Hireh returned with silky transparent robes draped over her arms. I stood without being asked to. There were two layers to the garments she brought. The first layer was silvery and unable to hide my naked body on its own. Combined with the white second layer, I was almost wearing clothes. I wasn’t given any underthings, and a simple silver sash was all that sealed the robes closed. Hireh tied the sash into an intricate knot that resembled our silver-wreath insignia. It was all for show, because the knot wasn’t strong. Tugging one of the loops would undo it all.
“You’re ready to meet Adano,” Hireh announced.
I knew this would happen, but it didn’t stop an invisible stone from settling in my stomach.
CHAPTER 11
LISETTE
HIREH escorted me down more halls. The layout was almost interchangeable from wing to wing, but this was the performance wing. A vampire and vampyre were brought here to couple. Each door we passed was numbered, one of many performance chambers. Ednis was waiting for us outside of chamber fifty-seven with a handful of orderlies. I saw no vampyre, and the metal door was closed. Somehow, this door emanated cold as if frigid air were blowing through the cracks, though that couldn’t be true because it was thoroughly sealed.
Yet another soundproof room, then.
“And here you are,” Ednis said. Her pactputer lay trapped underneath her arm as usual and her lab coat was pristinely pressed. “Do what you must to ensure success. If Adano maintains a few scratches or bruises, we won’t hold that against you. And make sure you bite him. Your venom should suit him, based on my tests.”
“Suit him?” I asked.
“Arouse him and/or sedate him, perhaps. One way or another, it should please him.”
My lips twitched. “Understood.”
Ednis required I attend her crash course on sex, but she hadn’t seen fit to properly brief me on “rambunctious” Adano. Everything she said about him was vague, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I could handle that, but it made me wonder why and if she had a reason for it.
I wanted to strike a deal with Adano, and I would. I was confident, too confident. Ednis had warned me that Adano was trouble, but I was about to get a taste of just how much.
“Let her in,” Ednis said.
One of the orderlies typed in a code on the keypad attached to the door. A blue light flashed and a click followed. Ednis grabbed the door handle. “Quickly, Lisette. I’ll shut and lock this door again as soon as you’re inside.”
I stood at the door’s side, and Ednis yanked it open. She slammed it shut when I had barely cleared the space; she almost caught my robes. Another click sounded and I was locked inside the chamber. My training took over as I quickly scanned my surroundings. I zeroed in on the most important/pressing details first. Number one on that list was the vampyre: Adano Vice.
He was located directly across from me. While this room was much bigger than the one I had slept in, it was just as square. A single large bed that took up most of the space was placed in the center, the sole barrier between me and the vampyre. Every inch of the concrete foundation was lined with some sort of padding and a plastic cover. It was soft under my feet when I stepped out of the clunky slippers hindering my mobility.
Lastly, I noted the two wall-mounted cameras in opposite corners of the room. They’d watch us and listen too.
Adano clutched his silky robes as if they were about to be ripped away by a whirlwind. His pale-gray skin had a subtle blue undertone, but all color was chased away from his hand when he clung to the next-to-useless fabrics. The action bleached his skin as white as his snowy hair. His hair was long enough to irritate his eyes, but it was swept to the side and seemed content to stay there. He was toned, but not refined like a warrior, meaning he trained his body to maintain his health but was no match for my physical prowess or experience.
Near the end of my assessment, I lingered on his eyes. They were ice, almost white. They might have been considered unnerving, but that wasn’t what held my attention. It was what I saw through them.
I knew how to read eyes.
The way the whites of Adano’s eyes showed more than usual combined with the stiff body language and the shallow breathing could only mean one thing: he was scared shitless.
But then he did something unexpected. He smiled.
That smile grew into a grin. Sharp white teeth changed the glint in his eyes to something… wild. He dropped his hands to his sides, shoulders loose and free. The fear was there and gone in a flash. Someone less experienced might have claimed I had fabricated it.
I knew better.
But I was somewhat disappointed.
A vampyre didn’t look all that different from a male thrall. I hadn’t expected anything more, but my subconscious had been brewing the mysterious image of something legendary for years based on the fact our vampyres were sequestered away like our rarest jewels. That last part was true, but he seemed so… unremarkable.
Though, the way he masked his emotions intrigued me. That was impressive. I wore a mask of indifference, never allowing full-blown expressions to form. It worked for me most of the time, but if anyone bothered to look closely, they’d see through the facade. A partially cocked eyebrow, twitching lips, the faintest line of a scowl, said thousands of words. Adano used something much harder to see through: misdirection. A grin that portrayed happiness could easily hide something sinister.
The grin he wore had changed his presence from prey to predator. As if to complete the illusion of predator, he began to close in, one deliberate step at a time.
I didn’t move. I knew how to play this game, and I knew he would flinch first. He had never faced an opponent like me.
CHAPTER 12
LISETTE
A scent wafted past me. Adano’s scent. It was sharp like rummadies, fruity and sweet, but impossibly more potent. A familiar ache pierced my veins. Had I not fully recovered? No, it wasn’t that. This was different. My veins heated, eyes dilated, and my core ignited. Venom dripped from my fangs and sizzled on my tongue.
Well, this is unpleasant, I thought.
My head was muddled, but I realized what was going on: attraction. My body recognized he’d make me bleed if I took him. Like hell. I recognized the sensation for what it was and put it in its place.
Adano reached the bed. He slowly traced its square frame, deciding how he would bridge the last bit of distance between us. Fast, slow, perhaps with an element of surprise… I wouldn’t find out what he had in mind, because I acted first.
I leapt over the bed and tackled him. We slid when his back hit the padded ground, the plastic covering much slipperier than concrete. His head bumped harmlessly against the equally padded wall, and the grin didn’t leave his face. However, his eyes flickered, belying his surprise.
Adano struggled, fingers clawed, but I held his arms down. I locked his legs between mine too, forming a trap he couldn’t wiggle out of. I lowered my face to his, intending to whisper into his ear, but he headbutted me.
CRACK.
His hard skull broke my nose. He hadn’t held back. Blood gushed from my nostrils, and a wave of dizziness allowed Adano’s escape. He shoved me to the side, depositing me on my stomach. I caught his ankle as he scrambled to his feet. He fell.
He tried to kick me with his free leg, but I caught that ankle too. His moves were wild and unrefined, but he had spirit. Perhaps he could have become a slayer too—if vampyres were ever allowed to be anything more than pampered seed donors. They didn’t have to carry or care for the scamps they helped create.
Why does he fight? I wondered. Is life not easy enough for him?
I couldn’t complain, though. His uncooperative attitude was my only chance at getting out of here. I just needed to understand why he acted out and then give myself an opportunity to talk, to appeal to him.
I pressed down on his legs and heaved my body on top of his. Once my thighs had his locked, he could hardly move. His grin wavered. His hands shot out for me, nails ready
to dig into flesh, but I was faster. I caught his wrists and squeezed hard enough to bruise. He winced as I forced his hands to the ground, binding them as thoroughly as his legs. He bucked his hips to no avail. I skimmed my hands up to his biceps. He couldn’t headbutt me again or sink his teeth into me.
His breaths came in haggard and uneven. Sweat beaded on his brow, and I took the signs of fatigue as my opportunity to inch closer. I took his hips with my knees, pressing all the way down to my feet in a solid grip so he couldn’t kick. Then I reached forward, hovering over him. My blood dripped onto his face, but he barely blinked. His eyes burned white-hot. If I brought my lips to his ear, he’d turn and bite me. I bit my tongue to stifle the urge to speak. I had to be as discreet as possible. Perhaps I just needed to wear him out first…
I sat back, adjusting myself a little more. With the power position attained, I could afford a moment to think about my next move—and I was curious. Vampyres were supposed to be sex fiends, but Adano didn’t seem even vaguely interested. I sat aligned with his hips. If he had been hard, I would have known. He was undeniably soft.
Adano strained to sit, but all he managed to do was disturb the globules of my blood on his face. My blood dripped down to his lips, but he sealed his lips, unwilling to taste it. Ednis said I should bite him. Admittedly, I couldn’t think of a better way to whisper into his ear, not now. If I had restrained him differently, locked him in a chokehold with my arms wrapped around his neck, I could have tried then, but they were watching my every move. They saw I had him where they wanted, or at least close to it. I couldn’t afford to arouse any suspicion.
The bite would have to do. I’d keep him conscious, and hopefully my venom would make him docile.
Quick as a viper, I pierced his neck with my fangs. He puffed out a breath as I injected my venom. A soft groan poured from his lips and his body went slack. I released his biceps, lifted myself on my knees, and yanked on his sash. It fell away in a ribbon of silver, pooling at his sides. I opened his robes and did the same with my own so it would appear I was doing what I was meant to. Luckily, my robes curtained our bodies, making it impossible to see if we were properly aligned or not. When I settled against Adano’s hips again, his body met mine in a new way; he was half hard.
My mind blanked. His skin was borderline feverish. His half erection pressed into the sensitive flesh of my sex. My breath hitched and a quiet moan escaped my lips without my permission. My venom coaxed him partway, but he still wasn’t hard enough to perform.
That doesn’t matter, I reminded myself.
I flattened myself against Adano and let my long hair drape down the sides of my face as I pressed my lips to his ear and whispered, “You’d better be able to hear me. I want to—”
His venom-heavy hand dropped onto the back of my head. I realized too late that my venom didn’t have him nearly as sedated as I had thought. He applied pressure, chained me against him with his other hand, and pierced my neck with his fangs.
At first, it hurt. His fangs were like sharp knives, and his venom was like fire. Then his venom short-circuited my brain, which shut down my entire body. I felt nothing but a dull throbbing heat in my core. My thoughts drifted away from me. Adano had injected me with far more venom than I had him. I had been too fearful of him falling unconscious. Now I was paralyzed. Helpless.
“Say something, vessel?” Adano laughed. “All the ways you want to fuck me?” His face was too close to mine, his smile too wide. “I couldn’t hear you. Say it again—if you can manage to before I kill you.”
He threw me off him. The impact didn’t hurt, and the padded floor added a bounce before I was settled on my back. I blinked and Adano was on top of me, hands like iron around my throat. My vision burned white and faded to black. My last thought, my last feeling, was shame. This was my death, and it was the ultimate humiliation. I was a slayer, and I was about to be killed by a vampyre with no combat experience. He’d probably get away with it too. Our vampyres were so precious it didn’t matter if they were homicidal maniacs. The rest of us were expendable. I knew that, but I didn’t want to die.
A simple click was my salvation.
The door flew open. Several orderlies flooded inside. Ednis entered last. She held a small stun gun in her hand and fired. The barbs jammed into Adano’s exposed chest. He screamed and writhed until his body seized up completely. He was left panting when the orderlies gathered around him, reclaiming the probes while making sure he was pinned.
I blinked, tried to move, but I was slow and numb. I saw Queen Maud in the doorway, a golden silhouette. I thought I was hallucinating, but then she tsked and spoke. “Adano, I’m very disappointed in you.”
Adano’s chest heaved and his eyes flashed, moonlight glinting off ice. I knew that look. It was hate, pure and unadulterated. Many Schengs had given me this same look.
“Come along, Vessel Lisette.” Hireh ducked past the queen and lifted my vulnerable form with the help of an orderly. The queen stepped aside to let us through. I never thought I’d see the day when the queen would step aside for me. I was stuck on that thought as Ednis came after me, Hireh, and the orderly, stopping us in the hall.
Ednis propped open one of my heavy eyelids with pointy fingers. “Eyes are dilated,” she murmured. “Take her to her room and get some blood down her. Once she’s recovered, we’ll try again.”
CHAPTER 13
LISETTE
Adano had sunk all the venom he had into me. No wonder it had incapacitated me. It would take him a day of rest while sipping nutritious blood to restore it all.
“More blood?” Hireh asked as she motioned for my glass. She wouldn’t stop fussing over me, though there wasn’t a mark left on me. She had given me a damn sponge bath in my assigned room, forgetting the bathhouse.
I handed her the glass but said, “I’m fine.”
“You had a single glass—”
I bared my teeth. “I said I’m fine.”
“Very well.” Hireh took her cart and went to the door. She paused there and bowed. “I’ll be back soon to escort you to the cafeteria. Ednis wants you there.”
Of course she does. “Tell her I’m sick.”
Hireh didn’t reply. She opened the door and wheeled the cart out, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I wondered what would happen if I left my room to wander. I hadn’t been given a tour of the place, so there was plenty to explore. I could ask for a tour but didn’t care to. I needed solitude, and I needed to think.
I hopped out of the utilitarian bed and assumed the most basic barakor stance. I firmly planted my feet wide and kept my knees soft. Like this, I could easily dig in and take a hit or dart to the side and dodge. I jabbed in time with my exhales and wound my hands back in with my inhales.
I wouldn’t let Adano fuck me over like that again. I was being too careful with my movements and my venom. After feeling the full effects of his venom, I knew he’d be able to hear me if I gave him a much healthier dose of my own. It wouldn’t be ideal. He’d miss a few words, but it was the best option I had if I couldn’t get him to calm down.
I want to make a deal. Would those words be enough to tame the savage beast? Would he have heard me out if I had been able to finish what I had tried to say? Maybe and maybe not. He didn’t want anything to do with me or the performance chamber, but he wanted something. Everyone did.
After what happened today, Ednis wouldn’t find it suspicious if I interrogated her to learn more about Adano. I’d take advantage and do that as soon as I saw her again. For now, I replayed my first interaction with Adano. There was a clue in there somewhere, something that hinted at Adano’s desires. There had to be.
Adano wasn’t a trained fighter but he had spirit. He hated everything about his current situation, including everyone involved. He had no interest in me. I had experienced a flash of attraction, but I didn’t see anything like that from him. He became half hard because of my venom, the same way his venom lit up my core even though it paralyzed me at the same
time.
Little hits of venom were how vampires used venom in foreplay. I apparently hadn’t used enough while Adano had used too much, overstimulating my body to the point of burnout. But Ednis had been right about my venom affecting Adano. It aroused and sedated him, and his venom did the same to me. Using the “perfect” amount was something that would take practice, something Adano once again had no interest in.
He tried to kill me.
Adano was a real problem for Silver Hollow. Ednis hadn’t blown the situation out of proportion. If anything, she had understated it. No one but a strong warrior or slayer had any chance of succeeding with the temperamental vampyre. Unless he was bound. That could work. So why hadn’t they tried that with one of their true vessels? Surely I wasn’t the only complementary fit. Something wasn’t lining up.
I thought Adano was a spoiled brat acting out, but that look in his eyes was filled with deep-seated hate.
If I were obedient, I’d have taken my punishment, believed Ednis’s words, and stopped my questions and traitorous thoughts then, but I couldn’t do it. The thought of growing a scamp inside of me, ruining the physique I’d trained so hard for… No, the thought of taking Adano inside of me and then growing a scamp for several months, doing nothing, slowly going crazy, was too much.
I don’t want it. I wasn’t raised for this. This is a waste of my skills.
I was built to be a lethal killing machine. That and the support of a team were all I had ever known. No, it wasn’t even that. I did my best by them and did what I could to protect them, but there was only one vampire I counted on.
I missed Fyefa.
Sweat poured down my face. I had lost count of how many jabs I’d made. So, I moved on to kicks. I wanted more resistance than air, but this room was desolate. I didn’t have my leathers, my cloak, my aassu, my badge. I didn’t have Tuel’s badge. Fyefa had nearly killed me.
I leapt forward and screamed with my next kick. My heel connected with a concrete wall. It cracked. It began as a fissure, then it grew as I applied more pressure. When I withdrew my leg, my heel was bloody with a minor cut, but my bones were intact. I had won this round.
Vampire Captives (From Blood to Ashes Book 1) Page 6