeat and the hollow silence of his chest for company.

I closed my eyes and his arms softened around me just a little, allowing my body to relax.

As the minutes trickled into an hour, I hated myself for sinking back into the hard arc of his body. His dark presence followed me into my dreams, but there was something strangely comforting in it. And what should have been a horror show waiting for me in sleep became a twisted fantasy instead where his mouth raked against my burning hot skin and I gave myself to the power of this beast, tasting the sins on his flesh and wanting to know the reason for every one of them.