The King Of All Vampire Kings (Book 1) ✔️

|17|~Stockholm syndrome~

Claire POV.
Edited.

"I mean, well, I think, I'm his beloved," she says while staring into space again for the millionth time.

I stand quietly, watching her. Once again, this girl has me lost for words. I'm not surprised that she would believe that she is his beloved. It's just, I really feel bad about her upbringing. I was hoping that she was smart enough not to flock with the rest of the birds.

Vampires are charming, elegant, and very attractive creatures. A lot of humans like to believe that they can escape this hell by capturing one of their hearts. Some humans have even formed a one-sided bond with those monsters, believing that one day a vampire will form a bond with them back.

I refuse to be one of those humans. It's absolutely ridiculous! Vampires have chained our entire race into submission. Because of them, we are nothing but mere cattle, running to the slaughter with no will to fight. So, I'm not surprised that Jadis believes that she can be a vampire's beloved. I'm just, disappointed.

"I know what you're thinking, Claire," she confesses, looking a little troubled. "King Cornelius is a monster. I know that. I have seen it with my own eyes. He kills with no remorse. He slaughters others without batting those long, thick, merciless eyelashes of his."

I'm going to pretend that she didn't just compliment that leech and call him a monster in the same sentence.

She looks at me curiously.

"He is a sadistic king, and I'm the silly human girl that finds myself lost and chained to his hold," she tells me with a sad look in her eyes.

Her soft brown eyes wander into space again. When I look closer, I notice a heart-rending, distressed gleam in their depth.

"The day my mom was murdered, I have never been so afraid in my life. The vampires, King Cornelius's soldiers, dragged me and the other children by our hair. They tied us to a horse, allowing our bodies to be dragged until we entered his kingdom.

"By the time we did, the others were already dead. I was the only one who made it. They brought me directly to him, and I remember feeling like that was my time, like I was about to be drained and made an example of . . ." She paused and took a moment to collect herself.

"Until . . . until . . . I saw him for the very first time. He stopped in his tracks when they threw me onto his throne floor, assessing me from head to toe. And just when I thought this was it, I was a goner for sure," she explains in great detail like she was reliving that horrific day. Her lips tremble. "He ended every last one of their lives, but he saved me."

"Just because he saved you, that doesn't mean you are his beloved," I tell her, sounding a little harsh.

I get it, demons killed her mother and the devil slaughtered them because of it. So of course she idolizes him, believing that he is her knight in shining armor. But, believing he is her beloved is more than a little . . . far‑fetched.

Mecca's story about the vampire and his human beloved comes to mind. I don't know why King Cornelius did what he did. It is strange, very strange. But she is not his beloved. No human could be a vampire's true beloved; that's what Mecca, a she-wolf, believes, and she is a she-wolf. She has way more experience with those creatures than Jadis and I. She has lived a lot longer.

Jadis ignores my statement and enters the closet. When she exits, a beautiful long scarlet-red gown is in her hands.

"Here, try this. We don't have time to fetch your belongings. We are late for dinner."