by Meg Xuemei X
Pain pierced me as he tore through the barrier—he was too large for me, and my depth was narrow. But then waves of pleasure washed over the ache.
Reys let out a rasping breath at our full contact. Reluctance and unbridled lust warred in his liquid golden eyes that burned with beautiful fae fire.
Before he could pull out of me, I said, “It feels so good, Reys. Just a little bit more.”
“I’ll have to take you hard and claim you properly another day,” he said. “Soon.”
“Fine, just give me a few seconds,” I said as I rocked my hips, sending a different, more pleasing sensation through me.
Even though the pleasure was all-consuming, my plan still lingered in the back of my mind. I had to act now.
I grabbed the glass of wine with the sleep elixir in it, took a mouthful, and pressed my lips against Reysalor’s. When he opened his mouth for me, I poured the liquid into it.
Our tongues tangled as he swallowed the drugged wine.
I took another swig. After the third time, the glass was nearly empty.
His tongue twirling around mine slowed down, as if it grew heavy.
I withdrew my tongue, and cupped his face.
I rocked on his hard cock, need and lust still lashing at my molten core. It was a pity I wouldn’t be able to finish this.
His eyelids drifted shut. “There’s something wrong, Cass baby,” he slurred. “It’s either the kiss or the wine.”
“You’re tired, Reys,” I whispered. “Take a nap. You need it.” I brushed a kiss over his lips.
With a struggle, he peeled open his eyes and blinked at me. Then rage formed in them as he realized what I had done.
“Cass, did you intentionally drug—”
His hand lashed out. I thought he was going to strangle me, but he didn’t. His fae power roared over me, but it was too late.
The potent elixir was in his bloodstream, and the wine made it flow faster.
“Don’t, Cass. I need to protect—” His head lolled onto his shoulder as sleep dragged him under.
His cock was still granite hard inside me.
By sheer will, I pulled off him, leaving my body screaming in frustration.
Sighing, I arranged his cock as best I could back into his trousers, then grabbed a blanket to cover him. I shed my dress as I moved to the closet and grabbed some hunting clothes and boots. Once dressed, I grabbed one of Reysalor’s daggers and hid it under my leather jacket.
I went to the bathroom to rinse my mouth and brush my tongue, lest any remnants of the sleeping elixir affect me.
When I was done, I went to Reysalor and gave him a warm, sensual kiss in farewell.
“I have to do this on my own, Reys,” I murmured. “Otherwise I’ll always have a target on my back, or I’ll forever have to do your or Lorcan’s bidding. I’ll never be free if I stay.”
I turned on my heel, opened the door, and slid out, making sure to shut it noiselessly behind me.
14
I flashed a vicious grin at the four guards outside the door and strode toward the other end of the hallway, as if I owned the building.
I’d chosen this hour to depart because vampires were most languid during daytime, and right now most of them slumbered in their shaded quarters.
Once I got out of here, the vampires wouldn’t be too much of a threat to me.
“Stop!” a guard called after me, then chased me when he saw I had no intention of halting.
Panic rose to my throat, but I didn’t rush my steps. I couldn’t let them see how worried I was. Vampires are predators. As soon as you run, you become prey, and they hunt you down.
“Where are you going, Miss Saélihn?” the guard asked, his hand grabbing my biceps, trying to make me stop.
If I had my power, he would have lost his hand. But Jezebel’s spell prevented me from accessing it. My only hope was that her spells would eventually wear off.
I elbowed the guard.
“How dare you lay a finger on me?” I said with barely contained rage. “And who the fuck are you to question me?”
He stepped back, a grimace clouding his pretty face.
He’d seen my bad attitude toward Lorcan and my assault on the vampire king, so he knew I wouldn’t be civil if a lowly guard crossed me.
“You’re supposed to stay in your room, Miss Saélihn, for your safety,” he stuttered. The poor thing looked exhausted. Of course, this was his usual sleeping time.
I let a manic light glint in my eyes. “Are you fucking threatening me?”
“No, Miss Saélihn, I wouldn’t,” he said meekly. “We’re your guards. It’s our duty to keep you safe.”
“I’m going for a walk,” I ground out, turning on my heels and keeping my pace. “This whole place is like a fucking cage.”
“Shouldn’t Prince Reysalor accompany you?” he inquired.
I wheeled on him with a taunting grin. “You want to challenge His Highness Reysalor and question his decision to let me have fresh air?”
It sounded ridiculous to call Reys “His Highness.” His haunting kiss still burned on my lips. I’d seduced him, and his control had slipped. I wanted to cry out at the sudden stab of pain at leaving him behind, but I clenched my jaw to conceal it. I didn’t even know him or Lorcan that well, and yet it pained me to be away from them. This strange, strong attachment was doing me no good.
The guard looked uncertain. “But he’s always with you.”
I shrugged nonchalantly and kept walking.
He sighed and followed me, and then two other guards trailed after us.
Great. Just fucking great. I couldn’t even fool them into letting me take a walk on my own.
“Prince Reysalor agreed to let me enjoy the view outside alone,” I said, my voice full of menace. “Do you lot really want to piss him off?”
He didn’t halt. “I’m sorry, Miss Saélihn, with respect. We have to do our job to safeguard you, or the High Lord will have our heads.”
I could see the guard was grappling with a dilemma. Lorcan had never issued an order that I couldn’t leave the dome unescorted, since he’d assumed Reysalor would keep me in line. He’d never expected that I would try to escape.
I’d vowed to him that I wouldn’t run away before I was ready, but under the circumstances, I had to go. I didn’t trust that Lorcan would put my interests first. When he brought the help and released the spells that bound my power, nothing would stop him from adding his own spells to keep me on a short leash.
The lord of all vampires would never let his most lethal weapon be uncontrolled.
If I didn’t flee now, I would never escape the path he’d set for me. I couldn’t afford to be weak—mentally, physically, or emotionally—if I wanted my freedom.
Just as I pondered how to ditch the vampire guards, another vampire spoke up behind me, “Let Miss Cassandra Saélihn enjoy the fresh air undisturbed. I’ve just checked with Prince Reysalor, and that’s his order.”
Why was this guard lying to help me out? I looked over my shoulder at him, narrowing my eyes when I realized he was one of Jade’s friends. He’d sneered at me when my power hadn’t worked on Lorcan or Reysalor in the training hall, and I’d lashed out at him with my black fire. I smirked when I saw that he was wearing a wig now.
He hated me, so I truly had no idea why he was helping me. I shrugged. I needed to hurry before Reysalor woke up.
“I’ll tag her in the distance,” he said. “And I’ll bring her back later.”
As if he could.
“I’m not sure, Gasper,” the guard who had first stopped me said. “We should all go with her and protect her.”
“Why don’t you and I tag along instead of having everyone follow Miss Saélihn?” Gasper said. “You know how it’ll turn out for us when the wild thing bites.”
I almost snorted, but I didn’t slow my pace.
The plan worked for me. I could ditch the two of them. The vampires were fast, but they hadn’t seen my speed yet. Jezebel�
��s spells inhibited my aggressive power, but they couldn’t limit my natural ability—my eyesight, hearing, and speed.
“Trust me, Fagan,” Gasper said. “I’m much older than you. I’ve handled hundreds of the High Lord’s women.”
That stung. If I didn’t have to hurry, I’d slap him for the gossiping bitch he was.
“She isn’t like any of them,” Fagan said, lowering his voice. “His High Lord treats her differently and gives her leverage, despite her manners.”
“He might think she’s interesting right now, but in the end, it’s all the same for him. He never keeps anyone after a couple of months.”
The information of Lorcan’s past women grated on my nerves.
“I’m not Lorcan’s bitch, dicks,” I half-shouted.
I strode past an archway and headed to a side door at the end of a chapel. Light bled into the room and thrill shot through me. My freedom lay just outside that door.
Guards usually milled about all over the place, but it was quiet today, too quiet. But I chalked that up to the hour.
I kicked the door. It cracked but still hung on. I gave it another boot, and the door tumbled down. I needed to leave this place with attitude, so no one would suspect that I was fleeing.
The gossiping behind me subdued, and I could picture the guards trading an alarmed look. When I stepped on the heavy wooden door and went outside, the guards didn’t follow me immediately.
I took a lungful of air. The scent of fresh grass, morning dew, and faint blossoms wafted toward me, calling me to venture further into the nature.
The sunlight was dim and weak. It seemed always dim and weak in ShadesStar. It must have been the deciding factor when Dario had picked this terrain as his lair. It was too bad. I had been hoping for strong sunbeam to bake the vampires’ asses.
A trace of magic from the soil tugged at me as I trod on the infinite fields of lush grass, but when I called it, the magic slid away. The earth sensed the binding spells inside me and wanted nothing to do with them.
All the more reason to get the hell out of here, before more spells came my way.
Strangely, the guards were scarce outside the dome as well, even in such a weak sunlight.
I bolted toward northwest toward the mountains.
Reysalor hadn’t tried to keep me ignorant when I asked him about the geography of the immortal realm. The vampire domain was called ShadesStar. Over the mountain was Moonshine, the shifters’ territory. On the west across the shining sea was the fae realm of Sihde, the Spring Isles.
Between the three immortal realms was a triangular area, where a leyline to the mortal realm rested. That was where I raced to.
The vampire guards shouted behind me and gave a chase.
They zoomed in toward me and I zoomed out of their range.
Bloodsuckers.
I laughed. They hadn’t expected me to be this fast. What could I say? I was full of surprises.
The only two who could equal me were occupied now—one out looking for the demigod, and the other napping.
I laughed again at my shrewdness, and joy filled me. I was almost free.
Faster than an arrow, I ran past a cluster of pink bushes in a blur. The knee-high grass was untended on this fraction of the field, but it didn’t slow me down. Thorns poked through the vines, but I swept past them undeterred. I was clad all in leather—boots, pants, and jacket—and it shielded me from any thorns.
“Stop, Miss Saélihn! Please stop!” Fagan’s pathetic begging faded with the wind.
I reached rocky terrain, never once slowing my pace.
Once I entered the mortal realm, I’d blend into the crowd, become one of their faces, and vanish without a trace. I would live off the grid. I would make sure no one found me. My freedom would be mine to keep.
I would have to change my appearance, though. I would have to dye my hair, or at least get it all in one color. Right now, I was too noticeable. I would have to conceal my eyes somehow as well, but I would ponder that as soon as I reached one of the three cities I’d dream-visited: New York, Portland, or Sydney. Mostly Sydney. I would have to toss a coin to decide, and I would have to steal a coin from somewhere to do that.
I slowed as I spotted shadowy specks ahead.
Vampires.
An entire horde swarmed toward me.
I sharpened my focus and noticed more of them pouring out from an underground tunnel to the surface.
Half of the dome was built under the ground, and the vampire army had taken a shortcut to cut me off. In no time at all, more than thirty goons surrounded me.
“Fuck you all,” I spat. “I’m not going back.”
“Who said we want you back?” a familiar cold voice asked.
King Dario stepped through the opening. Jade fell in step to his left, her longsword drawn.
Reysalor had said that Jade had fled and Lorcan’s guards had been hunting her. It was obvious that they hadn’t been hunting her seriously enough if she’d managed to free the vampire king from the dungeon.
Jade tilted her blonde head. “You thought the guards would let you out so easily without a reason?”
No wonder her friend Gasper had urged the other guards to let me out, so this bunch could hunt me. And I’d thought that vampire rat was trying to gain my favor by kissing my ass.
It had been a fucking set-up.
They didn’t want to capture me. They wanted me dead.
Without my power, I doubted I could even take down two of them.
My heart beat an erratic rhythm, and Jade’s upper lip curled in a sneer.
They could all hear my frenetic heartbeat.
“I thought bloodsuckers don’t like the daylight.” I managed to say it casually, stalling them, but in my head I screamed Reysalor’s name. I’d once called for him in the vampire’s hall, and he’d come for me, a bit late though. Now the chance of him reaching me in time was remote, since I’d drugged him into a deep slumber.
Dario flashed a black sapphire ring on his finger. “Daylight doesn’t affect us much when we have the day ring, and the sun is less intense here than in other realms. It’s pity you’ve never been properly schooled.”
Whose fault was that? But I couldn’t challenge him now. I was weak. And alone.
“Who made the rings?” I asked, noticing that the vampires all had black rings on their fingers. I needed to keep the conversation going while I tried to come up with a plan. “A witch? Do you have a witch on your payroll? She must be expensive if she can make day rings for bloodsuckers. Perhaps I should meet her since she’s so useful.”
“I’m afraid you won’t get that chance. Today, we’ll kill you,” Jade said, stepping one foot closer to me and flashing her blade. “It’s nothing personal. But I have to protect my interests and those of my sister, who is the mistress of the Court of Blood and Void.”
“I thought the court belongs to Lorcan,” I said.
Jade hissed in rage at my blaspheming her High Lord by using his first name. I gave her a shrug.
“Mistress, huh? Like a concubine?” I was both mad and curious that Lorcan had a concubine.
She ignored my question.
“Listen,” I said, putting up my hands defensively. “I’m not a threat to you. I was planning to disappear into the mortal realm. Just let me go, and you’ll never hear from me again.”
“The High Lord will search for you to the ends of Earth,” Jade said. “It’s best we end you, so he can’t follow, and life will go back to the way it was.”
“Before you, no one could enthrall the High Lord of Night.” Dario’s voice dripped with distaste. “He’s never acted like this before. He was highly intelligent and never thought with his dick. But the moment you came onto the scene, he put you in the center of the universe. He put you above the court and everyone else. You’ve been out of the cage for less than a week, and you’ve already caused havoc and turned everything upside down. You disturbed the balance. You have no regard or respect for any traditions,
and he doesn’t even care. He even threw me, the King of ShadesStar, into the dungeon for you, and chained my beloved queen.”
“Once you’re dead, the spell you put on our lord will drop,” Jade said. “And the High Lord will return to his true self and lead us to the glorious days ahead, with me by his side.”
There was assent to her words in every vampire’s eyes. They were truly under the impression that I had bewitched Lorcan, and that they were doing him a loyal service by eliminating me. I had no way to persuade these delusional assassins.
Fagan’s voice came from outside the circle. “What is this? It’s a coup! You can’t do that! Let her go. She’s important to the High Lord.”
That was the wrong thing to say. Now they wouldn’t let him live, either. I felt sorry for the guard.
“I told you not to follow, Fagan,” Gasper said.
The sound of blade cutting into flesh made me flinch. Fagan gagged and slumped to the ground, eternally dead.
None of the vampires batted an eye.
“We don’t know what kind of monster you are, Cassandra,” Dario continued. “But my queen was wise to lock you up in the cage. She’s heartbroken knowing you can’t be saved.”
The mere mention of the cage made my blood boil, but I contained my rage.
“We’ll all have a taste of your blood,” Jade said, her teeth glinting even in the dull sunlight. “Then we’ll see for ourselves why the High Lord is so taken with you.”
Thirst blazed in the vampire horde’s eyes. They all wanted to drink from me.
“No!” Jezebel shrieked somewhere.
Mother dearest had arrived, or perhaps she had been there all along. I’d been so distracted by the assassins that I hadn’t sensed her presence.
Would she save me? Would she try to whisk me to another cage?
“Do not drink her blood,” Jezebel said. “You promised me, my king.”
Dario’s eyes softened. “Worry no more, my queen.”
“Just end my daughter quickly,” Jezebel said, moving forward and standing beside her husband. “Don’t make her suffer.”
I smiled at her like a hungry wolf.