Page 123 of Plug and Drain

“And who is this, Arken? She looks lost and forlorn.” His tone was sickly sweet like molten syrup, and he was so familiar in both sound and appearance to Nathaniel that Susie realised at once who he was.

The King.

He did not wear a crown, but the deference the vampire guards were showing him left no doubt that he was in charge.

Arken barely deigned to look at her, and only half turned towards her. “She is no one of importance.”

The words cut through her, but she tried not to let her hurt show as she turned to leave, realising there was a reason why Arken was ignoring her. Henrikk’s guards stood right behind her, blocking her way. They’d moved so silently that she gave a small scream of fright.

“Don’t run away just yet, little wolf,” Henrikk said in an ominous, singsong voice. “What is your name?”

Susie glanced at Arken, but he was staring out at the grounds as if the conversation didn’t interest him. She faced Henrikk, trying to appear neither assertive nor too meek. “Susanna.”

Arken’s protecting me.

She worked harder to appear meek, aloof, and uninteresting. And she tried very hard not to look at Arken.

“Susanna,” Henrikk repeated, rolling the word in his mouth. “What an…ordinary name. So common. There’s nothing special in it, wouldn’t you agree, Arken?”

Arken made a noncommittal sound, and he tried to change the topic, but Henrikk’s gaze slid down her body, making her flush with its undisguised intensity. She could feel him undressing her, ravishing her, and she tried to repress the cold shudder working its way up her back. “Who does she belong to, Arken?”

Arken winced almost imperceptibly, and his voice sounded strained as he said, “No one.”

“Indeed?” Henrikk tilted his head at her, his unsettling eyes milky, as if he had no irises, only black pupils set in white. “So, she is available?”

Arken didn’t hesitate. “I believe so.”

“A first-year?”

“Second, I think.”

“Trained?”

Arken gave a derisive scoff that sounded more like Nathaniel. “Naturally, there is a lot left to be desired in the younger cohorts. The older students, I am pleased to say, are far more—”

“Who is she?” Henrikk interrupted, his tone dangerously soft.

“As I said—no one important.”

No one important.

Susie bowed her head, hoping to convince Henrikk of that fact.

Arken was protecting her, he had to be. He wanted her to avoid Henrikk’s attention.

Is this why Nathaniel told me to stay away?

It seemed too late to worry about that now.

She tried not to fidget as she stood, hoping someone would dismiss her. Arken probably would have, had Henrikk not been eyeing her intently.

Henrikk’s smile curved wider. “I remember quite clearly the last time you told me a female was unimportant, Arken.”

Arken did not react, and that in itself was telling.

Henrikk hummed under his breath as he stared at her, deliberating.

Arken remained silent. Susie could read the fear in the rigidity of his stance and features. Finally, his gaze found hers, and she felt her heart jolt. It was as if he were silently reaching for her, trying to shield her.