A month had past of bitter chill had turned the castle into my prison. Each day melted into the next, an endless loop of stone walls and echoing corridors. I’d mapped every crack in the ceiling, every worn flagstone in the floors – anything to distract myself from the fact that I was betrothed to a vampire prince.
Today, at least, I had Naomi beside me. She’d become my partner in crime during these indoor adventures, her presence making the endless exploration somewhat tolerable. We’d found ourselves in an unfamiliar wing, standing before a door so thick it seemed built to contain secrets rather than space.
“Probably blocking their victims from getting out,” Naomi whispered, her eyes dancing with mischief.
“Or worse – the Valmorin,” I muttered, though the word sent a chill down my spine.
Naomi turned to me with those pleading eyes I knew too well. “Of all the secret doors we’ve found, can we finally peek inside one of them?”
“Not a good idea. If we’re caught, the queen will probably air us out. I do not feel like facing her today.” But even as I spoke, curiosity gnawed at my resolve.
“There’s nobody around,” Naomi pressed. “No one will know. C’mon, let’s see what secrets they’re hiding.”
I hesitated, weighing my options. “Fine. But in and out.”
The door fought us every inch, its ancient hinges groaning in protest as Naomi tugged. When it finally gave way, darkness yawned before us – a staircase descending into what looked like the castle’s throat.
“It looks like a cellar,” I said, trying to mask my unease. “Now let’s get out of here.” I pulled at Naomi’s gown, but she stood transfixed.
“I’m going down. Please don’t make me do it alone.”
After giving it a few moments of hesitation, I finally caved. “Bah—Fine!”
We crept down the narrow stairs, the darkness pressing against us like a living thing. At the bottom, a path of mixed dirt and gravel led to an eerie, red door that seemed to pulse in the dim light.
“You know what,” Naomi’s voice quivered, “I change my mind.” She tried to retreat, but I held her back.
“We’re already down here.” I took the lead, though every step felt like tempting fate. At the door, I pressed my ear against it, listening. “I don’t hear anyone. Let’s go inside, find what we need and leave!”
The door scraped open under my touch, revealing a unlit cellar that made my blood run cold. A vast pool of dark liquid dominated the space, surrounded by four doorless rooms that gaped like hungry mouths. My feet moved of their own accord, drawn to the mysterious pool. Before I could stop myself, I’d dipped a finger into the dense liquid.
“Why would you touch it?” Naomi hissed.
Horror crawled up my spine as realization hit. “I think it’s blood.” I wiped my finger frantically against my gown, my stomach churning. “But from where?”
The thunder of approaching footsteps answered my question. My heart stopped, then exploded into panic. “We must hide!” I grabbed Naomi’s hand and yanked her into the nearest room, pressing us both into the shadows.
From our hiding place, I watched as wounded vampires stumbled in, supported by their comrades. Then a voice I knew all too well – Nel’s voice – echoed through the chamber. “Call in the duneers,” he commanded, his face emerging from the entrance with two of his men in tow.
“Do you require feeding?” one of his men asked.
“Cassius, do I look wounded to you?”
“Did you forget that your leg was mauled?”
“I am fine. I’ll probably soak for an hour, but I am more concerned for the wounded. Call in the duneers!”
Minutes later, four naked women entered the cellar. The wounded vampires were led to separate doorless rooms, and what followed made my heart plunge forward. An erotic choir of moans carried through the air. I crept toward our doorway, leaving Naomi behind, and peered out. In the rooms across from us, the wounded vampires fed from the necks, arms, and legs of the duneers. What shocked me most was how each woman pressed their faces closer, encouraging them. Like they’re enjoying it. What the hell? My face scrunched up like I’d eaten a sour lemon and I backed away. The prince did say it brought pleasure. How gross.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Just as I went to reconnect with Naomi, someone approached our hiding place, standing at the doorway with their back toward us.
“We have to get out of here,” Naomi whispered. “Or we’re next.”
“Hopefully no one comes in here. We’ll leave as soon as the coast is clear.”
“And when will that be?”
“I—uh I’m not sure. Just stay quiet.”
The noise in the opposing rooms peaked to an overbearing volume. After what felt like hours but was probably only ten minutes, the erotic wails ended. Nel’s voice cut through the silence.
“Get them to the infirmary for recovery. And everyone else leave. I am going to soak for a moment.”
Once everyone left, I peered out to see if we could escape, but Nel stood at the edge of the pool. When he began undressing, heat rushed to my cheeks. His perfectly chiseled body emerged, and despite myself, my eyes traced every line of him. The wound his soldier mentioned was clearly visible, angry and open on his leg.
He limped into the blood pit, submerging himself to the waist. A woman emerged from a hidden door, approaching the pit as naked as he was.
“I am not in the mood to feed,” he dismissed her.
“You are injured. Let me help you.” She entered the pit, pressing her back against him. “Feed from my neck and all will be well.”
The sight of Nel sinking his fangs into her neck, her moans of pleasure, stirred something in me I didn’t want to acknowledge. Anger warred inside me until I couldn’t take it anymore.
“That’s enough!” I stormed out of hiding.
Nel released his prey, casting a bloody smile in my direction as the duneer fled in shame.
“Princess, what do I owe the honor?”
“What the hell are you doing?” I demanded, ignoring his question.
“Remember that discussion we had about why we feed?” His eyes narrowed as he wiped blood from his lips. “Why are you down here?”
“We got lost. And when we heard footsteps coming, we hid.”
“We?”
Naomi emerged beside me with a timid wave.
“I’d like to talk to my fiancée alone, if that is alright with you.”
After Naomi fled, Nel climbed from the pool with deliberate slowness, as if my presence was merely an inconvenience to his evening. He wrapped a towel around himself, blood trailing down his rib-cage. I forced my eyes to stay on his face, hating how difficult that simple act proved to be.
“Why are you down here?” His voice carried that aristocratic edge that never failed to bristle my nerves.
“I told you. We were roaming the castle and got lost.”
A low chuckle escaped him, the sound both elegant and mocking. “Lost?” He moved closer, each step measured. “You possess many qualities, Princess, but subtlety isn’t one of them.”
“And you possess many qualities, Prince, but charm certainly isn’t one of yours.” The words flew out before I could stop them.
Something dangerous flickered in his eyes – amusement mixed with something darker. “Yet here you are, seeking me out in the dead of night. One might think you’re doing it on purpose.”
“Seeking you—? Don’t flatter yourself.” But my voice wavered traitorously as he drew nearer.
“Then enlighten me, dear fiancée.” The way he said ‘fiancée’ made it sound like both an endearment and an insult. “What compels you to constantly push against every boundary set before you? Is it mere rebellion, or…” He paused, his eyes holding mine with an intensity that made my breath catch, “…something else?”
“You’re just mad that I found out about your disgusting nature.” I lifted my chin, refusing to back down despite how his proximity made my skin prickle with awareness. “What is that stuff you were soaking in?”
“It’s not human blood.” His voice dropped lower, almost intimate. “And there is nothing disgusting about how I live to survive. You will stop with your insults.”
“Or what?” I felt driven to get under his skin.
His fist slammed into the wall beside my head, cracking the stone. But it was the controlled power behind it that made me shiver – he could have easily shattered the wall completely. He knew it. I knew it. Instead of retreating, I squared my shoulders, meeting his gaze with defiance.
Something shifted in his expression then, a flicker of intrigue beneath his usual mask of indifference. He moved closer, not touching me but near enough that I could feel the cold radiating from his skin. His bloody finger lifted my chin, and I saw his pupils dilate as they bore into mine. The air between us grew thick with unspoken challenges.
“You enjoy this, don’t you?” His voice was barely above a whisper. “Provoking me. Testing limits. Tell me, Princess, what do you hope to achieve?”
“I’m not trying to achieve anything,” I managed to say, though my voice sounded foreign to my own ears. The energy between us had shifted into something dangerous, something that made my heart race for reasons I refused to examine.
A knowing smirk played at the corner of his mouth. “No? Then why is your heart beating so fast?” He leaned closer, his breath cool against my ear. “Fear… or something else?”
I wanted to push him away. I wanted to run. I wanted… I didn’t know what I wanted. His proximity was doing something to my mind, making it difficult to remember why I was angry in the first place.
He stroked my cheek with that same bloody finger, and a traitorous sigh escaped my lips. Then, just as suddenly as he’d approached, he pulled away. The abrupt loss of his presence left me feeling strangely bereft.
“You really shouldn’t be down here,” he said, his back to me. But there was a tension in his shoulders that hadn’t been there before, a rigid control that suggested he wasn’t as unaffected as he pretended to be.
I remained against the wall, my legs unwilling to support my weight just yet, watching as he walked away. Neither of us acknowledged what had just passed between us – that crackling energy that was neither hatred nor desire, but something far more dangerous than either.
It wasn’t until he disappeared from view that I finally let out the breath I’d been holding, my fingers touching the spot on my cheek where his hand had been.