The bitter, cold air tasted of fresh snow. Cold, smooth stones were beneath her, covered in a thin, slick layer of ice. Gouges ran along the walls, methodical straight lines, as though someone had been keeping track of the days they’d spent in here.
Her wings were gone. The cold collar was still clamped around her neck, blocking her from her magic.
Prohiberis.
It was just as horrendous as she’d always imagined it would be.
When she first woke up, she’d called out for the prince, wondering if he was nearby. It hadn’t taken long to realize that she was completely alone.
A long time had passed since then.
Death was coming for her. If not at the hands of the human villagers, which seemed likely at the moment, then from the king for failing to protect her charge.
At this point, Vivienne was done evading death.
Maybe dying would be better than being alive for an eternity. In the hours that had passed since she first woke, she’d replayed their awful encounter with the First countless times. The ancient vampire had been caught in the grips of madness the likes of which Vivienne had never seen.
If that was what happened to vampires who lived for thousands of years, she didn’t want any part of it.
Maybe it was time to be done and leave this life for the next.
Maybe.
A sliverof incandescent silver light shone above Vivienne’s head.
She exhaled a ragged breath at the beautiful sight, her cheeks dampening. Pressing her back against the stone wall, she craned her neck and stared at the light.
It wasn’t long before a dark laugh came from above. Blinking away her tears and steeling herself for whatever was coming, Vivienne kepther gaze trained on the small sliver of light as stone grated against wood.
A cover was lifted, and moonlight shone brightly above her.
Before she could appreciate the sight, three men of varying ages peered down from above at her. Silver outlined their bodies and illuminated the stones around her.
Her stomach dropped as she realized her prison was a dry well. At least her surroundings made sense now, in an awful way.
Her captors leaned over the edge, some fifteen feet above her. Judging by their scents, all three were human. Any hope that Vivienne might have had that they might’ve been friendly dissipated when she took in their hostile expressions.
She wanted to stand up, fight back, and yell at them to release her, but she didn’t think they’d react kindly to that.
Maybe appearing harmless was the way to go. It was worth a shot.
Wrapping her arms around her legs, Vivienne willed a few tears to roll down her cheeks. She curled in her shoulders and curved her spine, trying to appear as small as possible.
A whimper escaped her lips. “Please, help me.”
The words were barely audible, and she didn’t fake the way forcing them out of her dry mouth hurt. The ache in her fangs multiplied, and she trembled.
The youngest of the trio, a teenager with short black hair and dirt streaked across his face, frowned.
“She doesn’t look dangerous,” he said, shifting as though to lower an arm for her. “Maybe we should?—”
A hand smacked his arm away, and the man with salt-and-pepper hair who looked like he had never smiled in his life glared at the teen.
“That’s how they get you, son,” he sneered, his voice thin and reedy. “Vampires are monsters, the lot of them. Don’t ever let them trick you into thinking otherwise.”
Damn it. Maybe appearing weak hadn’t been the right course of action. Unfortunately, it wasn’t like she had a slew of other available alternatives. The prohiberis was blocking her wings, and she couldn’t climb out. The stones were too slick for that.
Vivienne looked at the youngest man, widening her eyes. “Please. Where is my companion?”
