She found him interesting as well, but that wasn’t a reason to remain. Not in the one place where she could die just from bumping into a wall.
Self preservation said to lie again. Just take the deal he was offering and figure out a way to lie around that one too. If he wanted her to stay here forever, then she could pretend to agree to that. It didn’t mean she actually had to stay here.
Lilith took a deep breath, then nodded. “Fine, if that’s the only rule you have, so be it. I’d rather stay alive than die on a pyre.”
He reached forward and tucked his finger underneath her chin. He tilted her head back so he could look into her eyes. “You made your own choice, vampiress. Remember that.”
Of course she had. Did he think she wouldn’t fight this with every fiber of her soul? She’d be out of this damn realm within the week if she had her wits about her.
And she did. Vampires had an unnatural way to sway people to their side. How else would she feed from strangers every week?
Lilith nodded and smiled sweetly into his eyes. “Don’t you worry, faerie king. I’ll be thrilled as your servant.”
“You’re plotting something.”
“I would never.”
He grinned back at her. “You’ll be a fitting addition to my collection someday, vampiress. It’s a shame you thought you had me this time.”
Lilith opened her mouth to ask what he meant, only to pause as cold metal locked around her neck.
10
Her wide eyes made him rock hard and painfully uncomfortable. A woman shouldn’t be able to do that to him and yet, here she was. Standing there with pure shock in her gaze, mouth slightly open, betrayal turning her brown eyes even darker.
Drake wanted to slide his hand behind her neck and tunnel his fingers into the greasy locks of her hair. He wanted to yank her forward and see if her tongue tasted like blood or like the way she smelled. Minty and delicious.
He couldn’t do any of that, however. She’d agreed to be his servant, and that already was sending his thoughts into a tailspin.
“I didn’t think she’d agree,” the elemental murmured in his mind, just as shocked.
Drake didn’t reply. The woman had no idea he had an elemental locked inside his body. But he also was shocked to realize she would do whatever it took to stay alive.
He supposed that fell in line with her species. Vampires were notoriously difficult to kill. They drank the blood of what was once their own kind, after all. He might keep trophies of the creatures he’d killed, but he never tasted them.
Perhaps he’d done it that one time. He’d made sure the faerie creature was cooked, however. He never ate anything raw.
Stepping back, he forced his hand to his side as he admired the metal choker around her neck. It had all the looks of a manacle. Rough hewn iron, thick and heavy, the clasp at the front was sealed by magic so it looked like a single forged piece. A small circle was soldered into one side just in case he wanted to attach a chain to it.
Oh, she’d look lovely with a chain attached to his hip.
Lilith reached up and touched the collar. Her mouth opened, closed, and then opened again so she could stutter, “What the hell is this?”
Her expression might be his new favorite. How lovely it was to see that shock, horror, and awe on her face as she realized he’d tricked her. Yes, that was the perfect expression. She should wear that all the time.
He motioned to the collar. “Just something to ensure you don’t try to back out of our bargain.”
“The bargain was to be your servant,” she said, her eyes wide and her breathing fast. “That was it.”
“To be a servant of the Autumn Court means you have pledged your allegiance to me.” He straightened his back, set his shoulders wide, and kept his stance powerful. He knew he looked every inch a faerie king in this moment. “You can never leave the Autumn Court. Not until I let you.”
He watched the knowledge wash over her. The horror that she was stuck here. The sadness that she hadn’t trapped him with whatever trick she had up her sleeve. And then the complete and utter resignation that she’d sealed her own fate.
Lilith inclined her head and sighed. “That means you win, I suppose.”
“I always do.”
Perhaps whatever faerie had let her into this realm didn’t tell her that. Maybe she’d never heard the rumors about the King of the Flame or what he’d done in his past. If she didn’t, then he felt a little guilty for tricking her like this. But if she had heard of him and his conquests, then she must have known she’d lose.
No one had ever bested him.
“Come with me,” he said, gesturing toward the door that opened at his command. “You’ll be reporting to my head of staff.”
She remained frozen in place, casting a glance to the back of the trophy room. For a second, he thought she was looking at his blade again.
Of all people, he understood that desire. The blade had been his personal addiction for centuries. It wanted his blood, and he desired the pain it could give him. Nothing else was as good as the magic inside that weapon.
But then he realized she wasn’t glaring at the knife. Instead, she was glaring at the head beside it. The elf whose eyes were locked open in anger for all eternity. If his ears didn’t deceive him, he thought she might have called the elf a “fucker” before marching out of the trophy room as though she was the one who owned the fortress. Not him.
Amused, Drake trailed along behind her. “Take a left. What did the elf do to earn your anger?”
She promptly turned left and lifted both hands into the air. “I just don’t like his face.”
“Seems like it would be more than just his face considering the name you called him.”
“Maybe I judge people on their looks,” she snarled. The vampiress stopped in the middle of a fork and waited for him to tell her where to go.
He could get used to her following his orders. It made things much more pleasant. Unfortunately, he had a feeling she wouldn’t let him order her around for much longer.
“Take a right,” he said as he caught up to her. “What exactly made you agree to my terms, by the way?”
“There wasn’t another option for me, was there?” Her hips swung with her anger and he couldn’t keep his eyes off them.
For such a slight thing, her shape was a distracting hourglass. Her legs and bottom half might be a little too thick for some men. But he appreciated a woman who had some meat to her bones.
Drake needed to be careful with this one. She wasn’t some delicate faerie woman who knew she could break if he got too rough. This vampire would only encourage him to be even more aggressive with her until one of them snapped.
Drake worried she might be the one to break him and not the other way around. He simply couldn’t suffer through that.
What were they talking about?
Oh, right. “An honorable person would have chosen death. I understand the need to survive, but to allow yourself to be the servant of a faerie king?” He tsked. “What a fate.”
“You’re a faerie king,” she snapped. Finally she turned around and glared at him with so much hatred in her eyes he wondered how he didn’t burst into flames. “What does that say about you? Or all the people who serve you?”
“That we’re all damned, vampiress.”
She frowned. “Such a horrible outlook on life for a faerie. You realize you’re the favored species, right? If anyone is damned, it’s my kind.”
He hesitated in the hall as she turned and continued on without him. She really had no idea, did she? The vampiress had never heard of him or all the things he’d done. Or even of his people.
Now, this had just gotten even more interesting.
She’d never heard of the faerie wars. The ones where he had won all the heads in his trophy room and more. She didn’t know the other faeries considered him a murderer, or that any who followed him were considered monsters. That’s why all his faeries were horrific beasts from the depths of hell i
tself.
She’d never heard of him.
Drake hurried to catch up with her. “Take a left!” he shouted.
She turned out of his sight.
His heart skipped a beat the moment he couldn’t see her anymore. She couldn’t go anywhere without him finding her, but that didn’t mean he wanted to chase her through the entire Autumn Court.
Worse, the image of his first intended bride flashed in his mind. What if she walked into flames? Then his newest toy would be ruined, and he’d never get to play with her.
He raced down the hall and extended his hand, flexing the power boiling just underneath his skin. He could feel the collar responding to him, forcing her body to remain locked in place and wait until he caught sight of her again.
She hadn’t gotten very far. Actually, she was only a few steps around the corner. Maybe she’d already been waiting for him, but whatever it was, she now stood shaking with her hands clenched into fists.
The collar glowed bright red around her throat. He didn’t know if it hurt. Never cared to ask any of the people who’d worn it before. But he knew the magic compelling her to listen to his order wasn’t comfortable.
Swallowing hard, he reminded himself this was what he wanted. Her following his every order. Under his thumb, where he could keep an eye on her.
Right?
The elemental spoke in his mind, “Yes, this is what we wanted. She needs to learn how to listen to your orders.”
And yet, it still felt wrong. Like he was about to be punished for doing what he thought was right.
Drake plastered a vacant expression on his face and reminded himself he was king. Nothing he did was wrong. That was one of the benefits of being king. He walked around her and stood in front of her angry glare. “The collar makes it so you can’t ignore any of my orders. If I say jump, you say how high.”
He released the magical pressure.
A growl came before her words. “At least give me a warning that you want something, Your Majesty. Otherwise you might find yourself with a knife in your heart while you sleep.”
He chuckled. “I’d look forward to seeing you try to harm me with that collar around your neck.” He tapped a finger against the metal. “Come on, there’s not far to go now.”
Drake turned around and led her toward the kitchens, keeping his back to her so she didn’t see his face. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could hold the apathetic expression when his hands were shaking so badly.
He could have killed her. He could have made her suffer much worse pain just because he didn’t want her to rush down the halls without him knowing where she was. Stupid. Foolish. He was releasing her into the servant’s quarters and likely wouldn’t see her for weeks while he completed all his duties as king.
He needed to get used to the idea of her roaming his palace without his supervision. Otherwise, he’d go mad wondering where she was.
The kitchens bustled with life even though there wasn’t all that much to do in the fortress. Or perhaps there was, and he simply didn’t know what his servants did during the day. It was probably a mix of both.
Flint stood in the center of the madness with his arms crossed over his chest. He glared at a few servants who got too close to him, but for the most part, he remained still as stone.
“Flint!” Drake called out. “This is the woman we spoke about.”
He hoped the head of staff wouldn’t give away too much. Flint had always been trustworthy, but the last thing Drake wanted was for his only confidante to waggle his lips and make Lilith believe she was more important than she actually was.
Because she wasn’t important at all. That’s why he was making her a servant.
Lilith stepped up to Flint and looked him in the eye. She didn’t flinch away from his direct gaze or even seem to care that lava dripped down his temple. “My name’s Lilith. I’m a vampire.”
He curled his lip. “Does that mean you’ll need to eat more than the others? We don’t have a lot of food in the fortress.”
“I just need blood.”
Flint’s stoney expression cracked in surprise before he caught it. “You’ll find little of that lying around.”
“Looks like you have plenty of servants to order around. Have one of them open a vein once a week and I’ll be just fine.” She shrugged as if that wasn’t a horrific request.
Drake remained on the sidelines of this conversation. He refused to intervene, even when Flint looked over at him, clearly begging for help.
The head of staff had been the one to suggest making her a servant. He’d have to be the one to order her around when Drake wasn’t there. So Drake crossed his arms and shrugged.
Flint sighed. “I will not order any faerie to allow you to feed upon their life force.”
“I’m drinking their blood, not taking years off their life,” she replied with a snort. “They’ll be fine when I’m done with them.”
“Can you promise that?”
Lilith nodded toward Drake. “Or he can give me that knife back and I’ll make use of what’s in it already.”
Well, that wasn’t happening. Drake finally stepped into the conversation before his head of staff could readily agree to that stipulation. “She’ll be attending to me personally, Flint. Just show her the ropes and the rest will be whatever I need her to do that day.”
Flint stared at him like he’d grown horns. “Your Majesty?”
“See that it’s done.” He looked to Lilith who was also giving him a rather slack jawed expression. “What? Did you think I’d just let you disappear?”
“Kinda,” she replied. So quickly he thought she might not have thought about what she said.
Considering the blush on her cheeks, a color he’d never seen, she likely had hoped he would leave her alone.
Drake grinned. “You’re stuck with me, vampiress.”
“Lucky me,” she snarled.
11
“Come with me,” the strange man barked as the king left the kitchens.
Lilith could only assume this Flint was the head of staff. Considering the looks he gave everyone else, she sure hoped so. If he wasn’t, then he was about to get a smack down from the guy who was.
She trailed after him and tried not to slack jaw all the strange creatures walking through the halls. Each one was made of fire, or something equally hot.
All the faeries flinched far from her reach as soon as they cast eyes upon her. A single touch from one of them would send her burning into oblivion. Maybe they knew that. Or they were scared of her. One or the other.
It could be the glare Flint speared them with as he made a path for the two of them to head into a back room. It was filled with black linen robes on rods stretching over three walls.
“Take one,” Flint said. He didn’t seem to be able to speak in a kind voice. Instead, he just barked orders and shouted at people until they did what he wanted.
If he thought to frighten her, he’d have to try a lot harder.
Lilith reached for one of the robes with a gleeful smile. “Ah, what a lovely fabric. You know, I spent much of my early life as a vampire with a fabric smuggler in Romania.”
“Good for you.” He nodded to the next door. “In there.”
“What do you want me to do in there?”
“Change,” he snarled.
Well, so much for idle conversation. Lilith wasn’t about to argue considering she’d been wearing the same leather clothes for a couple weeks now and she probably smelled like a men’s locker room.
“Is there a bath in there?” she asked.
He glared at her with so much hatred it was surprising she didn’t burst into flames.
“Right,” she muttered. “I’ll make quick work of it then.”
She traipsed through the open door into the room beyond. It was actually a bathroom. A few iron spigots served for shower heads, although they were rusted and had seen better days. Considering there were only two of them, she assumed most of the faeries here we
ren’t big fans of water.
Made sense, considering most of them had fire for hair. She snickered at the thought of one dousing themselves in water and being nothing more than a bald headed creature with ash melting down its face like mascara.
Sure, she could do this. All she had to do was carry a bucket with her everywhere she went.
Lilith peeled her leather clothing off and held her breath as she tossed the items to the side. She’d miss that corset. It was a beautiful piece that she’d had for years, but no way could she get the smell out of it. Her sweat had soaked into the leather and tanned it a different color in some spots.
She wasn’t going to even look at the pants if that had happened to the top. Nope, not worth it.
Both items were tossed into a corner where she was certain some poor faerie would find them later. Too bad for them, that job would be rather grotesque.
Lilith turned the knob of the spigot and waited for the water to come out. Pipes clanged and groaned like they hadn’t been used in years. Maybe they hadn’t, because the water that eventually came out reeked of sulphur.
“It’s better than what I smell like, I guess,” she grumbled.
She made quick work of her shower even though she wanted to spend hours in the water. The last thing she needed was Flint walking in and barking at her because she took too long. The man was already grumpy enough.
She turned the water off and tried to ignore the sticky residue on her skin. This wasn’t necessarily any more clean than what she was before. But at least she didn’t smell like sweat.
Tossing the robe up and over her head, she exited the bathroom and returned to Flint’s side. Her hair stuck to her cheeks and soaked the robe’s shoulders with sulphuric water.
He looked her up and down, then curled one side of his mouth.
“What?” she asked. “Did you think I would come out here smelling like roses? You have sulphur in your water. I know I smell like farts, get over it.”
Apparently that wasn’t the right thing to say. He sniffed and turned away from her with his nose so far up in the air she wondered how he didn’t clip it on the ceiling.
King of the Flame Page 7