Scarlet Prison

Chapter 31

"I'm not hungry," I repeated coldly.

Dominik remained unfazed. "Trust me; my O negative has a way of whetting the appetite."

Then Novashi entered the room.

Thoughts of anything else left me. All I could see was her. Her blonde hair was pulled back into an elegant, braided bun, but a couple escaped locks dangled by her face, as she watched her feet and shuffled toward the table. These past few months, I'd been imagining Novashi garbed in tattered rags with mud in her hair and chains around her ankles. Seeing her now, looking as angelic as ever, was a little disconcerting. She was wearing jean shorts and a pretty, low-cut blouse. She even had expensive looking earrings dangling from her lobes.

But as she got closer, the illusion of elegance was broken. Her body was scarred. Her legs, her arms, her neck. They were covered in healed vampire bites. A few of them looked fresh.

I wanted so badly to run to her and embrace her. I wanted to grab her and get as far away from here as possible. I hated that those scars were my fault, but I would make it up to her. I would ensure that she would not have to endure the creation of another scar.

She still didn't know that I was here, as she was being careful to keep her eyes pointed down. That was good because I didn't want her to blow my cover, but I also couldn't stand being this close and unable to connect with her. I wanted her to see me, to see that everything was going to be okay. Dominik grabbed her wrist before she could climb onto the table. She stopped and waited for him to do whatever it was he wanted to do.

They were both facing me, with Dominik standing behind her. He stepped in close and breathed in the smell of her neck. "This one was hard to break," he said, "but I sucked the spirit right out of her." He chuckled.

Novashi didn't even whimper in response to this.

Dominik released her wrist, and Novashi proceeded to lay herself onto the table. She was lying on her back, so she would have seen me, but she had closed her eyes, probably not wanting to watch was coming to her.

Before I had time to think about what was about to happen, Dominik leaned forward and sank his teeth into her neck. The suddenness of the pain must have taken her by surprise because her eyes flew open and our gazes locked. I was glad that Dominik couldn't see her shocked face as she recognized me, but that stroke of luck became irrelevant when she whispered my name.

"Zermia," she croaked. I couldn't tell if she was glad to see me or horrified that I was there. She probably didn't even know, herself. She was probably just very confused. That's how I would have felt, if our places had been swapped.

Of course, Dominik heard Novashi say my name.

Before he could react, I jumped off my chair, grabbed it, and swung it down onto his hunched over body. I was careful to avoid hitting Novashi. The chair splintered, and I was surprised by my own show of strength. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough.

Dominik looked up at me and smiled, Novashi's blood dripping off of his fangs. He didn't seem the least bit surprised that Novashi had just called me Zermia or that I had decided to attack him with a chair. "What's wrong? Don't you want a taste?" He asked.

That was the moment I realized he was messing with me. He had been messing with me for a while now, though I didn't know how long. He had known I was Zermia and that I was human. He had known that I was here to find my friend, Novashi, and he was drinking from her purely for the pleasure of taunting me.

I tried to not let this new revelation throw me off my game. Since Dominik was temporarily disengaged from Novashi's neck, I took the opportunity to yank her off the table and push her behind me. "Stay back," I commanded Dominik, though I had absolutely no advantage in this situation what so ever. I was definitely not in any position to be ordering Dominik around. Still, that wouldn't stop me from trying.