'I made myself at home, in the cobwebs and the lies
I'm learning all your tricks, I can hurt you from inside.
I made myself a promise, you would never see me cry
Til I make you.'
- The Devil Within, Digital Daggers
***
My eyes flutter open from the murmur of voices around me. I sit up, feeling not even a sliver of pain. Just as I have suspected, Valentine and Astor are both standing at the foot of the bed waiting for me to wake.
"You two seem unsatisfied," I announce.
They acknowledge one another with a glance and Valentine walks out with reluctance plastered on his every being.
"I assume you are aware of what has happened in the last few days?" Astor asks.
"I've been turned into a lifeless abomination."
Astor purses his lips. "It's rather odd, isn't it?"
"No, it's cruel." I cut him off and swing my legs off the bed. "To live forever, destroying life, and for what?"
"We were created, simply, to balance what you call 'life'," he clears his throat. "We aren't all what you assume us to be. Some just cannot help it."
I contemplate on his words. Have I been too wrapped up on one vampire to even think about the others?
"I have lived long enough to witness what this world has endured. Why make me one of you?"
"That is a question you must ask Valentine," he replies. "But, my dear, as I mentioned earlier, doesn't it strike you odd that your heart still beats?"
My jaw drops. "My what?" I press my fingers to my neck to check my pulse and examine myself in a nearby mirror. "Impossible. I felt the change." I gasp as my fangs extend and puncture my lower lip.
"You did, but your blood repelled the venom on the second day."
It has been two days?
"Repelled?" What has Valentine done about this? The door opens as if on cue and I could smell his musky and sweet scent fills the room. He nods at Astor and he leaves as he was silently asked.
"I'm afraid I must answer your questions at a different time, my dear. See you at dinner."I gulp and glare at Valentine as he shuts and locks the door.
"I believe Astor has told you everything you need to know."
"Not everything." I squeeze my fist.
"It suffices for now; we do know that you are just as much a vampire as I am along with the power you already possess." He ambles closer to me. "You, by far, will be the deadliest anomaly in existence. The perfect weapon in my arsenal. A hybrid."
Now he's just making a joke of himself. It's impossible for me to be anything else than I already am. I shove him as he gets closer to me. "I am not your weapon, nor am I going to sit here and play a part in your war."
"Did you not know, Princess." He pushes me into the cold wall. "That it was your mother who started this war?"
I scowl at his pale face. "I am not my mother, and as far as I know, it was your human lover that ended your bloodline."
His body stiffens at the mention of his dead mate and he raises a glowing dagger, my dagger, and presses it against my neck. "Don't speak about Scarlett that way, she was far more dignified than you assume."
"She just couldn't resist Augustine, could she. Isn't that why you've taken me because Augustine had me first?" It's a foolish accusation but I have to hurt him somehow.
They say his heart is hard but with enough pressure you can crush it. He growls and flashes his fangs at me signaling me to shut my mouth. I smile smugly and chuckle inwardly.
"Don't think I can't kill you, you're just as easy to defeat." I wriggle from under him and try to break free, it was a strenuous task and he was determined not to back down. I buckle my legs and drag him down with me creating a loud thud against the floor.
Seeing as we were both on the floor writhing in frustration, Valentine attempts to confine my body under his. He traps my arms and legs under him and I could smell the sickly, sweet scent of his blood rushing through his veins mixed with the musky cologne he often wears.
"Look at you, still can't overthrow a vampire," he ridicules. I hiss and protract my fangs, wanting to bite him in the neck. "Tsk, tsk, hungry are we?"
My throat burns at the mention of blood and a deep hunger stirs in my gut. I remain quiet but beg him to release me. He shakes his head to mock me then inches closer to whisper in my ear. "Go ahead, take a bite." I trail my sharp fangs against the smooth skin under his ear and pull back to see him. looking disappointed.
"I'd rather die a thousand deaths."
Valentine hammers his fist into the floor and a loud bang indicated that he had created a hole through the wood.
"Have we not warned you enough? You will kill everyone within a hundred miles if you resist this long."
I lift my head in anguish. "Let me remind you that this was all your doing."
Valentine grinds his teeth and a guttural sound escapes from the back of his throat. He releases me from his grip and graciously climbs off of me and straightens his clothing. I glare at his rigid posture and lift myself from the floor and into the bathroom.
"I did warn you, Saphira, it's for your own good." I choose to neglect his so-called advice and stumble into the bathroom to examine the damage.
Through the mirror, I could see a dreary woman with centuries of wisdom and experience reflecting in her golden eyes.
My black hair s in a mess of waves and my already pale skin looks lifeless and dead. The change nearly turned me into a full vampire. I open my mouth and my fangs sprout into sharp blades and a scowl nearly breaks the mirror. I need something to hit. I pick up a flower vase and throw it against the wall shattering it into a million pieces.
The door bursts open and Valentine, with his feral eyes brewing, encloses his arms around me and drags me out of the bathroom.
"Let go of me!" I kick and scream for him to release me. He remains silent and continues to thrust me out of the room.
"Valentine, let me go."
"It's better for you to stay with me for now, so you don't hurt anyone, especially yourself," Valentine didn't seem to struggle as he shoves me onto his bed.
"It's no different," I exclaim.
"You will stay here, under my watch," he insists. His forceful roar was enough to render me speechless.
Valentine still had control over me. My throat burns like fire. Hungry and weak, I have been tricked into something I despised. An intense pang spews in the back of my head and causes me to coil.
"Stay here. One more day and it's over." Valentine derides and then disappears from the room leaving his scent behind. I am running out of ideas. Turning would put a curse on my existence and a tyrant constraint in my liberty.
My ample desire for peace twists into a gaping hole brimming with mistakes and errors. A soft knock on the door interrupts my center of thought.
Although the back of my head still aches and a burn crackles in my throat, I lift my head to greet him.
I smile faintly. "Checking on the prisoner, are we?"
Astor's expression remains still. "How are we doing, darling?"
"Just grand and hungry, mostly hungry." I gulp. Astor nods but his posture indicates his cloaked anxiety. He seems to be nervous.
"I'll have Lydia bring something up," he offers, then excuses himself.
"Wait," I yield him. "I don't know if you're the person to ask of this, but, exactly what did Scarlett do?"
Astor's back stiffens and his grip wound tight on the door knob. "It wasn't what she did." His voice was only a gentle hum. "It was what she made them do."
"What did she make them do?" I ask again.
"Both enraged, they started an irrevocable conflict within their bloodline. It led to many deaths, including their father's, King Therion," He pauses. "Scarlett's life was short and yet she managed to alter history."
After the last word, Astor refrains from saying anything else. "Oh," is all I say. "Thank you, Astor."
He smiles and leaves me to cringe in pain. There is something they were not telling me. A puzzle cannot be finished with a missing piece, or pieces, in this case. Astor is kind yet as cryptic as the others. I need to find out more about their past myself or find someone who can tell me. Just as I am about to close my eyes to rest, the door swung open and in came Lydia balancing a silver tray on her arm. "I've brought some food for you, ma'am."
I nod and watch her place the tray on a mahogany table by the window. She opens the thick, burgundy drapes and the moonlight lit a quarter of the room.
"Thank you, Lydia, you may go now."
Lydia apologizes without a word. "Sir Astor has asked me to stay until you've finished, ma'am."
I sit up. "Would you like to join me then?"
The young woman shakes her head and smiles. "No, I'm alright, thank you."
I acknowledge her and start eating the very rare steak. It reduces the pain in my throat but it leaves me wanting something more. "Lydia, how long have you been serving Astor?"
"A little over twenty years," she looks down at her hands.
I look into her pale blue eyes "That long. Does he keep records of any sort around here?"
She hesitates for a moment. "Yes."
"Would you mind showing me?" I coax.
Lydia gives me a confused glance. "I'm not allowed."
I narrow my eyes. "Then who is?"
"No one else but Sir Astor." I think for a moment on whether to threaten her or look for them myself. She seems nice and gentle, and undoubtedly pretty. I dismiss her. "That will be all, Lydia, thank you."
She gives a small curtsy and steps out. I look toward the dark sky. At least now I know he does keep records, I just need to find out where they are. With my head held high and a new task, I walk out into Astor's grand hallway in search of enlightenment.
The dungeon doors caught my attention reminding me of what I had almost forgotten.
Peter.
I killed him. I killed a race I spent years trying to protect. I shake with anger and vow to drive a titanium stake through a specific vampire's heart the next time I see him.
I dismiss my irrational feelings and continue around the corner, only to be halted by the soft murmur of hushed voices.
"Astor, she's far more immaculate than I expected. She's perfect."
An alien feeling shoots through my body when he said the last word.
"I agree with you on that one, Valentine, but she can also destroy anyone within sight," Astor says. I can hear the clicking of his boots as he paces.
"She won't." I can feel Valentine's jaw tighten, even through these thick walls. "Don't deny what you witnessed the other night. She's strong."
I inch closer so that my body is adjacent to Astor's study. I am intrigued and feed off of the information like a flower basking in the sun.
"Yes, but also a raging newborn. Her bloodlust will only get worse. I've never seen anyone resist this long."
I hear Valentine take two steps. "That's precisely why I am going to keep her because she has lasted this long. Just give it a few more days, Astor, and we'll be out of here."
"Alright, one week. Then I don't want to be a part of anything after that." Astor's voice was hard and final. He didn't want any part of what Valentine is offering. Valentine wants revenge and war but evidently, Astor wants peace.
"You have my word, Astor." Just like that the conversation ends and it was time for me to leave. I quickly dash away, hoping to return to Valentine's room without being seen but as I twist around, I collide with one I am trying to avoid.
Damn his supernatural speed. I smile inwardly at the thought of me doing the same, once my change was complete.
"I told you to stay." His jaw clenches.
"It takes more than dismal words and a frail door to keep me still, Valentine, you know that." I narrow my eyes, noticing the small space between us. I have to admit, the closer he got the lesser the pain.
He ignores my sneer remark and wraps his long fingers around my wrist. "Do you need another night in the dungeon, Princess?"
"Over my dead body."
"I'd love to be over your body," he suggests, coming closer to me and hovering his mouth over my ear. "I can be gentle."
His words leave me yearning for his touch and a kiss right under my ear practically sends me bouncing off the walls.
"No," I lie, my voice a little slurred from his nibbles on my neck. He lightly brushes his lips over my bite before licking it.
A sharp surge of pleasure, mixed with want reverberates through my body starting from my toes. My face is pressed against his neck allowing me to breathe him in.
He grazes his sharp teeth over my skin and I let out a soft moan. The battle between Saphira and monster is causing grave casualties within my heart and mind.
"Valentine," I whisper in his ear. "I hate-"
He rudely cuts me off by taking my jaw in his hands, squeezing my face in between his fingers. It's hard to breathe and my heels start lifting from the floor until I am on the tips of my toes. I wrap my hands around his and try to pry him off.
"I will not tolerate disobedience, especially from my own prisoner," his eyes grow dark and devilish. "If you are wise then you'll do as you're told."
"You can't keep me down, bloodsucker, I'm always going to be here to bite you back," I cackle, almost not able to say those words. "I'm not a fucking vampire."
With all of my strength, I dig my teeth into his neck and I relish the blood that cascades freely down my throat coating each burning desire with pure satisfaction. It was the sweetest most indulgent substance I have ever tasted, making me want nothing more than to coat myself in his blood.
Valentine buries his hand at the nape of my neck and moans, gently tugs the strands of hair. I guess no one, not even Valentine, can resist the sweet sensation of a vampire bite.
"Saphira, that's enough," Valentine commands. I ignore his words and continue to feed. "I said, that's enough."
His voice booms with authority, almost with sovereignty. I flinch against him and leap off, bowing my head as if I had just committed the vilest sin. A drop of blood lands on the floor and my eyes shut as my body does the same.
I feel something move within me. A creature that awakened.
***
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