Back then, I’d known nothing about vampires. Only that they were gone. Relegated to side notes in our realm’s long and bloody story. Lost forever, I reminded myself, seeing as how this room and the enticing male lying on the bed were products of my overactive imagination.
The vampire tried to sit up, but he’d grown too weak. Unable to look away, I shuffled closer, inhaling his rich, coppery scent. Did all vampires smell this good?
“Come and find me. Soon, before I can no longer be revived.”
“But you’re not real,” I scoffed.
He half smiled, gifting me a small glimpse of white fang.
“I’m real, and you are here, in this room. In spirit, at least. Sadly, feeding from you in this form can’t sustain me.”
“So…when you fed from me last time, it was…real?” I squeezed my thighs together to ease the sudden ache in my core. The vampire inhaled sharply, and his eyes darkened.
“Yes, little witch. But your physical body isn’t here, only your spirit form. So while we can touch and do…things…I can’t get any true nourishment from you. And without a source of blood, I’ll die.”
“How did you survive the bloodborne virus?” Nothing he said made sense. From what I’d read when researching my vampire paper, rumors persisted that some of the vampire royals might have survived, but there had been no sightings for years, and the mages had long since given up searching for them.
“My loyal servant, Alexander, hid me in a safe house. He had immunity and continued to be my blood source, but Alexander was already old when the virus hit us. Sadly, he passed on a few monthsago. I’ve been surviving on rats since then, but they don’t offer the nourishment I need.”
At the mention of rats, I recoiled in disgust. “Rats? That’s…gross.”
He shrugged. “Gross, yes, but needs must, my darling.”
Long fingers caressed the sensitive skin on the underside of my wrist, and I shivered. Not even talk of sucking blood from rats was enough to dampen my libido. Stars above, I needed therapy.
“But how do I find you?” As much as I wanted to help the vampire, I didn’t see how it was even possible. For starters, the school wards were strong enough to keep students in, and any attempt to breach them would trigger all kinds of horrible penalties. And second, I had no money or means of traveling anywhere.
“I don’t have the answer to that. Alexander transported me here in a sealed box, and I haven’t left this room in decades.” I stared at him in shock, my eyes prickling with tears.
“That’s awful!”
“I have lived a very long, immortal life, and over the centuries, suffered far worse, believe me. Despite slowly starving to death, I am at least physically safe here. Alexander would have made sure of that.”
I sank back and thought hard. Magic was the best way to find someone or something, but I’d need an item belonging to the male to do the spell.
“I can’t leave school until winter solstice,” I admitted. “The wards won’t lift until then.” The fact that Adam planned to kidnap me was yet another problem I needed to resolve, but I couldn’t focus on that right now.
“I will last until then,” he replied before closing his eyes for a moment. This gave me an opportunity to admire the slant of his sharp cheekbones and strong jaw. The male might be at death’s door, buthe was still beautiful in a terrifying way. Something told me that this vampire would be truly devastating when fully healthy.
When he opened his strange eyes and caught me shamelessly ogling him, he smirked.
“Be careful, little witch. I might be weak as a kitten, but I’m not yet dead.”
My cheeks flushed red. “Just… making sure you’re still breathing.”
“I’m undead. I don’t breathe, little witch.”
“Then how can you die?” I resolved to do more research on vampires the minute I woke. The paper I’d written on the royal family only covered the politics surrounding their complicated relationship with the mages and other high-ranking species, nothing more.
I frowned as I remembered where I’d seen the ring he wore.
“Are you related to the royal family?” I asked with wide eyes, eager to change the subject away from my traitorous libido before he pounced. Even at such a low ebb, I harbored no illusions about the lethal nature of this male.
He nodded. “I am the crown prince.”
This was Rasmus Dvorak? Stars. I didn’t know what to say. The Dvoraks had been around for a millennium or more. Rasmus was at least five hundred years old, possibly longer. Compared to him, I was nothing more than a naive child.
Yet even knowing this, he expected me to save him?
