Chapter 2

He didn't speak to me during the carriage ride.

Not one word.

He sat across from me in the velvet-lined darkness, arms crossed, watching me with those unblinking red eyes like I was a puzzle he was trying to solve.

I, meanwhile, was trying not to stare at his hands. Long fingers. Strong grip. The kind of hands that could pin you against a wall or snap your neck — and honestly, at this point, either option sounded exciting.

Focus, Linda. You're a prisoner. Act like one.

"So," I said, breaking the silence, "is this the part where you tell me the rules? Don't try to escape, don't look you in the eye, call you 'Master'?"

He said nothing.

"Because I should warn you — I'm really bad at following rules."

Still nothing. Just that cold, unreadable stare.

The carriage stopped. The door opened to reveal a castle so massive it blocked out the moon. Black spires clawed at the sky. Gargoyles crouched along every ledge, their stone eyes seeming to track me as I stepped out.

A line of vampire servants stood at the entrance, heads bowed. When they saw me, their expressions flickered — confusion, pity, and something like fear.

An older vampire in a butler's uniform stepped forward.

"Your Majesty. Shall I take the human to the blood cellar?"

"No," Alaric said.

The butler blinked. "The servant quarters, then?"

"No."

"Then… where shall she be housed?"

Alaric was already walking toward the grand staircase. Without turning around, he said flatly,

"My chambers."

Dead silence.

The butler's composure cracked for a full second before he recovered. The other servants exchanged wide-eyed glances.

I was marched through endless hallways — black marble, oil paintings of severe-looking vampires, and absolutely zero natural light — until we reached a pair of towering double doors.

Inside was the most obscenely luxurious bedroom I'd ever seen. A four-poster bed the size of a small country, draped in black silk. A fireplace tall enough to stand in. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a moonlit garden of dead roses.

And one coffin, tucked in the corner.

"Cozy," I said.

Alaric stood by the window, his back to me. The moonlight outlined his silhouette — the broad shoulders, the narrow waist, the way his hair caught the light like liquid silver.

"You will stay in this room," he said. "You will not leave without permission. You will not speak to anyone in this castle. And you will not —" He turned, fixing me with a hard look. "— touch anything."

"What if I touch you?"

His jaw tightened.

"Especially not me."

I sat on the edge of the bed, bouncing lightly to test the mattress. "So let me get this straight. You paid a million gold for me, put me in your personal bedroom, and your first rule is 'don't touch me'?"

I leaned back on my hands and smiled up at him.

"Sounds like you're the one who's afraid."

Something dangerous flickered in his eyes. In a blink, he was in front of me — vampire speed, no warning — one hand gripping the bedpost beside my head, his face inches from mine.

"I am not afraid of anything," he said, low and lethal.

His breath was cold against my skin. His fangs were fully extended now, sharp and gleaming.

"Especially not a fragile little human who doesn't know when to shut her mouth."

My heart was hammering. Not from fear.

I reached up slowly and pressed one finger to the tip of his left fang.

A bead of blood welled up instantly, bright red against my skin.

His entire body went rigid. His pupils dilated, the red of his irises swallowed almost entirely by black. A sound escaped him — low, involuntary, almost like a growl.

"Careful," I whispered. "You look hungry."

He ripped himself away so fast the bedpost cracked under his grip.

"Don't," he said roughly, already halfway across the room, "do that again."

Then he was gone, the door slamming behind him hard enough to shake dust from the ceiling.

I stared at the broken bedpost, then at the drop of blood still glistening on my fingertip.

Interesting.

The most powerful vampire in the world had just run away from me.

And he'd looked absolutely wrecked doing it.