“That’s going to have to take some getting used to,” she breathes.
I lightly graze my fangs along the soft skin of her neck, causing her to shudder.
“What are you reading?” I ask.
She clears her throat and shifts slightly forward, moving her neck and forcing me to pull back. “The history of vampires. Er, Viktor, is it?”
I nod, assuring her she’s correct.
“He gave me some books to read. To learn about you. He said what I think I know from movies is mostly untrue,” she says, turning her head to the side to look at me. I don’t miss the way her eyes flicker to my mouth. It pleases me that she is as affected by me as I am by her.
“You can ask me anything too, you know,” I offer, lifting her and placing her in my lap.
“Okay,” she says, trying to hide her surprise at me moving her. “Do you all have individual powers?”
I shake my head. “Some are stronger than others, faster than others. No different to the mortals.” I shrug.
“Could you survive on animal blood?”she asks.
“No. Although Shade uses something extra in his, but I’ve never asked him about it.” I shrug.
“Do you kill everyone you feed from?” she asks, her voice breaking slightly.
“Yes,” I state coldly. “It is no different than mortals eating animals. It’s just your kind is my food source,” I point out.
Her dark eyes assess my every word. “Are there no windows because of the sun?”
“No,” I answer.
“Are we in some castle? Or a big gothic manor?” she continues.
I smile. “No, we are underground.”
Her eyes widen. “No shit?” she blurts out, looking around.
I can’t help the bubble of laughter that escapes my chest.
“But the large stone, the lights. It feels very castle-like.”
“We built it a long time ago. The cell where you were is the only window,” I say. I can hear her heart beating a little too fast. She’s nervous.
“Why?” she asks, her brow furrowing. “Why have one window at all?”
I think about hiding the truth from her, but I decide against it. “For prisoners. If we have one of ourkind in there, the sun beams directly through that window. If they don’t cooperate, we place them in front of the window.” I shrug casually.
Her mouth drops open. She quickly swallows, her heart rate picking up a little. She’s handling it well.
“It was covered when I was in there,” she says after a pause. “Dirty, no chance of any sun getting through that.” She chances a quick look into my eyes before looking away again.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve held one of our kind in there,” I admit.
Her gaze quickly snaps back to mine. “You keep human prisoners?” she asks, her eyes searching mine like she’ll be able to see if I am lying.
“Yes, but not in the way you’re thinking.”
“Then what way?” she presses, her voice sounding stronger, more assertive, like the day we took her.
“When they steal from us, try to kill one of us, or harm innocent people.” I pause, my fingers tracing along her hairline, tucking a wayward strand behind her ear. “And when we believe someone is working for our enemy and we need information.”
