The cold bars bit into my palms, a stark contrast from the heat radiating at the base of my neck. My rage curled there and my next words rode the wave of anger. “I—am no one’s.”
He leaned in even further before whispering, “Now…I heard you’reeveryone’s.”
“You heard wrong,” I snarled.
Vaspar scoffed and I could smell blood on his breath. “Deny it all you want, but there are very few reasons as to why Dommik Thorne wouldn’t have been in that ballroom for your binding ceremony. Now, what could have possibly transpired for him to either find himself uninvited or purposefully excuse himself from witnessing such a monumental event? Hmm?”
His dark brows approached his oily hairline. He knew he had me in a corner. Well, if he was such a fan of talking, I’d let him.
“And what would those be, leech?”
Vaspar ran his tongue over his canine. “My first theory is that the great Dommik Thorne had fallen out of favor. Maybe he spoke up and pushed back against Rhazien’s progressive plans one too many times. But it’s unlikely, since His late Majesty seemed to have a bottomless well of patience for the commander.”
I tipped my head in consideration. “He can be a persistent bother.”
An unsettling sound erupted from the gaunt vampire. Half screech, half cough. I jumped but settled back into myself once I realized the perverse noise echoing off the stone walls was his version of laughter.
“He can. He can.” He pushed away from the bars and paced. “But that’s not the reason. No, because look at you. But it’s not just that you’re undeniably beautiful…” Vaspar’s dark hair was tied in a ponytail and as he took a deep inhale, letting thin wisps fall back before exhaling forcefully toward the stone ceiling. “…it’s your smell.”
His heavy onyx eyes slid back to me. “Intoxicating.”
I almost rolled my eyes. This information wasn’t new or interesting anymore.
Vaspar pulled a stubby dagger from his belt and began tossing and catching it as he resumed his pace. “But I don’t think he’d be so bold as to taste you. He likes…permission.” He shook his head as if Dommik’s preference were an unbelievable tragedy.
When his back was turned, I took the opportunity to glance at Cova, who was huddled in the farthest corner of her cell. She’d retreated while I stood strong. And my strength multiplied when I saw the awe in her eyes.
“You’d think there couldn’t be anything worse,” Vaspar continued his musings and us three little birds had no choice but to be an audience to it. A mixture of pebbles, dirt, and sand scraped beneath his boot as he stopped and faced me. “But there is…one thing.”
His dagger poked through the bars, meeting the base of my bare neck before traveling down my center, like I was a wounded doe ready for slaughter.
Lower and lower it dropped until it met my womb.
“One. Thing,” he snipped and cocked a brow. “So tell me, Reyva, did you give him that one thing?”
Without hesitation, I lifted my arms wide. “Take a look. Do you see his traces anywhere?”
“No.” His eyes lowered to his blade still lingering at my middle. “But I can’t seeeverything.”
“You can see plenty. Now why don’t you run along to your master like a good dog.”
Vaspar clicked his tongue and tilted his head. “Look at you. Full of fire. Even now. When things are so obviously hopeless for you.”
I steadied myself, rage heating me from the inside out. I was determined he wouldn’t get to me, wouldn’t get the reaction he sought. He craved the fear, the cowering. Thrived on it.
Unsatisfied with my demeanor, he scoffed. “Reyva…the Unbitten.” His gaze shifted to my neck. “Well, not anymore.”
I didn’t know how to fight. Didn’t know the first thing about weapons or even how to throw a proper punch. But the smug look on his face made me wish I could pummel it until his features were unrecognizable. Even if it wasn’t permanent. Even if it would heal. It would be worth it. My jaw worked as I ground my teeth together.
“So, what does that make you then?” He twirled his dagger in his hands. “I’ll tell you. It makes you no one. No one special. Just another mortal fleshie. A delectable snack.”
I folded my arms over my middle and smirked. “Then why keep me alive? Why not drain me and be rid of me?”
His jaw ticked and I narrowed my glare into the pits of darkness that stared back at me. His silence said it all.
“That’s what I thought,” I whispered.
I’d done countless life-endangering things during my time at the Hive, but antagonizing a predatory vampire like Vaspar was definitely one of the most purposefully reckless choices I’d made.
