27. Callie

Isat on the destroyed bed and watched as the water from the burst pipe flowed out of the bathroom and began mixing with the white fluff from the shredded duvet. I felt like it mirrored the mess of emotions which were stirring inside me. I was brimming with unspent energy, but I was stuck here, waiting for a fate I’d never accept.

Some of the cuts on my legs and palms were still bleeding, and I welcomed the pain. It gave me something real to match the ache in my chest. How could I have been so stupid? Valentina had led me right into a trap and I’d fallen for it like the naive girl from Realm G that I was. Why had I let myself believe I was something special? Just because I could access my ancestors’ power now, I’d begun to think I knew what I was doing with those gifts. But I was still the same caged girl I’d always been. And when it came down to it, the vampires were driving my fate yet again.

A knock came at the door, and I stilled as I looked up. The shard of wood I’d used to shred the duvet sat beside me and I reached for it instinctively, tucking it beneath the torn sheet and keeping my fingers tight around it. I wanted to be armed against whoever came through the door next. Even if it hadn’t done me much good so far.

“Callie?” a woman called from the other side of the door.

I didn’t reply. Why should I? These monsters didn’t care about what I wanted despite any use of manners or consideration toward my feelings. She could pretend to ask my permission before she came in, but we both knew she’d be entering no matter what I said.

After several seconds, the bolts slid aside, and the door was unlocked.

“Fabian mentioned you attacked him when he came to see you,” the woman said gently, and my anger stirred again at the false display of concern. “I’d prefer it if you didn’t try that with me...okay?”

“How about you just open the door and let me go. Then I’ll promise not to harm you,” I offered.

“You know I can’t do that.” She sighed and pushed the door open. There was a sharp inhale as she spied the devastation that surrounded me, and I allowed myself a small smile. It was a petty victory, but I was happy to take whatever wins I could claim.

After another few moments of hesitation, the woman stepped inside, lifting her pale blue gown high to keep it out of the water which now covered most of the floor. My lip pulled back as my gaze fell on her unreal beauty, and there was no questioning who had come to visit me now. Clarice Belvedere was almost as stunning as the goddess Idun.

“When Miles told me you’d trashed the place, I thought I’d be discovering a few displaced cushions. Maybe a smashed vase...this is... Well, you’ve certainly surpassed my expectations.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t underestimate me,” I replied. Although I was beginning to believe that I’d definitely overestimated myself. I’d gotten caught up in the idea that the gifts I’d been bestowed had instantly given me what Magnar had spent years working to achieve. But that was foolish; I may have been given access to my ancestors’ memories but none of those achievements were my own. I was going to have to learn my own lessons about what it took to survive in this world ruled by my enemies, and it looked like my first challenge was already upon me. I had no idea what I was doing but I knew I had to do something. Perhaps if I could figure it out, then I might be able to make up for the terrible mess I’d made for myself.

“Apparently not.” Clarice dragged her gaze away from the destroyed bedroom and fixed her eyes on me instead.

“What do you want?” I asked. She’d left the door open behind her and I was tempted to run for it. I knew I wasn’t faster than her but if I could do something to slow her down, maybe I could get enough of a head start. Perhaps I’d be able to find somewhere to hide and slip away before they discovered me.

“You need to get ready for the wedding,” she said with an encouraging smile. “I had thought we’d do it here but perhaps we should take everything to my room instead.”

“I’m not getting married,” I replied in a low voice, my grip tightening on the wooden stake. Dad had told us old vampire stories where a stake was always the best weapon to use against them. Maybe it was worth a shot.

“I know this must all seem very sudden and confusing. You haven’t had a chance to get to know my brother and now we’re marching you straight down the aisle. But I assure you, he’s a good man beneath all the theatrics. He’ll treat you well-”

“He’s not a man,” I corrected. “He’s a cold, dead, monster, and I will die before I’ll marry him.”

She winced a little, but her moment of hurt was quickly locked away again behind her bright blue eyes. “I’m sure it’s difficult to adjust to the idea of this. Normally, you’d have a few days to get to know the princes and it would be easier to-”

“I don’t need to get to know him or hear any fucking songs about how wonderful he is, so you can take your platitudes and piss off.”

Clarice’s gaze turned icy. “Look, I really don’t want to have to do this the hard way. But if that’s what it takes, then I’m willing to do it.”

“Don’t try to pretend you’re anything other than a self-righteous bitch. The reality is that you’re making me do this against my will either way. So if you’re gonna be the kind of person who kidnaps people and then forces them into a marriage, just own it.”

For a moment, it seemed like Clarice might argue her point, that she might try and deny it, but the truth was sitting there between us like a steaming turd in the room wearing a top hat.

“Fine.” Clarice snapped her fingers and six male vampires moved into the bedroom. “Bring her to my chambers,” she commanded. “We’ll have to do this there.”

They advanced on me, and I tightened my grip on my concealed weapon as I opened the floodgates on my gifts. I knew my chances of fighting them off were fairly slim, but they’d made the mistake of making it clear just how much they wanted me for this marriage. They weren’t going to kill me. But I had no such rules about them.

As the first vampire reached out to grab me, I snatched his hand, yanked him forward, and raised the stake. It slammed into his heart, and Clarice screamed in shock and horror as he fell to dust.

“Damian!” she called as if there might be a chance of him coming back from death for a second time.

I threw myself backwards as the other vampires leapt at me. I tumbled over, coming up in a crouch on the far side of the bed with the stake held ready.

I gritted my teeth as power flooded through my muscles and the vampires raced towards me as one.

The first to get close caught a kick to the chest and was thrown across the bed to crash down on the floor. I swung my stake at the second, slicing it across his abdomen so that scarlet blood flew, splattering over my white robe as he fell back.

I ducked beneath a set of grasping arms and tried to roll across the bed to gain more space, but a hand clamped down on my ankle, violently yanking me backwards.

I flipped over and kicked the vampire who’d caught me squarely in the face. My heel smashed against his teeth, and I let out a scream as his fangs pierced the skin and venom poured into the wound. Burning pain flared through my foot and my concentration wavered as I swung the stake again.

One of the vampires struck my arm and the stake went clattering to the floor.

I tried to punch and kick my way free, but they leapt on me, pinning my limbs in place and finally tying my wrists behind my back.

One of them picked me up and swung me over his shoulder before I could do more than call him a bloodsucking dickhead.

He raced out of the room at inhuman speed, turning left and right down lavish corridors before finally arriving at an ornate wooden door with a huge golden knocker hanging from it. I tried to fight against his hold on me but there was nothing I could do to free myself. I’d failed again and the knowledge left a weight hanging in my chest.

Clarice appeared beside us in a blur of motion and opened the door, indicating for the male vampire to bring me inside.

I was flipped right way up again and deposited on a soft cream sofa in the middle of a room which was so large it could have housed forty people.

White furniture stood around the edges of the space, each piece decorated with paintings of golden flowers. Everything else was very pink. The walls were a dusty rose colour, and every flat surface was filled with cushions and blankets in colours ranging from fuchsia to baby pink. The four-poster bed was absolutely enormous, and I was sure it could have slept ten comfortably.

“No wonder they call you the Golden Whore,” I said. “How many of the men you’ve seduced with your ungodly face do you lure to that bed at a time?”

The male who’d carried me here slapped me so hard that my head snapped to the side and my ear started ringing. The mixture of pain and humiliation made my eyes burn, but I couldn’t let these monsters see me fall apart. I’d never let them know how close I felt to my breaking point.

Clarice surveyed me through tear-filled eyes as she stood over me. “Damian was a part of my harem for two hundred and seventy years,” she exclaimed, and I almost could have bought into her crocodile tears if I didn’t know she was a heartless bloodsucker responsible for the death of countless humans in the millennia she’d spent stalking the earth.

“Who?” I asked with a frown as I fought to keep my composure.

“The vampire you just killed!” she exclaimed, choking on the words.

“Well, it sounds like he got two hundred years longer than he should have,” I replied coldly.

Clarice bit her bottom lip, and I eyed her fangs warily as her hands curled into fists, her composure cracking.

“You really think we’re all nothing but monsters?” she asked in a voice so low it was nearly a whisper. “You feel no remorse at all for killing him?”

I almost laughed at the question. Why the fuck would she expect me to care about killing a bloodsucker? But the look in her eyes told me she really couldn’t understand it. I scowled at her, infuriated by the idea that she couldn’t see what she was, what they all were.

“Imagine you’d been born into a prison where there was never enough food and you had to watch your family suffer every day. In the winter, you had to worry about freezing to death despite the fact that there were warm clothes and blankets laying unused on the other side of the electric fence you’re not allowed to cross. And you have to endure all of that and more just so your blood can sustain the unending lives of a bunch of parasites who should have died a thousand lifetimes ago. You cling to life long after your time has come and gone, living off of us like a bunch of fleas, and then you expect me to feel bad about killing one of you? When have you ever felt bad about killing one of us?” I spat.

“Don’t you understand? The Realms were created so that we wouldn’t kill humans anymore. We don’t feed from you directly so that we don’t risk losing control. It’s to protect you-”

“We only need protecting because you exist. You’re forgetting that you need humans to survive but we don’t need you,” I growled.

Clarice nodded as if she accepted what I was saying, or could at least see that I wasn’t about to have a sudden change of heart, but if she really did understand any of it, then she wouldn’t treat us the way she did. We were nothing but food to them, and they were nothing but monsters to me.

“There are things you don’t understand, Callie. It’s not as though we can just stop being what we are; my brothers and I were cursed a long time ago. And believe it or not, we don’t want to be this way. But the only way to change it is to break the curse.” Her eyes roamed over me like there was more to that declaration, but she said no more about it.

“What does that have to do with me?” I asked.

My foot was still burning painfully from the venom, but I gritted my teeth against it, refusing to complain about it to her.

“Possibly everything. The prophecy speaks of twins; we believe you and Montana could be a part of the answer we seek.”

“So, this prophecy says I have to marry some asshole with pigtails and because I’m a twin, you think everything will just go poof and your curse will end?” I sneered.

“Not exactly...” Clarice looked away awkwardly.

“Oh right, I forgot the part where you want him to impregnate me with his twisted demon spawn.”

Her eyes widened and she moved towards me, shaking her head as she dropped down to sit beside me on the couch.

“No, no, the children aren’t twisted,” she said, and she reached out as if she might touch me, but the look I gave her made her drop her hand before it made contact. “I promise, when you have your babies, you will love them unlike anything else in this world...”

“What aren’t you saying?” I asked, sensing she was holding something back and ignoring the implication that I would be going through with some forced pregnancy.

“You’re strong. The strongest we’ve ever had in fact. We’ve never had anyone who has actually taken their vow,” she said reassuringly. “It won’t matter for you.”

“What won’t?” I frowned, refusing to let the subject drop.

“Well, it’s just that…not all of the wives have survived the births,” she said gently.

I barked a laugh, but it held no humour. “Of course they haven’t. And why would you care about that anyway? We’re only humans, just things for you to use one way or another. So long as you get what you want from us.”

“We do care,” she protested. “It’s why we turn you as soon as it’s over. A vampire can heal. Those who are strong enough to hold on while the change takes place live a wonderful life here-”

“Oh yeah, it sounds great. You rip us away from our families, rape and murder us all before bringing us back from the dead and saying you care.” I kept up my aggressive tone, but my heart was racing. This was the fate they had in store for Montana. This was what I’d come so far to stop, and yet I’d ended up in the same fucking net as her. There had to be a way out of this for both of us. The wedding was today. Tonight, they’d expect to consummate it and seal our fates. There was no way I’d let that happen.

“No one is raping anyone. If you don’t want to take part in a natural conception, then we can use insemination-”

“Fuck you and your supposedly reasonable bullshit,” I spat, because it was clear she didn’t give a shit no matter what she said. She planned to use me and my sister for this regardless of our opinions on it, and nothing I said would sway her from it.

“I can see we aren’t getting anywhere with this,” Clarice said coolly. “So I may as well spell it out for you. You are getting married today. And one way or another, I will get you in that dress and have your hair and makeup styled to perfection. If it comes to it, I will shackle and gag you, then drag you down the aisle myself. Or you can be a good little girl and do as you’re told. Either way, this is happening because it could end the curse. Then we’ll all be free. Surely you want that too? So what’s it to be?”

I glared at her as I turned over everything she’d said. It didn’t seem like I had much chance of getting out of this while I was still cooped up in this place. If they shackled me, then it would only make escaping more difficult. I needed to be free to run. And I’d damn well need to run before this day was up. There was no way I was marrying a Belvedere. And I wouldn’t let that fate fall on my sister either.

“When is Montana getting married?” I asked, knowing I had to get her out of this place. If her wedding was due to go ahead before mine, then I had to make some bargain to change it.

“It’s a joint ceremony,” Clarice replied. “You’ll see her at the altar.”

My mind spun with that knowledge. We’d be together, waiting for the brothers to arrive and claim us. But there were things Clarice didn’t know about the wedding. Like the poisoned blood which would be served to their guests. It might just cause enough of a distraction for me to get Monty away from them once and for all.

“Fine,” I replied bitterly, making sure I didn’t show any of the excitement that was building in my chest. “I’ll wear the stupid dress.”

She beamed and took my elbow as she guided me through her room towards the ensuite at the far end. I left a bloody footprint every time I stepped on my right foot, and Clarice jerked me to a halt as she noticed.

“What happened to your foot?” she asked.

“I kicked one of your friends in the mouth.”

“Which one?”

“I don’t know, you all look the same to me,” I replied dismissively.

She glared back at the five male vampires and one of them raised his hand sheepishly. “Craig? Did you taste her blood?”

“It was an accident, master, I swear it wasn’t intentional-”

“Don’t you know the punishment for biting a courtier?” She stared at him incredulously and he hung his head in shame. “Get out of my sight! All of you - just go!”

They fled the room, and I was left alone with her. Somehow that didn’t make me feel any safer.

“I can’t apologise enough. The water will clear the venom from your system, and you’ll feel much better,” she said, patting my arm.

I pulled away from her, not wanting her false apology or anything else from her at all. We continued into the ensuite, and I eyed the lavish decoration uneasily.

A huge rolltop bath with clawed feet sat in the centre of the pale pink room, and Clarice moved around me to set the water running. I watched as she poured a pink liquid into the water and bubbles began to foam on its surface.

“We’ll have you fit for a prince in no time,” she promised as she removed the rope which bound my arms at my back. “In you get.”

I rubbed at the chafed skin on my wrists and hesitated a beat before dropping the robe and revealing my body. Clarice gave me an encouraging smile and I had to fight the urge to roll my eyes as I climbed into the water. My foot instantly began to feel better as the venom was washed away at least.

“Do you want to explain why you’re even bothering with this marriage bullshit?” I asked as I sank into the bath and fought the urge to moan in pleasure. I’d never felt anything as good as the hot water which lapped around my skin. “You can force what you want without dressing it up in matrimony, so why fake it?”

Clarice frowned like she didn’t much like my tone, but I didn’t much like anything about any of the motherfuckers here and I wasn’t going to apologise for it.

“If you’re going to bear the children of a prince, then it’s right that you should be honoured as his wife. The point is to show you respect and offer you a position of power within our court in thanks for what you are offering us in return.”

“I’m not offering shit,” I hissed.

Clarice cleared her throat, looking more than a little uncomfortable as she tried again.

“I know you haven’t had the proper time to adjust to this choice. But I promise your husband will make the fertilization very pleasurable if you choose to accept him as your husband physically as well as in name…”

I frowned at that weird ass choice of wording, then cringed as I realised she’d meant me fucking Fabian so that he could stick his demon baby inside of me. The memory of his body pressing me down on the bed sent a shudder through me. I would never give myself to him like that.

“There’s no fucking way that’s happening,” I commented.

“You know, swearing isn’t particularly becoming for a wife of a prince-”

I glared at her, and she shrugged one shoulder as she let it drop.

“If you are certain you don’t want to proceed physically with your new husband, then you can choose insemin-”

I ducked below the surface of the water and scrubbed at my hair, wanting to get the feel of vampires off of my body and the sound of her words out of my fucking head. It was so peaceful beneath the surface that I was tempted to stay there with nothing for company but my own thoughts, where I could pretend I was all alone in the world and not surrounded by parasites.

But unlike my undead fiancé, I had to breathe, and as my lungs began to burn, I pushed myself upright.

I pulled down a deep breath as I surfaced and swept my hair back off of my face.

Clarice reached out and started rubbing something into my hair, but I jerked away from her.

“What the fuck are you doing? I’m not a doll,” I said as I snatched the bottle of shampoo from her and did it myself.

I wondered why the hell she was the one watching me anyway. She was one of the most powerful people in the country; didn’t she have better things to do than babysit me? I could only imagine that she really thought I was important. Perhaps she truly believed I could play some part in ending their curse. But if that was the case, then why not just ask for my help? Either way, I wasn’t going to be fucking any vampires, and I sure as shit wouldn’t be allowing them to inseminate me either.

The moment I was clean, I stood up and exited the water. Clarice handed me a towel and I dried myself quickly, refusing to enjoy the sensation of the fluffy material against my skin. In the Realm the towels were rough and scratchy, but of course the vampires kept the best for themselves.

I tossed the towel at her feet when I was done, refusing to be intimidated by the fact that they’d taken my clothes from me.

Clarice approached me with a thick robe which fell past my knees when I shrugged it on. I guessed the ridiculously skimpy one I’d woken up in hadn’t been her idea. Besides, it was covered in blood now, so I supposed wearing it again would have undone the work of the bath.

“What now?” I asked.

“Now I’m going to transform you into a princess.” She beamed at me, and I scowled in return.

She led me back out into her room and directed me to sit on a stool before a huge dressing table. A mirror in an ornate gilded frame sat above it and I looked at myself for a moment, taking in the hardness in my expression, the grief colouring my eyes and the tightness of my jaw before turning away.

There was a knock at the door and Clarice moved away from me to open it. Three vampires filed into the room, and my gut prickled uncomfortably as I was surrounded by my enemies once more.

The male vampire reached out and lifted a lock of my long hair into his grasp. I flinched away from him, smacking his hand so he released it again and he frowned at Clarice in confusion.

“It’s alright, Callie. These are my personal stylists; they’re here to do our hair and makeup.”

“What do you mean do my hair?” I asked with a frown as the vampire reached for me again.

“I’m Jacob,” he said slowly, like he thought I might have trouble understanding plain English. “And I’ll have this fixed before you know it.”

“I was wondering, what you think of a bob?” Clarice said to him. “She has such strong cheekbones; I think she could really pull it off-”

“Who’s Bob?” I asked, interrupting them. I wasn’t going to sit by and let them talk about me as if I wasn’t there. Bob could be some lost remnant in the afterlife for all I knew.

“It’s a hairstyle,” Clarice explained patiently. “It’s quite short, but I think you could really-”

“You’re not cutting my hair,” I snarled, shoving to my feet, and pressing my back to the dressing table.

“Oh, but I really think you could pull it off, and there’s nothing like a makeover to help you feel like a new woman.” Clarice pouted, and I got the impression she was about to force this decision on me.

“No!” I snapped. My heart pounded in panic at the thought of them taking something so personal from me. It was bad enough that they were making me do everything they commanded, but cutting my hair would feel like losing the last thing which bound me to my missing family. “My hair is the only thing I have to remind me of my mother. I can’t remember anything else about the way she looked. You’re not taking it from me. And if you’re stupid enough to bring a pair of scissors close to me, then I’ll use them to kill every fucking one of you.”

One of the female stylists gasped, covering her mouth in horror.

“What happened to your mother?” Clarice asked gently, and I bristled at the false pity in her tone.

“She got sick, so your people came and took her to the blood bank. You didn’t even let her die with her family around her.”

There was a ringing silence as the vampires looked between each other uncomfortably. I could see they didn’t like to be faced with the reality of how their food was reared, and a dark hatred washed through my veins. How easy it must have been to convince themselves they weren’t monsters when they could simply look away from the cost of their meals. Blood simply turned up in bottles for them, so why worry about the source of it? If suffering was caused along the way, they could just claim ignorance while filling their bellies.

Clarice reached towards me in some pretence of a comforting gesture, and I glared at her with enough intensity to set her alight.

“I’m so sorry.” She released a sigh filled with regret, and my anger hardened to stone in my gut. “It shouldn’t have been that way.”

“Some bullshit apology won’t bring her back. I guess you’re sorry about murdering my father, too? And about kidnapping my sister? Just not quite sorry enough to stop your brothers from raping us,” I spat.

Inside, my heart was breaking with grief as I laid out everything the vampires had done to my family, but I refused to let it show. If I allowed even a sliver of my anger to thaw, then I’d descend into a sobbing wreck. And I couldn’t do that. Montana needed me. I had to be strong for her.

Clarice seemed like she wanted to say something else but perhaps she realised how pointless it would have been. Instead, she shook her head in defeat and glanced at Jacob. “We don’t have to cut her hair. I’m sure we can do something exquisite with it as it is.”

I looked between the two of them, searching for a lie, but it seemed like I’d actually won this battle, so I moved back to the stool and sat down.

One of the female vampires scurried away and returned with another stool for Clarice. We sat side by side in silence as the stylists got to work.

Jacob dried my hair with a strange machine which blew hot air at me, and I had to fight hard to sit still throughout the process. As much as I wanted to argue against this pampering bullshit, it wasn’t doing me any harm, and I needed to make sure I wasn’t bound in chains for the wedding. They had to believe I was giving up. If the price of that was being poked and prodded for a few hours, then I could tolerate it.

“I’ve had an idea, master,” Jacob said as he switched off the machine and ran his fingers through my dry hair.

“Oh?” Clarice asked.

“What if we embraced her nature rather than trying to hide it? The marks on her skin won’t be easily covered anyway, and it could be very symbolic. We could tell the world that you have a true slayer within your power. I can style her hair in a way inspired by her warrior heritage. Her makeup too.” Jacob gazed at Clarice with a weird amount of trepidation as she considered the idea. He seemed way too keen to please her for it to be natural.

“What do you think, Callie?” she asked. “Shall we make you look like a warrior queen?”

I raised an eyebrow at her, surprised she was asking my opinion at all. “Better that than a vampire whore I suppose.”

Clarice laughed as if I’d been joking, and Jacob got to work. He twisted the hair on the left side of my head into intricate braids and I was suddenly reminded of the way Magnar’s mother had worn her hair in his dream.

Jacob left the rest of my hair free but styled it into loose curls which tumbled down my back to the base of my spine.

When he was done, one of the females moved in front of me and began painting my face. I had to grit my teeth to force myself to endure her cold touch on my skin, and I released a relieved breath when she finally stepped away.

I stared at the girl who looked back at me from the mirror in fascination. It was still me, but I looked...fierce. My lips had been painted a dark red and they appeared even fuller than usual. She’d outlined my eyes in deep black shadows and painted something on my lashes which made them seem longer. My cheekbones were more pronounced too and she’d deepened the warm colour of my skin, emphasising just how mortal I was in comparison to the undead who surrounded me.

“You look captivating,” Clarice said almost smugly.

I noticed her hair and makeup had been finished as well, and I had to wonder why she’d bothered. Her face was beyond alluring without her needing to add to it. If anything, the touch of makeup dampened her beauty a little.

“Am I finished?” I asked, turning away from the mirror dismissively.

I didn’t want her to know how much I liked what they’d done to me. I looked like a warrior. I just hoped I’d get the chance to prove that I was one.

“Just the dress. I’ve had several sent over for you to choose from.” She ushered me to my feet and led me across the room into a huge walk-in closet.

There were six white dresses hanging in a line along the far wall. I eyed the swathes of chiffon, silk, and lace with my arms folded, but my gaze caught on the one at the far right of the room. It was simpler than the others; thin straps held a tight bodice of intricate lace which spilled to the floor and gathered into a long train.

“Do any of them stand out?” Clarice asked. “Is one of them the one?”

“Why would I care what my wedding dress looks like when I have absolutely no desire to marry the groom?” I deadpanned.

Clarice sighed like she found my continued objections tiring and crossed the room to grab the dress I’d been eyeing.

She laid it over a chaise lounge and passed me a box tied with a cream ribbon. I ripped it open and pulled out a handful of sheer lace. It took me a moment to realise it was underwear, and I tossed it back in the box before dropping it on the floor.

“No way,” I snapped.

Clarice’s gaze hardened and she shot towards me, spinning me around and shoving me down onto the chaise lounge. My heart leapt with surprise, and I reached for my gifts to defend myself as she loomed over me.

“I’m not going to keep arguing with you on this. Do you think I make a habit of dressing people?” she hissed. “I’m trying to help you adjust to what’s going on here but let me make myself clear: you are going to wear this outfit. If I have to force it onto you, I will do it.”

I longed to punch her too-beautiful face, but I ground my teeth as I drove the violent urges away from me. She was right. I didn’t have a choice, and I had to play along to make sure they didn’t shackle me. Wearing a dress and some stupid underwear didn’t mean anything. I still wouldn’t be marrying a bloodsucker.

“Fine,” I gave in, and she withdrew from my personal space.

I threw the robe off and pulled on the white underwear. It took me several minutes to figure out how to fix the suspenders in place, but I refused to ask Clarice for help, ignoring the way she watched me like a fly eyeing shit the entire time.

Finally, I stepped into the dress, and she fastened it for me before I could utter a word in protest, her unnatural speed making quick work of the buttons at my back. It fit like it had been made for me, clinging to my curves and hugging my body before sweeping out into a train which pooled around my feet.

“Why does this fit me so well?” I asked suspiciously.

“Well.” She coughed awkwardly. “We measured you while you were sleeping.”

“When I was unconscious because you drugged and kidnapped me,” I corrected.

She made a non-committal noise and handed me a pair of shoes. They were white, inlaid with lace which matched the dress, and had stiletto heels that were about three inches tall. I opened my mouth to protest, wondering if I stood a chance of walking in them, but I stopped myself. Those heels could easily be transformed into a weapon if I needed one, so I’d figure the fuckers out.

I slid the shoes onto my feet and was pleased to find that after a few strides, my enhanced muscles adapted to them, allowing me to balance and hold myself upright without looking like a fool. I was soon striding across the room, confident in my steps as I went, two new weapons attached to my feet.

Another knock came at the door and Clarice shot away from me. She returned holding a small black box and held it out to me with a smile.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“A gift from Fabian. I told you he wasn’t all bad.”

I rolled my eyes as I took it and flipped the lid open. A small card sat on top of a little black bag. The card was covered with swirling blue writing, and I lifted it out, shoving it towards Clarice.

“I can’t read that.”

“You can’t read?” she balked.

“Maybe you should put schools in the Realms if you expect me to be educated. But that wouldn’t really tie in with keeping us ignorant, would it? The dumber the humans are, the easier it is to control us, right?”

“I thought you did have schools in your Realm...”

I gave her a flat look. If that was true, then it didn’t make it any better. It just meant that she cared so little about the way her food was raised that she’d never even bothered to look into it.

She cast her eyes down to the card and read it aloud for me. “To my beautiful bride, I hope you will receive this with joy and that it helps to convince you of my intentions. I promise that after tonight, when I take you to my bed and show you exactly how well I can...err, the rest of it really doesn’t matter,” she said clearing her throat. “Why don’t you see what the gift is?”

I opened the little bag and tipped the contents into my hand with little enthusiasm. But I couldn’t help the gasp that fell from my lips as I spotted my mother’s wedding ring hanging from my father’s chain. I lifted it up and noticed an addition to the necklace; hanging beside the ring was a diamond the size of a grape. I quickly unclasped the chain and pulled the diamond off of it, tossing it back into the box with disgust.

“Do you have any idea how valuable that is?” Clarice asked in surprise.

“It’s not valuable to me at all. It’s a shiny rock; I can’t use it for anything, and I don’t want it hanging beside my mother’s ring.” I fastened the necklace around my neck and released a breath as its weight fell against my skin. Something about the ring just felt calming to me, and my smile widened as I wrapped my fingers around it, relieved to be reunited with this one remaining relic from my past.

Clarice shot away from me, then sped back again, holding out a delicate silver bracelet. She threaded the diamond onto it and placed it on my wrist. “He’ll be offended if you don’t wear it.”

I considered telling her that I didn’t give a shit about offending Fabian Belvedere, but it wasn’t worth it. My complaints were falling on deaf ears anyway, and if she hadn’t gotten the hint about what I thought of her and her family, then there wasn’t much point in bringing it up again.

“So what now?” I asked.

“Now, you get married.” Clarice smiled and grabbed my arm, threading it through hers as she led me out of the room. I followed her willingly. I was more than ready to leave this place and head towards my sister.

I had no idea how Montana and I were going to get out of this mess, but I was sure that we’d find a way once we were together again. I just had to make sure I didn’t end up married first.