His commands irritate me… but also entice me. How is it that since I’ve met this vampire, I’ve humped his leg and become something of a lap dog to him in the span of—how long’s it been? Three days?
I glare at him.
He murdered my sister. Let me not forget that.
I shrug off his suggestions and walk deeper into the room, listening to the softness of the suite around me. Lush pink cushions explode in the living area near the massive fireplace. Dark bricks make up the mantel. Above sits a gorgeous painting of the cliffs. Three doorways break off from the main area where white carpet spreads in bountiful soft tufts.
It’s a chamber fit for a princess. But I feel more like a prisoner. “Can you put pickles on the sandwich this time?”
I turn around to discover the door is shut. Darius left.
And I’m left trying to figure out why in the world I would ever be disappointed by such a thing.
Chapter 4
Darius
Sausagesizzlesonawhite plate next to cheesy eggs, bacon, and three slices of toast. A medley of jams sit on the cart next to a steaming mug of coffee, a cup of hot water, and an assortment of tea bags.
The tray clinks as I lift it. Several servants do a double take as I wander past them with the tray balanced on one hand. Up the stairs I go, steps as light and quick as a mouse. The second-floor sprawls open. No servants here. Not yet.
Most vampires are asleep by morning.
I pad my way toward the forked hallway, searching my mental archives for why a bloodbag such as Amber would be clad in handmade clothing. Is that the work of her vampire?
A scowl steals across my lips.Her previous vampire is no longer hers. I’m her vampire now.
The sudden stab of anger makes me freeze just outside her door.
It’s unlike me to grow possessive of anything other than my books. My bloodbags of the past were free to do as they pleased with their bodies so long as they were proactive about their health. Sex, drugs, rock & roll—none of that mattered to me with improved technology fit to purify the blood before it ever touches my lips.
So why, of all the goddamn things in the world to get fussy over, am I offended by this boring vampire namedJasper Wolfram?
Research produced a rather short RAP sheet. Jasper made zero waves during his time in the Onyxias Kingdom. He was a common court attendee bonded to a family of royals distantly related to King Marr. Other than playing the lyre, the man has no true talents or skills. He graze-fed on Amber like she was a snack. Though she lived in a cottage with her family, she often stayed in the mansion, set up in a suite just next to Jasper.
Four times a day Amber fed this knobby-fingered stick of a vampire. He’s hardly attractive for a fang who’s been fed so often. Why they were ever paired together makes no sense.
Yet King Marr insisted on her staying in the mansion as often as possible.
Odd, even for royal fangs. But not unheard of for such a dictator. As far as reports from other fangs who have escaped the clutches of the Onyxias Kingdom, King Marr is utterly deranged. He keeps his bloodbags in the dungeon for Christ’s sake. No good leader would ever impose such a thing unless they truly saw their bloodbags as livestock.
It’s sickening.
Our kingdom is not built upon such archaic and, quite frankly, grotesque ways. We house our servants in the well-maintained and lavish basement, all twenty of them. Every so often, a human doctor visits after signing an NDA, but we’re largely independent with our own hospital wing and staff. Vampire nurses are plenty learned in the health of humans.
That is when wehaveenough humans. I’m still waiting on Maude to get his shit together with the new shipment.
We have to be careful. We can’t make too many deaths happen at once or disappear people too suspiciously, I thought.Even if they are willing to play the part.
What we have now is far from sufficient. Our soldiers live at the bottom of the cliffs in lavish houses carved right into the rocks with plenty of protection from the sun. Fourteen vampires reside there. Without sufficient bloodbags, they’re left sampling the tourists in town.
Which would not go over well with the neighboring humans.
Still, our numbers are rich and we frequently have guests—visiting clans from the north, overseas, and a myriad of friends and extended relations reside in our many suites available. Vampires often come and go at all hours. Staff are trained to work quickly and quietly in exchange for better pay, benefits, and all those things that the human capitalist scum deny their citizens.
Rotten manners these days. All around.
A frown drapes itself over my lips.