I jolt out of bed, scanning the room for an exit strategy. One side is made of glass, floor to ceiling, with the expanse of the night sky on full display, a deep canvas splattered with glimmering lights. I’ve never seen so many stars shining brightly over a sea of white. Wait a minute, is that snow?
Instinctively, I reach for my dagger under the pillow before realizing there’s no such thing to be found. I forgot the darn thing at the Twinkling Meadow in my haste to run away from my nightmare. Maybe I wouldn’t even be in this predicament if I had it with me. Or maybe not.
My thoughts are still sluggish, courtesy of whatever they drugged me with, but I catch a glimpse of the stone-cold cuffs that encircle my wrists. There’s no chain though, just a blood-red stone carved in the middle of them. I try to pry them open with my fingers, but they don’t budge, not even a little. They seem to be sealed shut with no lock or clasp. Magic; they must be closed with magic. Just my fucking luck.
“Fucking hell, what is this bullshit?” I mutter as I move towards the center of the room. The furniture is all polished silver and black velvet, and there’s a vast fireplace on the wall in front of me, a fire making the logs inside crackle, warming up the stone walls. I’m not in a dungeon, at least that’s a small silver lining. I’m a prisoner in the most lavish chamber I have ever seen, and it makes me frown in confusion.
“Look at the foul mouth on the pretty princess. I know someone who’s gonna be delighted!” A voice comes from near the door, and my head snaps in that direction. A vampire emerges from the shadows, and it’s the same awful creature with long brown braids that bumped into me and attacked me in the streets.
“Stop calling me that, you asshole! Who are you? What do you want from me?” I sneer just as my anxiety kicks up a notch or two.
“I’m Blaise and I’m enchanted to make your acquaintance, my lady.” He bows mockingly and knocks twice on the heavy ornate door next to him.
“Tell him the pretty princess is finally awake,” he says through the crack in the door before turning his vile gaze back towards me, slowly scanning my almost naked body from head to toe. A smug grin blooms on his stupid face. “You’re not bad to look at. Not at all.”
I take him in, focusing on his tall and muscular frame, and, more importantly, on the several daggers he has sheathed around his torso. If I could only get my hands on those, maybe I could fight my way out of this hellhole.
His cruel gaze narrows before his lips turn up further in an insufferable smirk. “Oh, the little kitty thinks she has claws, doesn’t she? You think you can outsmart a vampire, pretty princess? Fight me over and actually win?” His laugh is loud and brutish, sending chills running down my spine. “I wouldn’t be who I am if a kitty cat like you could overpower me,” he tuts mockingly.
“And who the fuck are you?” I scream, my chest heaving with the rage I feel boiling in my blood. I’m scared shitless, but I will not give him the satisfaction of seeing that. I swore to myself a long time ago that I would stand my ground in the face of evil, and I will not back down from that promise. If I die, I’m going to die cursing, kicking, and trying to drag down to hell with me as many of these repulsive bloodsuckers as I can.
“He’s my second-in-command.” A deep, velvety voice says from the open doors. Blood painted shadows fill the room, swirling, coiling and uncoiling, pulsing to a beat nobody can hear, before the scariest, and the most beautiful male I haveever laid eyes upon, emerges from their midst, like a nightmare disguised as a reverie.
The vampire’s tall, commanding presence seems to take all the space as he moves two steps and closes the door behind him. His deep, dark gaze feels like a wicked caress against my exposed skin, and all of a sudden, I’m aware of how little I am wearing.
He has powerful thighs clad in snug-fitting leathers, and his torso is covered in a black billowy shirt, half unbuttoned to reveal a muscled chest covered in intricate scarlet tattoos.
That face is positively sinful, with high cheekbones, a razor-sharp straight nose, plump lips and a five-o’clock stubble covering his strong jawline. His blue-black hair is shorter on the sides and longer in the front, inky strands half covering his gaze as he assesses me shrewdly.
His eyes are like a black void that sucks me in, holding me captive for a heartbeat or two.
But the telltale sign of his identity is the crimson shadows swirling around him.
“Oh, for the love of all the unholy Gods!” I stumble a step back as my blood all but freezes in my veins.
I am screwed beyond redemption.
For before me stands none other than the Crimson One.
The only vampire in existence who wields shadows.
The Vampire King.
Killian Darkling.
“The pretty kitty cat finally put two and two together!” Blaise says in a singsong voice and claps slowly, sardonically. “For a minute there, I was worried she’s all looks, no brains.”
“Blaise, out!” the Vampire King commands, and the other annoying creature nods before exiting the chamber.
I have no weapons, barely any clothes at all, and enough wits about me to realize that I stand no chance against the most atrocious beast of prey in all the three kingdoms of Imiryioncombined. I have heard countless stories about his cunning and ruthlessness, about the bleeding shadows that surround him like a curse. Yet, to face this wretched being, and to see firsthand those inexplicable crimson shadows of his is unnerving as hell. My pulse is all over the place, but this is the worst moment of all for one of my panic attacks. I grit my teeth, straighten my shoulders, and meet his onyx gaze head-on. Fake it till you make it—that’s what they say, right?
“What is it you want from me?” I ask, my voice betraying none of my inner turmoil. I force my knees to stop wobbling and clench my fists to hide my trembling. The pressure of my sharp nails almost breaking the skin of my palms keeps me from spiraling out of control.
“Oh, I believe you know rather well what I desire from you.” He takes one step closer, and I retreat one step back, my back hitting the cold glass wall behind me. Great, now I am cornered, both literally and figuratively.
“For now, I just want to talk. We have many things to discuss. I mean you no harm, as long as you act accordingly.” He contemplates me for a moment too long, his eyes fixed on my mouth. Why is he looking at me like that? And why the hell do I feel an undercurrent of heat passing through my veins, caused by his intense scrutiny?
“According to what?” I ask, keeping my trepidation at bay.
