12. Millie

12

MILLIE

I don't know how many days have passed, but it's the same thing over and over again.

I eventually crashed out hard after another day of being trapped in this room. I tried everything to escape. From screaming at the top of my lungs, throwing furniture at the apparent bulletproof majestic stained glass, but nothing. Not even a crack. It only resulted in hurting myself. There's a huge bruise on my ribs when the chair decided to fight back when it pounced off the glass.

There's a television in the corner of the room. I turned it on and watched reruns of one of my favorite comedy shows until I fell asleep.

That is until now.

I feel cold fingers trail my breast.

"Hayden?" I mutter, coldly mixed with grog and unease. I shift in my sleep, ready to put up another fight.

"Kallum, actually."

My eyes blow open at the unfamiliar, smooth voice. I jolt forward like I've been electrocuted. From the once comfortable side position, I end up falling to the floor with a loud crash, and my hips immediately shift movements. There's excruciating tenderness pressing my bruised ribs.

"Who the fuck are you?" I grab the same butter knife I threw at Hayden's back and hold it in front of me like a barrier.

I glance at the clock, and it's well into the night at three in the morning.

"Who did that to you? It looks fairly fresh." He points to the long scar across my breast.

I stare back at someone who looks like Hayden but has different features. I glare daggers at a sandy, dark-blonde vampire. He has glasses on, red ruby eyes, and fangs over his lips.

He's also incredibly handsome, but everything about him is softer. His voice, his body, and even his eyes seem anything but normal.

The complete opposite of Hayden.

"I'm sorry. I guess it was rude of me not to introduce myself properly." He lies back on the headboard, focusing on the TV in front of him.

"I'm Kallum Drago. Hayden's little brother. I'm sorry for waking you, but I just had to see the Valkyrie for myself, in the flesh and blood."

I'm quiet, backing away from him. Each step I take is pressed with distrust. I furrow my brows at the same word everyone calls me.

A Valkyrie.

"Stop calling me that. I am a person. I have a life. I am somebody's daughter. I have a boyfriend!" I lie, thinking about Cole.

"Boyfriend? Does Hayden know?" he huffs clearly entertained, followed by humorless laughter. "Anywho, it doesn't matter. Not anymore, Ms. Flores. You belong to the Depraved Prince, now."

" The what ? Who?"

"Hayden." He says it so easily. "To everyone here in Immortals Country, he's known as the Depraved Prince." He places his hands behind his head like it's normal to have an evil brother.

The Depraved Prince ?

"Why do they call him that?" My curiosity gets the best of me. He smiles, but it's anything but good. It's a sinful smile that holds secrets.

"Hayden has to serve his duties from time to time. Executing lawbreakers, or assassins, for example. He dismembers the guilty. Taking it upon himself to make statements. He killed an immortal by ripping his throat out for trying to get a hold of one of his human toys. He doesn't share or play well with others. That's why Father wants him to take the throne. It is his birthright, after all. I don't think I've ever seen my brother truly smile over anything gentle. He only smiles when he gets to hurt people."

I gulp.

"You're…interesting, to say the least. Every human girl who interacts with Hayden kisses his feet. But you… you fight him ."

"Why are you here, Kallum?"

I cut the small talk.

"I feel bad," he says nonchalantly. "No one should ever be alone for days with no social interaction. It's unhealthy. I can sense the stir-crazy happening in that pretty little head of yours."

He softens his tone.

"Or maybe I'm going a little crazy because everyone I meet has promised me death, and I've been kidnapped!"

"Yeah…that'll do it, I suppose," he retorts with humor present in his flickering smile.

Then it hits me, and I lower the butter knife to my side.

Kallum may be my way out. I can trick him into letting me leave. He's different than Hayden. He has remorse, while Hayden only bleeds horror.

I clear my throat, placing the butter knife on the nightstand.

I walk closer to him, and Kallum watches my every move like he's entranced.

"I should go now," Kallum says as I slip on the bed beside him.

I grab his forearm desperately. His skin is hard and like touching ice. Either way, I tighten my grip, hoping he can feel how desperate I am for his company and sympathy.

"No, please stay just until I fall back asleep. That's the least you can do for me? Hayden already told me my days are numbered. I would like just a flicker of compassion from someone ." Not a total lie. Tears accumulate in my narrowed eyes as Kallum stares at me. He contemplates my request, his red eyes changing from bright red to brown as he fights with himself.

"Hayden just might kill me for this. I shouldn't be here, never mind talk to you."

"I won't tell him," I promise.

"You won't have to. He'll already know."

Kallum sits back into the bed and holds a book in his hands.

"Try to get some rest, now. I'm going to finish the last chapters of this book. So get to sleep, Ms. Flores."

We lay silently for a few awkward moments as I watch a horror movie play across the screen. This might be crazy. This isn't like me to do this, but if I'm going to have a chance at escaping. I have to do it now.

"Is my family okay?" I've got to ease into my plan.

He ignores me and continues to read.

"Are they looking for me?"

Again, ignored.

I try a different approach.

"It was a Southern Vampire that did it. That's what you call them, right?"

Kallum quirks a brow. "Did what?"

I've got his attention now.

"The scar on my chest. The one that you were touching."

"Ahh. That makes sense. The same one who broke your wrist?" He pushes, and a flash of compassion floods him. He turns a page and eyes my chest.

I nod.

"Hayden ripped him apart for it. He did it brutally, too. That's why there's a meeting right now," Kallum explains like he's proud.

"Is that where he is?" I pry.

He nods.

I turn over so I'm facing him.

"I think you're lying to me, Kallum."

My accusation rocks him harder than I thought.

"What do you mean? I don't lie. I never lie," he concedes like I've insulted him. His tone and body transit into stone like he's appalled.

Biting my lip, I mask my unease with a seductive expression.

I loosen the oversized silk shirt so that it falls over my shoulder, exposing more skin. I always sleep without a bra, so my nipples are hard and poking through the fabric. Kallum's eyes dilate, and he freezes.

"You crawled into my bed at three in the morning." I let my shirt fall down more until it exposes my scar. Seconds later, a portion of my nipple is exposed.

"You touched my scar, and I felt how hard you were when you did. I felt the shape and neediness on my hip when I woke up."

His throat rolls as he grinds his teeth. He takes off his glasses and sets them beside him on the bed.

"Do you want to taste me?" I'm poking a vampire. Tempting and taunting him. I need to do this in order to survive. I'm using my rare blood to my advantage. I must.

"I consent to it. I won't fight you. Grant me a quick death, please. I'm sure whatever Hayden has planned for me isn't good."

He shakes his head.

"I don't want to taste you," he tells me in an unemotional tone that hardens. His body reveals the real truth, unlike his words. His teeth sharpen across his lip, and his eyes change once again.

He's not lying, but he's withholding part of his truth.

"But you want to have sex with me?" I ask with an unrecognized tone of mine, widening my eyes innocently.

God , don't judge me.

There's an eerie silence between us, and my heart thunders against my chest. I pray and hope he'll take the bait. Am I convincing him enough despite my tired eyes and muscles tensing up?

I decide to give it my all and go full send to hell with this newly adopted persona of mine.

My full breast escapes the rich fabric, cold air meeting my raw skin. I have full round breasts that plop out, and Kallum stares blindly from the consequences, and I stare back with pure, naive wide eyes. It's like he's on fire with how he starts to shake.

He drops his book, places it on the nightstand, and raises his hand too slowly. His big, veiny hand encases my breast, and I moan.

He's buying it. My gaze lowers to his very hard erection that's strained underneath his sweatpants, begging to release. Begging to feel me .

He trails his cold finger in between my breasts, giving me the green light just as his judgment falters, and I take full advantage. I might have just committed a suicide mission, but I'm still going to follow through.

I gouge him in the eye with the same butterknife I placed on the nightstand. It pierces through his organ, and he lets me go. I jump up just as he snarls an inhumane-like sound. A cold sweat breaks out against my forehead. It's a creaturelike wail that's so deep and agonizingly loud that my ears sting from the volume. A demonic-like roar of painful fury fills the entire room. It howls and echoes amongst the stained glass and vintage-like walls. I leave Kallum to attend to his injury, clutching at his eye as obsidian black runs down his face. He trembles and shakes from the pain as he collapses into himself, banging his back against the headboard. Immediate guilt simmers in every vein, but I will not apologize to my captors.

I take off from the bed and head toward the door without an apology. I want to, but I shouldn't. I need to focus on getting out of here.

I sprint like my life depends on it. My feet hit the floor, and I get to the enormous wooden door I've been staring at for days in seconds. My breaths are shallow and fast, my lungs burning with anticipation. My freedom awaits—my family… my old life .

I swing open the door and take in the unexplored territory.