13. Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

Tovi

S tarlight and a sliver of the moon shone from the lone window in Tovi’s cell. Night darkened the Drengr dungeons. Kade hadn’t come and neither had his arrogant, scowl-faced brother. Tovi seethed and crossed her arms. The shackles around her wrists tugged against the wall they were secured on.

Not only had she been thrown into a cell, but she’d also been chained like some wild animal with little room to move about. Tovi inhaled through her nose, shutting her eyes, and tried with all her might to remain calm, but the creeping sensation she’d failed to secure an alliance with the werewolves started to settle in.

She’d lied to Kade. It hadn’t been intentional. Withholding who and what she was had come as natural as breathing. The more others knew, the more they judged. The moment lords and ladies of Drystan court had learned she’d not renounced her title as heir, the snickering and cutting stares began. Perhaps old wounds had aided her in keeping that tidbit to herself. Besides, it wasn’t the truth about her father that led to this cell but the uncontrollable fact she was a vampyr.

The incessant drip of water against stone was like the ticking of a clock, wasted minutes as her brother worked towards completing the spell. She prayed to the Goddess that Kade was trying to persuade his brother to reconsider or was starting his journey without her. She’d rot happily away in this cell if the efforts to get Evelyn back were in motion. As much as she wanted an alliance with the werewolves, Sorin had worse problems on the horizon if her brother succeeded.

The echo of boots descending the stairwell broke Tovi from her thoughts. Her heart quickened. Had Kade come to release her? Or had Eldrick decided to use that axe and execute her?

She mastered her posture, keeping her arms crossed and shoulders back—proud despite the grime clinging to her clothes.

The figure, tall and sure, approached down the hall. As he walked past the nearby sconces, Eldrick’s golden-brown hair, shining wet, glinted in the flickering light. No axe glinted at his belt though, not a weapon to speak of strapped to his lean physique. Unless he had one tucked into his tight trousers. Though, there wasn’t much room with the way his leathers molded so close to his muscles.

Tovi blinked and averted her gaze to his watchful, stern eyes, trying to convince herself she’d been searching for a possible threat and not ogling the werewolf’s body.

“You know, I can’t tell if these accommodations suit you, bloodsucker.”

Eldrick’s nickname iced over any attraction she had. How could she forget? He only saw her as a monster.

He leaned against the adjacent wall, oblivious to her internal annoyance as she leveled him with a fierce stare.

“Since you are a vampyr, after all,” he continued, “I imagine you’re used to dark and damp places. Though, you are a princess so maybe…”

Tovi didn’t answer, grinding her teeth to fight back a retort. Despite his insults, she had no idea why he’d come down here, and she couldn’t risk the opportunity to convince him to let her accompany Kade by lashing out .

Eldrick’s emerald eyes tracked her, but his features gave nothing away. The man was as stony and rigid as the wall he leaned against.

Heat stretched between them, a beckoning lust, and Eldrick’s scent—thickened by recent sweat—perfumed the air, fogging Tovi’s rational mind. Hours ago, the alpha had held an axe to her throat, but her body didn’t seem to care. She tried to grasp the cold of the dungeon and sniff out the mildew, anything to rid her senses of him.

If he was as affected by her as she was him, he didn’t show it. Though, desire had flared in his eyes when he’d approached her at the tavern, and there’d definitely been intent. Was any of that still there?

“When was the last time you fed?”

Tovi stilled. His question elicited an array of images she’d worked hard to tamp down. Blood. Red. Warm. She swallowed, fighting the push of her fangs, refusing yet again to let him get under her skin.

His lips upturned. The bastard enjoyed this.

“I’ve studied your kind, learned a vampyr’s tells. Three days, that’s about as long as a vampyr can go before feeding. But you’re different, aren’t you? Can you go longer?” He shrugged. “Though, the bags under your eyes suggest no matter the days that have passed, you’re hungry, bloodsucker. You need to feed soon, don’t you?”

She transformed her growl into a scoff. “You’d be surprised to learn I can go quite a while without feeding compared to the ‘scáths,’ as you call them, but I do appreciate your concern.”

A half lie. Tovi, compared to a caillte , maintained more control over the urge to feed, but she shared the same dreaded timeline: she needed to feed every three days. An affliction of the curse and not her true nature.

Eldrick’s eyes darkened. “I’m not concerned.”

She raised a brow. Perhaps she affected him after all. She threw the plan to play nice out the window, eager to have a little fun .

“Why bother asking, then? Are you taking requests, perhaps? Elk’s my preference, but after seeing the splendors of your village, I’m keen to try the local venison.”

Now, it was her turn to get under his skin, and a lick of satisfaction snaked through Tovi. It was slight, but Eldrick’s jaw ticked, and she caught the way his hands gripped his arms tighter. Then, his brows pinched. He didn’t ask, but she saw the question brewing in those eyes of his.

“Ah, yes. It may surprise you, but I drink animal blood. So, before you go off on some speech about ‘not touching your people,’ I have no plans to, wolf.”

Eldrick’s nostrils flared. “I don’t believe—”

“Are you here to discuss my eating habits or far more pressing matters? We need to figure out a way to get Evelyn out of my brother’s clutches. Should I also spell out the risks if we don’t succeed?”

“No. I’d rather you explain why you keep mentioning ‘we,’ as if you’re a part of the plan.”

His spoke with hard authority, as if he talked down to her, and Tovi saw red, hating it.

“I should be a part of the plan,” she hissed. “The mission to get Evelyn back is dangerous enough, but I guarantee you’re making it far more dangerous by not letting me join your brother and his team—”

“You actually expect me to believe you care for my brother’s safety? All you want is the alliance.”

Tovi inhaled through her nose, trying to calm the heat rising in her usually cold body.

Perhaps she was still that wretched princess who only cared about herself. The thought caused sharp pain to lance through her chest. No. She cared for Kade and Evelyn and the prophecy.

Eldrick peeled off the wall, starting to pace. “I care for my brother and his team, and I haven’t failed to recognize the benefit of having the vampyr princess join our efforts to get the Daughter of the Goddess back, but I don’t trust you.”

“You don’t have to trust me.”

He stopped and whirled. “What? You want to have an alliance and not trust one another.”

The notion to share her feelings about the prophecy snaked through her mind, like a dragon slinking by with a precious jewel. Tovi’s stomach flipped. She could barter it, present it to Eldrick like an offering. Like so many of her secrets, it was intertwined into who she used to be, as well as weaved with secrets that weren’t her own, ones that weighed heavier in Eldrick’s presence.

How you’re seen is what you are.

She set her shoulders straight, mastering her breath. “I’m over 700 years old and well aware trust takes time, and yet we don’t have that on our side. I’m asking you to recognize one key element. We share a common enemy. My brother. His plan threatens to destroy all of Sorin. You may not trust my motives, but it is to save my people. You’re an alpha, are you not? You know what it means to take care of your people. To lead them, protect them. To go any lengths to make sure they prosper.”

Eldrick studied her, eyes searching her face. His hands flexed by his sides.

Had she said too much? Too little? His rigid exterior gave nothing away aside from a flash of something in his emerald eyes. The charismatic werewolf she shared a blueberry ale with no longer existed, and a pang of remorse went through Tovi. All because she was a vampyr, she’d lost something.

Eldrick cursed under his breath, raked his hand through his hair, and shook his head. “Fine. Alright.” He reached inside his pocket and retrieved a key.

By the time Tovi blinked, he’d unlocked the cell door and grasped her wrist. One opened shackle clattered to the ground. The second followed soon after, echoing in the silent truce between them.

“Mark my words, bloodsucker.” Eldrick leveled his gaze with hers. “I’ll set you free and allow you to lead us through Drystan, but I’m not agreeing to anything”—Tovi sucked in a breath—“until you prove to be a worthy ally. ”

“I swear I will get Evelyn back,” she said, trying to rally thoughts to form another argument. Was the Drengr that stubborn? How could she convince him?

“Getting her out won’t be enough.”

Tovi’s head ached. “What else do you want from me?”

“Show me I can trust you, that you’ll be a worthy ally.” Eldrick shrugged. “That’s my deal.”

“Show you?” Tovi’s mind reeled. Her secrets whispered like cackling ghouls.

Eldrick lips tilted in a smirk. “Yes, show me. I’m coming with you, Tovi Verena, and you better hope to the gods you aren’t hiding anything, because next time, I won’t hesitate to use my axe.”

With that, Eldrick stalked out of the dungeon. Tovi followed, numb, as if a new pair of shackles wrapped around her wrists. Between convincing Eldrick she was a good ally and getting Evelyn out of the castle, she believed the latter would be the easier.

Goddess , help her.