Savion strode in, looking around. His lip twisted in disgust at the stacks and rows of books.
I was sitting in a chair flipping through a book of maps of S’Kir and watched him for just a moment before his gaze found me.
He tried to smile, but it came out more like a sneer, and then he offered his hand. “Come, Mistress Breaker. Walk with me. I wish to get to know you.”
My stomach roiled at the idea of being near this bloodsucker.
And it was only he, and his few cronies, who gave me that feeling ofbloodsucker. I knew I was surrounded by them, that Odom, Aiko, Kane and the others—even the servants of the house—survived on blood, but none were as nausea-inducing as Savion.
I couldn’t refuse him.
Closing the book of maps, I stood and moved toward the door.
I didn’t take his hand. No way. I just waited at the door for him.
“You are so delightfully contrary, my dear Kimber. I enjoy your company already.” Savion’s snake oil smile was pasted on his face.
He led me down the hall, four guards trailing us, not saying anything just yet. There were prisoners in cages as we walked, and they moaned and reached for us as we passed.
Pointing to one at the end, to a cage with more spikes inside than any of the others, Savion explained the punishment. “She is one of our worst enemies. She thought she could set up a rebellion against me four centuries ago. You would think after being in a spiked cage for four hundred years, she’d learn. But as soon as we dunk her, she grows belligerent again.” He swatted her hand back. “My own personal experiment, really. How long can a vampire go without blood, while not in rest, before they die or go completely mad?”
He considered the woman behind the bars.
“We’re up to two centuries now, aren’t we Margaret. We’re mostly senseless most of the time. It’s really quite the delightful treat to see someone who was so defiant brought so low.” He looked back at one of the guards. “Grundy, have a sip. Tell me what you think.”
The guard, with a swagger and a smirk, grabbed the woman’s arm and sank his fangs into her arm.
I cringed. There were puncture marks all over the arm. None of which were healing well or quickly.
Forcing myself to not turn away or react to what I was watching, the stealing of her blood was violent and perverse.
While Grundy sucked from her arm, his other hand worked over his erection, inside his pants.
Breaking off a minute later, he made no motions to heal her wound.
“She still tastes fuckable, sire.” He grinned.
Savion nodded, satisfied. “Excellent. Find yourself relief for that.” He nodded at the guard’s crotch. “We’ll be fine without you for the rest of the day.”
“Thank you, sire.” He turned and left us, but it wasn’t hard to see he didn’t move his hand out of his pants.
Savion led us on from the dying woman. “Do you have such things in West S’Kir, my dear? Appropriate punishments?”
I had planned to be indignant about our justice, but Elex’s face flashed through my head. Instead of offering an answer, I said nothing. Savion seemed to take that as confirmation that we did.
“I’m glad to see that justice can still be meted out by your lousy king.”
“We have no king,” I snapped.
“Of course you do.”
“We’re ruled by the temple masters, governors, mayors and councils,” I answered. “There is no crown. We have no king.”
He turned his gaze to me, and this time, his eyes were dark green. “Curious. You have no crown? No king? That is not how I left the druids.”
“You didn’t and don’t have a thing to do with the druids, your highness. Not a thing.”
“You’re so young. I forget that. And the naïveté. Thinking life is black and white.”
