25. Callie

My head pounded violently, and I had the strangest sensation that I was swaying. I was lying on something impossibly soft which sculpted to my body, cushioning me on it. A thick duvet lay over me, banishing the cold from my skin.

My gut roiled and I lurched upright, heaving over the side of the bed. I didn’t bring anything up though; my stomach was pathetically empty.

I blinked down at the knots and whorls in the wooden floor for several long seconds as I forced my vision to stop spinning. When I was fairly sure I wasn’t going to heave again, I pushed myself upright and looked around.

I was sitting on a huge four poster bed in what was probably the biggest room I’d ever been in. Dark wooden furniture took up space around the other walls; a dressing table, heavy chest and imposing wardrobe all looking back at me from the walls of my prison, but there was plenty of empty space between it all. There was a single window on the far wall too, but heavy shutters were closed over it.

I had no idea what time it was. It could have been the middle of the night, or the sun might have been blazing outside.

I shoved the duvet off of me and scowled at the opulent fixtures adorning the space. It was so lavish that it was garish. The wood was all decorated with little hand carvings, the walls hung with gothic styled wallpaper. Even the air was thick with the scent of polished wood and supremacy.

Cool air brushed against my legs, and I looked down, finding the clothes I’d been wearing gone and a thin white robe in their place, the silk shifting against my skin.

“Motherfuckers,” I hissed, my hand automatically moving to my throat, inspecting the skin for puncture wounds which were surprisingly absent.

My heart slammed against my ribcage at a frantic pace, my throat dry as I fought to stay calm and figure out what I needed to do.

I fisted the sheets and closed my eyes against the pounding in my skull, focusing on my senses, knowing that freaking out wasn’t going to help me now.

The room was eerily silent. I couldn’t hear a thing from beyond it, not footsteps in the corridor or the wind beyond the window. Nothing.

I cursed and stood up hastily, almost falling straight back down again as my legs buckled beneath me and I barely managed to catch the post at the foot of the bed to steady myself.

I swallowed thickly, fighting the urge to heave again and focusing on the feeling of the sculpted wood beneath my palm as I flexed my toes against the cool floorboards.

Once I was confident I had control of my body, I released the post and untied the robe, anger and embarrassment clawing at me as I found myself naked beneath it. Who the fuck had undressed me while I was unconscious? My skin was so clean it prickled from the sensation, and I could feel some kind of lotion on my flesh. Every single hair had been removed from my body too, my skin as smooth as a goddamn snake.

A shudder ran down my spine as I imagined some bloodsucker washing and changing me while I was out of it. I felt utterly violated. I had no idea what else they could have done to me while I was unconscious and had no way of knowing.

I have to get out of here.

I gritted my teeth as I pushed myself away from the bed, my legs trembling beneath me as the last of the drugs they’d filled me with clung to my body. I reached for my gifts and found them harder to channel than usual; like the fuzziness in my brain was blocking them off, leaving me weak and terrifyingly human in the pit of monsters.

There were two doors in the room, so I stumbled towards the closest one, tying my robe closed again as I went. It barely covered my ass, and I ground my teeth in anger at the ridiculous garment while concentrating on making my steps firmer and fighting off the last of whatever was flooding my system.

To my surprise, the door pulled open easily, and I peered inside the new room it revealed, finding a large blue and white bathroom. I scanned the toilet, sink, and finally let my attention still on the huge walk-in shower by the far wall, as the need to defend myself sharpened. I moved towards it quickly, each step steadier than the last, adrenaline pushing the terror aside. This was a fight or flight situation, and I’d be damned if I wouldn’t go down swinging.

I grabbed the shower head and yanked on it as hard as I could with my enhanced muscles, the hose pulling tight as I threw my weight against it. I strained my arms, bracing a foot against the wall and gritting my teeth before finally ripping the metal hose out of the wall with a surge of victory. A few tiles shattered and I stumbled back so suddenly that I had to catch myself on the glass door to stay upright. Water spurted out of the hole my prize had left behind and a lump of brickwork thumped to the floor by the drain.

My head spun violently from the outburst of energy and I clung to the glass door, breathing through my nose. I ignored the large puddle of water that began to grow around my bare feet as the burst pipe continued to spurt water everywhere.

As soon as I could trust my legs to hold me again, I backed up, stepping out of the puddle into the centre of the room. I snapped the shower head off of the other end of the hose with a sharp yank, then looped the hose around my fist, creating a makeshift weapon. It was nothing compared to Fury, but it was better than going without.

I headed back into the bedroom, taking deep breaths and demanding cooperation from my malfunctioning body until I was striding across the room instead of stumbling.

I tried the other door.

Locked.

No surprise there.

I took a deep breath, focusing on the gifted muscles in my legs and hoping to hell that I was ready for whatever happened next. Either way, I wasn’t going to just stay locked up in this pretty prison.

I opened my eyes and kicked the centre of the door as hard as I could, the reverberation rattling through my teeth as the full strength of my slayer gifts were thrown into the strike. The heavy wood rattled, and plaster dust was knocked loose around the doorframe, but it didn’t give.

“Fuck you,” I hissed at the door.

I kicked it again. And again. The door shuddered and groaned as it took the battering, but it still didn’t break. I wasn’t giving up yet.

I took several steps back, then ran at the door, bracing my shoulder for impact before slamming into it as hard as I could.

The resounding crash that followed made the floorboards shudder, but the bastard door still didn’t give way. I snarled at it as I backed up, then rammed it again.

After the fourth attempt failed, I let out a scream of frustration and hurled the shower hose to the floor in disgust.

I turned back to the pristine room and ran towards an ornate dresser, grabbing it and hurling it over. The legs smashed as it hit the ground but that wasn’t good enough. I stamped on the back of it with the flat of my foot and the wood caved in.

I ripped the back off of it and hurled it across the room into a full-length gilded mirror which smashed into a thousand pieces.

A thrill of petty satisfaction rolled through me, and I turned to the wardrobe with a savage determination. I wrenched a door open, tearing it from its hinges and sending that clattering to the floor behind me too.

I hesitated as I spotted what was inside it; beautiful dresses hung in an assortment of colours, the fabrics richer than anything I’d ever seen in the Realm. I brushed my fingers over the soft material and pulled a stunning silver dress from the hanger.

I held it up before me, appreciating its beauty for a moment, my fury at the opulence of these monsters digging into my soul like claws shredding at the last of my restraint before I tore it straight down the middle. If they thought I was going to be dressing up like some walking, talking doll then they’d be sorely disappointed.

I worked my way through every item in the wardrobe until I stood knee-high in a flood of shredded material, then spat on it for good measure.

Once I was finished, I threw my weight against the side of the huge wardrobe and sent it crashing to the ground too. It broke into several large pieces, and I grabbed a big shard of wood from the centre of the pile.

I leapt onto the bed, using the makeshift knife to shred the stupid curtains which hung around it. Next, I turned my attention to the duvet, stabbing it repeatedly as I imagined it was one of my captors. White fluff tumbled out of it, and I shook it loose, filling the room with stuffing.

The whole room was destroyed, but it wasn’t enough. I needed to be free. I stormed towards the window and grabbed the edge of the heavy shutters. They were nailed down, but I gritted my teeth, throwing every ounce of my enhanced strength into ripping them off the fucking wall.

The wood groaned as the fixings resisted, but they finally gave out with a splintering crash. I fell to the floor as they came loose but quickly scrambled to my feet again to peer out through the glass.

The pale light of dawn spilled in through the window and my heart sank as I realised I’d lost an entire evening and night. Magnar would be losing his shit, probably pissed as all hell too. I bit my lip as I imagined him charging in to rescue me, and fear clawed at my heart. What if they’d killed him when they captured me? He’d been fighting a horde of vampires the last time I’d seen him, and even two legendary slayers couldn’t stand against an endless tide.

I forced the fear from my mind. I didn’t know anything about what had happened to Magnar. He might be coming to help me, or he might not – and I couldn’t let myself linger in the fear of what that meant if he wasn’t. Either way, I’d be damned if I’d just wait here like a damsel in a tower needing some prince to rescue me. Real princesses picked out their own crowns and balanced them on their heads like the badasses they were. No prince required. I was more than capable of saving myself, and that was what I intended to do.

I moved closer to the window and cursed as I spotted the heavy metal bars on the other side of the glass, stopping me from using it to escape.

I was high up in some ostentatious stone building. It looked like the kind of place that should only have existed in fairy tales. A castle built in a kingdom of blood. Green woodland spread out behind carefully maintained gardens at the foot of a stone behemoth and glimmering skyscrapers stood in the distance beyond it. At least I knew I was still in New York City.

Could they be holding Montana close by too? I tried to reach out to her with my mind like I had after I’d taken my vow, my fingernails biting into my palms as I concentrated on her, but nothing happened. Not even a flicker of power blossomed at my call. I wasn’t sure how I’d done it before, and if I still held the power to do so, I couldn’t access it now. Perhaps Idun was playing games with us again.

I ground my teeth in irritation; if my sister was here, I needed to get her out too. But how the hell was I going to find her? I hadn’t even managed to escape this one room.

The distant sound of voices came from somewhere beyond the locked door, causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end as apprehension built in my gut.

“-don’t know what on Earth she’s doing in there, sire. And you forbade us from opening the door, so we didn’t know what else to do. We had no choice but to come for you-”

“It’s quite alright,” Fabian replied, and goosebumps rose along my skin at the sound of his voice. “I’m sure my fiancée will appreciate some quality time with me now that she’s awake.”

“Of course,” the other voice replied, though he didn’t seem convinced.

Fiancée? Fuck that.

I slipped across the room, keeping my footsteps silent, and grabbed a sharp sliver of glass from the shattered mirror, hiding it in the pocket of my ass-skimming robe. I snatched the shower hose from the floor as his footsteps paused beyond the door, my heart thundering with the need to fight.

I scrambled up onto a chest of drawers positioned beside the door – the only escapee from my furniture massacre - and I pressed my back to the wall as I waited for Fabian to enter.

“Well, I can’t hear anything going on in there now,” he muttered.

“I assure you, sire, it sounded like she was tearing the walls apart. We were worried she might hurt herself or-”

I kicked a vase off of the chest of drawers and it shattered loudly. It wasn’t like they didn’t know I was in here so if they wanted to hear more sounds of destruction then who was I to disappoint them?

The sound of several bolts sliding open rattled through the door, and I fell into the embrace of my gifts as I prepared to fight my way out of this elaborate prison. Power flooded into me, the effects of the drugs finally seeming to have worn off, leaving me free to claim every piece of my power.

“I’m coming in,” Fabian called as a heavy lock turned in the door. “And I’d prefer it if you didn’t stab me again. The last wound still hasn’t healed.”

My lips twitched with gratitude as he gave me that information. I knew exactly where his weak spot was now.

The door opened slowly, and Fabian stepped into the room. “By the gods, you really have destroyed-”

I leapt at him from the chest of drawers with a furious snarl and flung the shower hose around his neck as I landed on his back.

Fabian cried out in surprise a moment before I yanked the hose too tight for him to draw breath. I gritted my teeth, putting all my strength into choking him as he spun around, trying to throw me off.

My ankles locked tight around his waist, my weight hanging from the hose and tightening it further.

Fabian tried to grab hold of me and rip me free, but the angle I held him at made it impossible to grasp anything besides my legs which weren’t budging a single inch.

He shot backwards, slamming me into the wall at speed. The impact sent pain flaring through my body and drove the oxygen from my lungs, but I refused to let go. He did it again and again, the fourth strike forcing me loose at last, and I lost my grip on the hose with a curse.

Fabian whirled away from me and I fell to the floor amidst the broken glass from the mirror.

I inhaled sharply as slivers of glass cut into my legs and Fabian was on me before I could so much as regain my feet. He caught me around the neck and lifted me into the air, slamming me back against the wall and baring his fangs in a feral snarl.

I clawed at his hands, my nails gouging into his skin and drawing scarlet blood as I thrashed against his hold on me. He snarled, lunging towards me like he might sink those fangs right into my throat, and I kicked him as hard as I could, right in the spot where I’d stabbed him with Fury.

“Shit!” Fabian roared, launching me away from him, and I was hurled against the wall behind the four-poster bed before crashing down onto the mattress.

I scrambled to get upright again, but he shot towards me in a blur of motion, leaping on top of me and pinning me to the bed.

I screamed curses at him as I tried to fight my way out from under him, his hips pinning me in place, his fingers digging into my wrists as he held them above my head and bared his teeth at me.

“Stop,” he commanded. “You can’t beat me.”

I stopped thrashing just long enough to spit in his face.

Fabian glared at me for a moment, my death flashing through his deep brown eyes, my heart stalling in my chest as if it knew its time was up. But instead of the brutal ripping of teeth into flesh, the vampire prince barked a feral laugh.

I’d knocked his hair loose from its tie in our brawl and it fell around his hauntingly beautiful face as he looked down at me.

“You really want to kill me, don’t you, little slayer?” he asked.

“I took a vow to kill all of your kind. You’re at the top of my list,” I hissed in reply.

“Well next time, I would advise you don’t waste time choking me; I don’t need to breathe.” He grinned at me like we were playing some game, and I gave him a death stare back.

“Give me my blade and I’ll stab you again instead.” I glanced down at his stomach where blood was seeping through his shirt, and a small level of satisfaction found me.

He noticed my attention and his grip on my wrists tightened painfully. “That will scar, you know,” he growled irritably. “And it hurts like a bitch... that said, it’s been a long time since I felt real pain. So perhaps I’ll let it slide, in light of our new relationship.”

“We don’t have any kind of relationship,” I growled. “I’m never going to do anything you tell me to do, and I’m never going to stop trying to kill you.”

“You know, I haven’t had a woman speak to me like this before, and I’m starting to think I like it. Do you know how boring life can become when you’ve lived for over a thousand years? This really is quite refreshing.”

“What do you want with me?” I asked, though I already knew the answer. I’d heard him refer to me as his fiancée. I just needed to hear him say it.

“You find yourself in a very fortuitous position, Callie Ford. You are to be my bride.” His gaze dropped to my mouth, and he pressed his weight down on me a little harder, as if he thought I might be tempted by his proposal.

“I won’t,” I snarled. “I’ll never marry you and I certainly won’t be having any of your demon children. I’d sooner cut my own throat.”

Fabian sighed dramatically. “Who told you about the children? That was supposed to be a surprise. Was it Valentina? She often loses her head when she gets jealous-”

“Can you get the fuck off of me?” I snapped, not wanting to hear another word about that bitch.

“Look who’s jealous now. She told me she thought you were sharing her betrothed’s bed. Magnar Elioson was a legend once, so I suppose I can understand why you might have been drawn to him. But if it’s power you covet, I hold so much more than him,” he purred.

“He’s still alive?” I asked, grasping onto the fact that he’d spoken about Magnar in the present tense.

Fabian pursed his lips like he was deciding whether or not to answer me. “For now. The Eliosons prove harder to catch than you, love. But we’ll catch up with them soon enough.”

“Magnar will come for me,” I growled. “And he will tear this place apart before carving your black heart from your body.”

“No doubt he will try. You are rather tempting bait for him after all, and I shall be ready when he arrives.”

A cold fear fell over me at his words. He was right; Magnar would come looking for me and all they had to do was dangle me before him to lead him into a trap. And as I highly doubted Fabian was looking to marry a seven-foot warrior with a thing for killing Belvederes, it would equal his death. I had to escape from this monster at all costs. I wouldn’t allow Magnar to come to harm because of me. I owed him a life debt and I wouldn’t see it go unpaid.

Fabian’s gaze dropped to the thin robe which had fallen open in our fight, my breasts fully on display, my nipples peaked and chest rising and falling rapidly. A different kind of fear came for me then. I was pinned beneath him, his hips driven between my thighs, his strength far outmatching my own even with my gifts. I was at his mercy, and I doubted a creature as monstrous as him had any of that left in him at all.

Fabian transferred both of my hands into one of his, keeping them pinned above my head as he reached for the material which had fallen open across my chest. A stillness came over me, one which defied breath and held me captive in utter terror.

“Please don’t,” I breathed.

I was completely under his control, and I wasn’t above begging if it would spare me from the desire I could see lighting in his eyes.

Fabian’s cool fingers brushed against my skin as he caught one side of the robe between his thumb and forefinger. My heart thundered as I expected him to pull it wider, to reveal more of my body to him, and I stared up at this beautiful monster in horror. But he slowly shifted it closed instead, pulling one side, then the other, tightening the knot at my waist and making sure it was secure.

His mouth lifted on one side as he looked back up at my face, seeming to find amusement in my surprise. “I’m not a complete animal.”

My lips parted, but I had no words to offer him. I only stared at the impossible beauty of his face and wondered if I’d imagined the moment of decency because it made no sense at all to me.

“If I let you go, do you promise not to try and choke me with a shower hose?” Fabian went on.

“No shower hose,” I agreed icily.

I just wanted his damn hands off of me and his hips out from between my thighs.

“Too easy,” he said, shaking his head in disappointment, like he’d actually wanted me to keep fighting him. “What if I let you buy your freedom with a kiss?”

“I’d sooner cut my lips from my face,” I growled.

He leaned closer to me, his breath brushing across my skin, and I recoiled into the mattress, trying to buy back the space he was devouring.

“Come on, slayer,” Fabian breathed. “I promise you’ll enjoy it.”

My mind was spinning, my heart thundering, the need to escape blaring through my thoughts and making it difficult to form any real plan, but as one came to mind, I clung to it and didn’t let go.

“One kiss?” I asked, my gaze falling to his mouth, to those fucking fangs. Could I really kiss a mouth which had tasted so much human blood? Could I really afford to be choosy with escape plans when this was the only one that had come to me?

“Just one. Unless you decide you want more – I’m sure I could be persuaded if you do.”

My throat bobbed. This was a terrible idea. The worst. The idea of kissing a creature born of death and ruin turned my stomach, but if I could just distract him long enough…

I nodded, unable to say the words, just needing to act.

Fabian looked so fucking smug that I could only believe he thought himself irresistible, but that was fine by me. Let him think I was fickle enough to have forgotten all I stood for and all I had survived beneath the rule of his kind the moment he turned his too-perfect features on me. Let him think I was nothing but a lust-struck bitch who was utterly enthralled by the vampire prince just because he’d deigned to look my way.

His vanity would be his downfall if I had anything to do with it.

I held myself in place and let Fabian press his cold lips to mine, his kiss light at first as I froze beneath him, a mixture of shock and several moments of me questioning every decision I’d ever made in my life momentarily fixing me in place. He seemed to take my horrified stillness as encouragement though and he pressed his mouth to mine more firmly, reminding me of my plan and encouraging me to kiss him back.

I let my mouth move against his, shuddering at the brush of his fangs against my lips despite my efforts not to. Fabian seemed to think it was from pleasure though, and he released his grip on my wrists so he could push his fingers through my hair and tug me closer.

My heart pounded with excitement as I arched my spine beneath him, moving my hand between us and running my fingers down the hard plane of his chest. He groaned in pleasure, flexing his muscular body against me, his cock growing hard between my thighs.

Shit.

I needed to move faster. I released a moan, pushing my hips up against his, letting his tongue press into my mouth as I covered the movement of my hand which fell to the pocket of my robe.

With a spike of adrenaline, I took out the sliver of glass before he could realise what I was really doing then slammed it into his side with as much force as I could muster.

“Fuck!” Fabian swore loudly as I yanked the glass out again. He reared backwards to escape me, but I slashed it across his face, cutting deep into his eye.

The back of his hand connected with my cheek and my vision swam from the impact as I was knocked onto the mattress. I ignored the pain, twisting out from beneath him and holding the glass ready between us once more. My own blood coated the edges of the jagged piece of mirror, the sharp shard cutting me too, but I couldn’t feel it, my need for his death far outweighing any pain.

Fabian snarled at me, his fangs bared like he might just bite me, but I didn’t back down. I couldn’t give in to this monster’s demands. I refused to do what he wanted, and if that meant I might die, then so be it. I’d rather die a mortal death than face the fate he wanted for me.

“You’re a cunning little bitch, aren’t you, slayer?” he growled.

“And you’re a vain piece of shit. What kind of idiot would think I wanted to kiss him right after trying to kill him? You might be pretty by vampire standards but everything about you disgusts me. If you’re dumb enough to think I really might have wanted to fuck you, then the least you deserve to lose is an eye. Next time I’ll aim lower.” I gave his cock a pointed look and he snarled at me.

The door banged open, and a surprised laugh filled the air as I scrambled backwards and put more space between both Fabian and the newcomer.

“It seems your charms aren’t working on this one, brother,” the blond vampire said as he stepped into the room with a wide smile on his face. I glowered at the Belvedere who’d captured me, wondering if I should try to get my makeshift glass dagger into his heart while I had the opportunity.

“What are you doing here, Miles?” Fabian asked irritably.

“I thought I’d come and make sure you weren’t trying to sample the goods before your wedding night.” His gaze slid over me and the destroyed room as if he wasn’t sure what he’d just interrupted.

I eyed the open door behind him like it held the answer to all my dreams. Freedom whispered sweet promises to me on the breeze from the corridor, beckoning me to take it.

“She likes it rough,” Fabian said with a shrug as he moved to stand upright, and I watched in stunned fascination as his eye slowly mended itself and the skin surrounding it stitched itself back together too.

“Is that so?” Miles raised an eyebrow at me, taking in the robe which barely covered my nudity and the blood-spattered shard of glass in my hand. Something which looked disconcertingly like concern burned in his gaze and my suspicions sharpened. They didn’t care about me. This was about their fucked-up ritual. “You know you’re supposed to wait until after the wedding for all this? And if she doesn’t want you, then there are other ways. The rules are in place for a reason, Fabian.” He gave his brother a stern look and Fabian sighed dramatically.

“I don’t need your help,” I snapped. The day I accepted help from a Belvedere would be a cold day in hell.

“You see? She’s enjoying it,” Fabian said, giving me a cocky grin.

I whipped my arm back and launched the shard of glass at him. He moved at the last moment, and it pierced his bicep instead of his heart, but it had been damn close and the beat of silence that followed my strike only punctuated that fact.

“Nearly,” Fabian mocked as he pulled the glass out and tossed it aside, but I caught the look which passed between him and Miles. “You see, brother, it’s just a little roleplay. The slayer who secretly lusts for the vampire. You’ve got to admit it’s pretty hot.”

Miles pursed his lips as if he didn’t believe his brother for a moment but wasn’t sure what else he could say.

“I just thought I’d come and give Callie the choice all of the courtiers get,” he said, his blue eyes meeting mine as he spoke. “Even though there isn’t time for you to get to know us properly now, you should know that you can choose which prince to wed. You can pick me if you aren’t so keen on Fabian’s bedroom manner for example.”

Fabian bristled. “You’re already going to wed that other girl.”

“What other girl?” I demanded, but they ignored me, Fabian carrying on as if I hadn’t spoken at all.

“As the rules dictate, I will be the one to wed this one,” he said.

“The rules say that if a courtier refuses to choose, then she will have to marry the prince who was not selected by the others, but Callie still has the right to choose.” Miles smiled at me encouragingly and I glared at him in response.

“If you are so keen to follow the rules, then why didn’t you bring Erik along?” Fabian asked.

My gut prickled at the name of the worst Belvedere. The vampire who’d stolen my sister from me. The reason the slayers had been wiped out. The only way I’d ever want that creature close to me would be if I was plunging Fury through his heart.

“I think it would be a little inappropriate for Callie to share a husband with her sister,” Miles said dismissively. “Aside from any other reasons. So, what’s it to be then, Callie? Would you rather marry Fabian or me today?” He gave me a bright smile complete with fucking dimples. Rage built in my chest.

It wasn’t a choice at all. I didn’t want to marry either of them, and I wouldn’t be forced to make some irrelevant decision just so they could feel better about the fact that they were planning to force me into this. Marrying either monster was exactly the same. It was a fate worse than death and I refused to play along with it. I had no intention of going through with it and I wouldn’t even pretend otherwise.

“I’m not going to marry either of you,” I snarled. “So you can take your fucking offer and your fake charm and shove it up your asses.”

Miles’s smile dropped and he glanced at Fabian as if he wanted to say more, but his brother grinned in satisfaction.

“You really won’t make a choice?” Miles urged one last time.

“If you want to know what I would choose, it’s this; I would choose for you to return my blade to me so that I might kill each and every one of you,” I hissed.

“There you have it,” Fabian said triumphantly. “She’s mine.”

Miles sighed and turned to leave, drawing Fabian after him.

“I just hope we’re right about using a slayer for this,” he muttered.

“I’m sure we are, brother,” Fabian replied, his gaze falling on me one last time as he allowed Miles to lead him from the room. “And I may as well enjoy finding out either way.”

“Where is my sister?!” I yelled, hounding them towards the door, but they snapped it shut before I could reach it, neither of them offering me an answer.

They locked the door behind them, and I released a frustrated scream as I was trapped yet again.