“Be a good girl and I might be able to convince my father to let you out of here.”
I grip the bars right beside his hands, “Why am I here?” I search his eyes, but all I see is the same man who pulled me from this horrible place. I know he’s betrayed me, but there’s no great revelation about him being evil. There aren’t any devil horns or maniacal laughter to show that he’s the bad guy, all I see is the man I thought I was falling for.
“I already told you, it’s for your own safety.” His smile is soft as though we’re just two lovers whispering in the dead of night, but we’re not now nor will we ever be lovers. He threw that chance away the moment he chose to use me to fake his own death. I’m a forgiving person, but some things are unforgivable. “Safe?” I hiss, “You think being locked away and starved is keeping me safe?”
“You’ll come around. For now you’ll just have to trust me. I’ll keep you safe. I promise.” He doesn’t give me a chance to shout at him, well, in my weakened state it would have been a quiet screech, but he’s gone before I get the chance.
TWENTY-SIX
Areyna
I’m notsure how much time has passed, but I’m much weaker than I was before. I’m woken by the sound of footsteps coming down the long corridor. I’ve been hearing footsteps a lot, but no one has come close enough for me to see them from my cell since Richard came that first time. I feel like my stomach is eating itself, the hunger inside me growing worse and worse with each passing second.
I’ve tried sleeping it away. I’ve tried meditating, but the pain inside me is gnawing away at my sanity, piece by piece and I’m afraid that soon it may be too late to save me.
“I had planned to release you tonight, but there’s been a slight delay.” Richard’s voice makes me sit up. My movements are slow and stiff. I can hear his pulse from here, but the worst part is, I can smell his blood flowing through his veins. I drop to the floor, crawling across to the bars. It’s only a few feet, but I’m exhausted from just that small amount of distance.
“Aww Little Lamb, you don’t look too good.” I scoff at that but he just keeps on talking, “Don’t worry my love, it won’t be forever.” He kneels down so that he’s eye level with me, but too far away for me to grab him. “It’s just until the voting is complete. Once my father is voted in as the High Chancellor we’ll be free to live our lives.” My frown must give my confusion away because Richard explains, “The overall ruler of the supernatural breeds is called a High Chancellor, think of him like the king of kings, with me as his sole heir.” He reaches through the bars, caressing my cheek. I barely have the strength to stand, let alone pull away from him without falling on my ass, his next words freeze me in place, “But don’t worry my love; We’ll figure out a way to keep you by my side, nothing will get between us now.”
“What is wrong with you Richard?” My words slur at the end as I struggle to rise to my knees, too weak to remain there for long, I collapse back onto my stomach. “Just let me go.” I plead. Even my raspy voice sounds pitiful to my own ears.
He sighs, straightening up to his full height. “I’m afraid I can’t do that Eliza. You and that idiot brother of yours would be next in line for the High Chancellor position. Well, if it ever came out that the two of you are alive. It’s taken us far too long to convince everyone you’re both dead. It has to remain that way.”
“My name is Areyna Rose.” I hiss through clenched teeth as the hunger pain churning inside me grows stronger. His blood is far too alluring. Even when I was losing myself to the hunger back in that classroom, I could feel how much his blood fuelled me.
I need it.
I use the bars to climb to my feet. My legs wobble, but I manage to remain standing. I shoot my arm out, just as Richard takes a step back. “No, my little lamb, you are Eliza Adel, a Dragon/vampire hybrid who is causing far too many problems for mine and my father’s plans.”
I collapse to the ground and hang my head.
Richard kneels down beside the cell and pats my knee, “You see, I was supposed to keep you close. Keep an eye on you until we could be sure you wouldn’t be a threat, but then you had to go and get involved with thosehybridsand ruin all my plans.”
“What plans?” The words are barely audible. My eyes feel heavy but I hear Richard’s answer all the same, “The plan is simple my love, take over the council, elect my father as the High Chancellor, make you my bride.” I hear him get up, dusting off his pants as he starts to walk away. “It’s not completely ruined. I’ll get what I want, even if I have to kill all of those pathetichybridsto do it.”
TWENTY-SEVEN
Richard
It killsme to walk away from her when she’s so weak and locked in a cell, but I don’t have a choice right now. I have to go collect the other prisoners before the election or my father will have my head. I can’t believe it took me so long to figure out who she really is. It should have been obvious. I mean I had my suspicions when I agreed to spring her from Laverton, but nothing was confirmed until that fucking Dragon Guard showed up.
I leave the prison, heading to my next damnation. The entire drive is done on autopilot, my mind lost to the memory of the night my life changed…
I’d only been eleven at the time, but I was eager to prove to my father that I wasn’t a kid anymore. He took me with him on one of his super-secret missions. I remember creeping silently up to the front door of the house and watching as he used a small metal tool to unlock the door.
The thunder and lightning had been giving me whiplash the entire time. I was so eager to do what he wanted that I never stopped to consider what I would become if I did.
I crept into the manor, knife in hand. I had no need for a knife as my fangs had already formed, but my father wanted it to appear as though the deed was carried out by human hands.
It wasn’t a human who’s knife tore through the throats of every living Dragon in that manor. It was my hands that took those lives and countless others after. I’ve taken more lives than I can count but that night I couldn’t take hers.
I slashed her throat but the wound closed within seconds. I bit into her out of desperation, at the time I didn’t see my pure vampire blood dripping from the wound on my neck and that is what changed my life forever.
Eliza was not born what she is. She was turned. A feat that was thought to be impossible. Yet there she is eleven years later, alive, but not as she once was.
My father has made me attempt the same thing several times since that night, but not one of the people I’ve bitten or bled into have turned. He charged me with finding the girl and I searched for years. I didn’t think I would ever find her, but I did find her. She was in the very same prison I’ve locked her in now. Half-starved and practically feral, but there was no mistaking who she is. Not when I can feel the blood connection between us.
I suspected who she was but was too afraid to seek out the answers. After months of having her live with me, I’d begun to fall. I started questioning everything my father had told me, but then they showed up. Those filthy hybrids who put their hands on my girl. I thought I could wait things out, but my father became more demanding, he was convinced that his position on the council was at risk if we didn’t find the missing Dragon heirs and lock them up where they couldn’t do anything to stop us from achieving our goals.