Chapter 9


    I gripped the cellphone on the dresser and hurriedly punched in my mother''s number. Hot tears


    streamed down my face and I felt the sudden urge to scream out loud. I heard the line ring on the other


    end before my mother''s soft and familiar voice spoke," Hello."


    I couldn''t speak. I didn''t know what to say. I was never good at lying to begin with but this...this was


    impossible.


    "Hello? Is anybody there?" My mom was still on the other end. It almost hurt to hear her voice again.


    I felt my body shake with silent sobbing and brought the phone down from my face.


    "Hello, Holly?" I heard my mom''s voice a mere whisper now and hung up the phone.


    I fell to the ground and brought my knees down to my chest, and for the first time since I had gotten


    here, I let myself sob. I didn''t care that my puddles of tears soaked my shirt and I cried and cried about


    all the horrible things that life has handed me recently. Minutes or maybe hours passed but I had lost


    track of time and my tears were running dry.


    The door rumbled and in walked a maid cing a tray of food on the dresser, not once acknowledging


    my presence before exiting the room.


    I decided to see if my legs still worked and to my relief; they did. I walked over to the tray and unveiled


    another sandwich, an apple, and a ss of water. Hardly tasting anything, I fed myself, almost


    disgusted by the mere sight of the food. I nced towards the doors.


    Wait, did she lock the door?


    I ran over to the double doors whom to my surprise were left unlocked.


    I headed through a dark hallway that led to a set of stairs. Desperately, I searched for an exit or an


    escape. I went down the stairs and heard faint voices. I tiptoed some more and realized it was Damon''s


    voice.


    "Father gave me a new punishment, therefore I must leave," he said almost nervously. I peeked inside


    the doorway from which his voice wasing from and distinguished it as the kitchen.


    I wondered if vampires need a kitchen or were it merely the construction.


    "When do you have to leave?" asked a soft seductive voice. I stood on my toes and peeked further to


    see him standing with his back facing me, with Isabelle.


    "T-tonight I guess," Damon stuttered.


    "There has to be a way," her big eyes almost pleaded Damon," You have to talk to him again."


    I wondered where Damon was going. I had remembered that he had to keep watch of the dungeon but


    for some reason, I had thought that it would be at the castle, perhaps the basement.


    "I deserve this," said Damon weakly," I have no choice but to fix this."


    "You can ask for a lesser punishment, you can watch the dungeon some more, I''ll be there, or you can-


    "


    "I can''t challenge my father."


    Isabelle ced her hands on his chest,"You do not have any potential to be King if you cannot


    challenge your father on this."


    "Isabelle-" I watched as Damon softly and slowly took her hands into his," We can''t."


    I began to wonder if what I had seen the other day with her and Seth had been a fragment of my


    imagination. Isabelle leaned forward and nted her lips on Damon''s. At the sudden movement, I


    jumped back and stirred the curtains. They both quickly turned to my direction but I was already gone


    heading back up the stairs.


    When I heard his footsteps hot on my trail, I ran faster through the maze-like hallways, hoping he


    wouldn''t catch me. It didn''t take long before I felt Damon''s hand wrapped around my arm and pull me


    back and against the wall. I flinched at the impact and struggled to breathe at how close he had his


    face to mine.


    "What do you think you''re doing?" he hissed out loud but I wasn''t yet ready to form words. I was still


    held captive by the shock that was his eyes. Instead, I stared at him, my lips slightly parted, trying to


    pace my breathing.


    This time he spoke through gritted teeth," Answer me."


    "W-why did you save the guy?" The words surprised me more after exiting my lips and I realized my


    body had done that without mymand.


    "What?" Damon spat out the word and loosened his grip on me," What are you talking about."


    "I know," I whispered," That you saved that man, and now you''re leaving because the King has


    punished you, I just want to know why."


    Damon''s fists made an impact with the wall, millimeters away from my face and I couldn''t help but let


    out a soft whimper. I heard the shreddings from the wall hit the ground and pressed my back deeper


    into it. Seconds passed by with nothing but silence until his facial expression changed. He now stared


    at me with an evil smile and said," You''reing with me."


    "What do y-you mean?" I stuttered.


    "I-I won''t tell anybody, what I saw," I stuttered," I''ll forget that I saw you and Isabelle-"


    He seemed to have trouble controlling his anger and I shrunk down, fearing what''sing next. All of


    the sudden, Isabelle appeared at the end of the hallway and with a smirk ying at the corners of her


    lips.


    "You found it."


    "She was lost," he turned away to face her," She was just leaving."


    He turned his face to mine as if to tell me to leave. I didn''t wait another second before rushing out of


    there and back down the halls.


    I wondered what he meant bying with him.


    Where would we go? I''m sure anywhere is better than here.


    I reached the doors to my room and to my surprise, there stood Damon''s oldest brother as if waiting for


    me. For a second I wondered if I was in the right room.


    At the look of shock that crossed my face, he smirked," Come in, it is your room."


    I walked in, leaving the door slightly open behind me. Not that it mattered. If he was anything like


    Damon, I wouldn''t have time to breathe let alone run out if he tried to kill me.


    "What do you want?" I asked.


    "Shut the door," he demanded.


    "W-Why?" I asked, trying to sound calm.


    "Shut the door," he repeated," I''m not going to hurt you."


    I hesitated for a second before shutting the door behind me.


    "What do you want?" I repeated.


    He reached up to push his hair back and I tried to not focus on how handsome he was. He took a


    couple of steps closer to me until he was merely a foot away.


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    "I''m Xavier, you must be Holly."


    I merely nodded.


    "So you are the foreigner everyone''s been talking about," he said. I remained silent, wondering where


    he was going with this,


    "I have never tasted...foreign blood," his eyes bore into mines and his words gave me the chills


    instantly.


    "I don''t understand," but part of me already knew where this was headed.


    He trailed his cold fingers down my jaw before resting them on the bite on my neck," I have never


    tasted blood that doesn''te from a viger or a blood bag, but clearly someone else has," his eyes


    were almost using.


    I felt the words stuck at my throat and remained silent. He drew his face closer to mine, his fingers still


    on my skin," I have a proposition for you."


    I didn''t say anything.


    "By thew of The Underworld, a Cold One must never feed off a human who does note from a


    breed of natives."


    "What are natives?" I managed a whisper. I already knew the answer but part of me needed to confirm


    the horror that is this new reality.


    "Natives are humans that we breed to live in the vige outside the castle. They don''t know life outside


    the vige and spend their entire life serving the Cold Ones, as you can imagine, there isn''t much


    excitement in that." I swallowed trying to moisten my dry throat and asked," What do you want from


    me?"


    "As per your situation, I felt inclined to let you know that I happen to know a witch."


    My eyes widened," C-can she help me?"


    "Of course she can," his fingers went up to trace the shape of my lips leaving me breathless," but


    nothinges for free."


    "What do you want from me," I repeated.


    "Thew however, does not say anything about a foreigner giving their blood to me willingly."


    I looked at him in terror and quickly realized that between his brothers, he was the most frightening.


    "If I let you bite me, you will help."


    He nodded, his eyes fixated on my neck," Yes."


    "And if I don''t? If I wait on the King and the Queen-"


    "The witches don''t owe us any favors. For one to donate the kind of energy it would take to summon a


    spell as strong as erasing days worth of memories from a human would be close to impossible."


    "But the Queen said-"


    "My mother will say anything to be reassuring," he cut me off. I shook my head in disbelief, unable to


    process anything he was saying to me," I don''t believe you."


    "Suit yourself," he stepped away and headed for the door but not before turning around and asking,"


    have you heard of the dungeon."