I wanted to swim away too. I wanted to hide myself amidst the waves and sea, but even though I managed one step into the cold, salty water, that was as far as I got.
Because my uncle had commanded me to return.
Magic rose up inside me, and the mistphase took hold of me. In my next blink, I reappeared in Arnel’s castle, and my blast of mistphasing magic calmed. And even though all three moons were high in the sky and the hour had grown late, I wasn’t tired. I still felt energized, awake, alive...even though I was dead.
And I couldn’t even process that because the second I returned, my uncle was striding toward me.
“Primelle, I have something for you.”
Sobbing sounds reached my ears, coming from another room.
My brow furrowed. My senses had sharpened more and more as the day went on, and the heightened hearing was still something I was getting used to. So many sounds hit me at once that I winced.
“Come.” My uncle gave me his back, striding down his hall, and once again, I followed like a docilevox, perfectly trained and exceptionally obedient.
My uncle opened the door to a small sitting room, and before me was a young female. She was likely around my age, and her wide, tear-filled eyes lifted to mine.
“Who is she?” I asked as dread grew low and deep in my belly.
“She’s to be your first meal, Primelle. It’s important that you drink blood monthly. Any less than that, and you’ll start to feel the effects. Without blood, those around you will begin to notice a change in your health even if you keep your glamour constantly replenished and your vampiric scent hidden.”
I stared at the female. The thought of drinking her blood should have brought a repugnant sense of disgust to me, but already, the thrum of her rapidly beating heart was pulling at me.Callingto me. It thrummed steadily in her chest, pattering away like a scared bird.
An ache pierced my gums. Fangs abruptly lengthened in my mouth, and a moment of surprise hit me. Tentatively, my tongue darted forward. A razor-sharp tooth nicked my tongue, and a trickle of my own blood filled my mouth, but just as fast, the wound sealed, as though I’d never been cut at all.
My mind raced, and I tried to recall if rapid healing was also a trait vampires had, but Nathaniel hadn’t mentioned anythingabout that, and the call of the female’s heart mesmerized me, halting any further reflections.
My eyesight sharpened, and my lips peeled back.
My uncle stepped closer to me, and my attention automatically shifted to him. I stood on the balls of my feet, my balance precise. Somehow, I knew if I wanted to, I would be able to cross the distance between the female and me in one pounce.
But my uncle had drawn near, and he wanted something.
My head angled toward him, moving at an unnatural speed. Something about him pulled at me,ownedme, and no matter how hard I tried to fight it, I couldn’t.
He frowned. “In theotherrealm, it’s considered bad manners for a vampire to walk around with their fangs out, not to mention, it will draw attention to you, so you’re only to grow them when you’re feasting on a fairy’s blood, and you’re not to let anybody see you do so. Understood?”
I dipped my head and worked my jaw. It positivelyached. “Yes, Uncle.”
“And you’re to control your movements when you’re around others. You’re not to move too fast or too slow, or in any way that conveys that you’re no longer fae. Understood?”
“Yes, Uncle.”
My uncle smirked. “Very good. That’s all for now, Niece. Now, you may enjoy your first meal.”
CHAPTER FOUR
No sooner had he uttered the words than the call of the female’s whooshing blood overtook me. The ache in my mouth had grown so strong, painfully so, and the pulse thrumming in the female’s neck felt like an irresistible throb beckoning me closer.
In a burst of speed, the realm blurred, and then my arms were around her, and she was fighting me in terror. An instinct reared up inside me that I neither understood nor could ignore, but my mind buzzed, and I answered its enthralling allure. Power grew in my eyes and my voice.
“Be still.” The compulsion left my lips as my pupils fixed on hers, dilating as foreign vampiric magic oozed out of me.
The female fell slack in my arms. I angled her neck and sank my needle-like fangs into her, puncturing her thin skin so easily. Blood instantly flooded my mouth, and the metallic taste was positively decadent. I moaned against her, and a part of me became aware of what I was doing. Internally, I recoiled, yet the taste of her blood, the beat of her heart...all of it entranced me.
I cradled her closer, drinking and drinking. Her blood poured down my throat, flooded my belly, and its taste had my eyes rolling back in my head in rapture as the divine nectar nourished me.
I sucked more, and the more blood I drank, the more I wanted it, needed it,burnedfor it. A throb began in my lower belly, and arousal rose within me with a vengeance. Drink, lick, suck,fuck. The urge to touch her, fuck her,consumeher, had my head jolting back with such vigor that her throat tore, and blood surged from her neck.
