Authors: Cege Smith
Angeline refused to be intimidated by something that wasn’t supposed to exist anymore. “You cannot make me stay with you against my will.”
“I
can
and you
will
,” the man said softly, but Angeline heard the threat in his voice. “Now let’s stop being cross with each other. We have a bit of a journey ahead of us and we might as well make the best of it. So let’s start things off properly. My name is Connor.”
“I don’t care who you are,” Angeline spat.
She was out of the crevice, on her feet, and pressed against him so fast she couldn’t believe it. His hands bit into the soft flesh of her upper arms and his face was inches away from hers. He stared deep into her eyes and then it was like all thoughts flew right out of her head. She felt her limbs go slack, and time stood still. There was nothing but his eyes and his mouth. Then he pulled her closer and his lips softly touched her forehead and she felt his tongue pass over the cut there. Even though the small part of her mind that was still functioning screamed that it was wrong, she felt another part of her, a much larger part, that didn’t care what he did to her.
Then his hands unlocked from her arms and Angeline slid to the ground. As her senses returned, she found herself staring at his boots. She felt drunk. He had not moved. She looked up at him.
“I could make you more pleasant if I chose to, but it has been a long time since I’ve been in the company of someone who I thought could carry on a sophisticated discussion. I understand that you’ve been studying the arts and science up there in your closeted convent. I was a student once too.” Connor’s tone was tinged with regret. “Right now, I am merely following my orders, Princess, which are to bring you to the one that wants to speak with you. I am not your enemy. You have nothing to fear from me.”
Angeline watched him turn and walk down a stone passageway that led away from the room. Her anger was gone. It was all too much to process. She had met a man who was a vampire, and contrary to every legend she had ever read, he hadn’t killed her. In fact, it felt quite the opposite. She sensed in him a deep desire for companionship. But her father was lying in his bed far away and he was dying. She had to find a way to get back to Brebackerin before that happened. The roots of a new plan started to blossom in her mind.
As she paced the small cave, Angeline tried to recall everything that she knew about vampires. The histories had turned into folklore that eventually became the ghost stories commonly told to children to keep them from misbehaving. That was because most people didn’t believe anymore that vampires ever existed, and although over time the Robarts had been content to leave it that way, Angeline knew better. Of course, the version she had been told was that her ancestor had exterminated them. The last epic battle between humans and vampires had been fought by her great-great-great-grandfather, Alair Robart. She had grown up listening to the stories of his bravery and valor in wiping out the remaining hives of vicious beasts who threatened harm to the people of Altera.
So the last thing that Angeline would have expected was the civilized nature and volatile emotions that appeared to be coursing just below the surface of the vampire who called himself Connor. Although he would have begun his life as a human, nothing in the legends gave any indication that those qualities remained after the transition into a vampire. Now that she had her wits about her, she didn’t understand why she was still alive.
But one thing she couldn’t deny when she thought about everything that had happened so far was it felt planned and organized, a far cry from the tales of mauling bloody vampire clans who attacked villages and left everyone for dead.
She had been sequestered in the convent for far too long to know if there had been any recent outbreaks or infestations. News of the kingdom seldom reached her ears until unless it was included in letters from her father. She frowned. The vampire had known about her studies in the convent. Angeline felt a sinking sensation. The only way he could have known that was if there was a spy within the convent walls. That same spy would have been able to alert interested parties of Angeline’s imminent departure.
She couldn’t deny it. The attack wasn’t random; it was because of her. This vampire had attacked her camp and kidnapped her for some greater purpose. But regardless, Angeline knew that she was in great danger. She had to play this game very delicately. The future of her kingdom was at stake. She wondered if it was a ransom the vampires were after, which brought her to another thought that gave her pause.
If a ransom was requested,
would her father pay it?
If she was a man, she would have unequivocally said yes. But given her gender, there were already rumblings about the future of the Robart line. She was the last of the bloodline, and no matter who she married, hers would no longer be the dominant lineage. And if her father still planned to betroth her to Malin Baford, his surrogate son, the possibility of vampire taint may be enough for him to bypass the formality of Angeline’s birthright and hand the throne directly to Malin. The thought made Angeline see red. She cursed the day she had been born a woman.
“Are you still angry with me?” Connor reappeared at the entrance to the room. Although his mouth was turned up in a smirk, there was a glint in his emerald eyes that she couldn’t read. “I can feel the heat of that storm in your head all the way outside.”
That drew Angeline up short. Yet another thing to add to the growing list of historical discrepancies about vampires. “What do you mean? Are you reading my mind?”
Connor stepped into the room and drew closer to her. Angeline wanted to step back, but she needed to get him to trust her if she had any possibility of escaping. If he believed that she wasn’t going to run, then he may not watch over her as closely. That would give her time to find a way out. Her plan, flimsy as it was, would require her to walk a dangerous line, but she needed to know what she was up against as well before she could make her move. She needed to uncover more intelligence about these vampires to take to her father. That meant that she needed to get to know Conner better.
Connor looked like he was going to say something, but then reconsidered and shrugged. “Your father has gone to great lengths to keep you out of harm’s way over the years. I can tell from the way you’ve reacted to me that you understand what I am and the danger you are in. Yet you are more angry than afraid. I find that interesting. But perhaps it’s because you are anxious to get home to your betrothed.”
Although nothing had been formally announced yet, it wasn’t a secret that her father intended to marry her off to Malin Baford, who was his Chief Advisor. A Baford had served in that capacity as long as a Robart had been king, which Angeline knew was the primary reason that Malin had been picked over anyone else. That, and the fact that Malin’s parents had been killed when he was seventeen and her father felt responsible for him. Still, the fact that Connor knew of this made Angeline wary about what other things he might be privy to.
“I have nothing to be afraid of. My father will stop at nothing to get me back once he discovers what happened. And if you left Rhone alive I know he is already searching for me as we speak. If you planned to kill me you would have done so already. So it’s just a matter of time as far as I’m concerned,” Angeline said coolly. She wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of thinking that he had the upper hand, even if for the moment he did.
Connor took another step closer. “Perhaps you should be afraid, Princess. You may find my company so pleasurable that you will never want to leave it.”
His silken tone reminded her how easily she had succumbed to him earlier, and she flushed. “Are all vampires so arrogant?” She crossed her arms and turned her back to him. The fact that he would be so bold infuriated her. As if she was some common wench who would look into his eyes and melt.
She heard a soft chuckle. “Princess, I told you earlier that I fear we have gotten off on the wrong foot,” he said evenly. “I meant what I said that I mean you no harm. Just as you have a king to answer to, in a way so do I. If you do not fight me, you will find yourself safely ensconced within Brebackerin with your beloved betrothed in no time at all.”
He sounded sincere, and Angeline turned her head slightly so that she could look him in the eye. “Why should I believe you? For all I know, you killed all my men and are playing some cat and mouse game with me.”
She was shocked when he threw his head back and laughed. It was a hearty belly laugh and the sound bounced off the walls in every direction. It was the kind of laugh that made you join in. She felt a smile tugging on the corners of her mouth, despite the seriousness of her allegation.
What was the matter with her?
“I admit that I had a bit of fun with your escort, Princess, but I didn’t kill any of them. You humans have forgotten much about my kind, which worked to my advantage. As it did tonight; a little misdirection and they were spending more time bumping into each other than anything else.” Connor wore a big grin on his face.
“I heard fighting and screaming,” Angeline said quietly.
“A little smoke and mirrors,” Connor said.
She turned to him fully then. “I saw blood on your face.”
Connor winced. “I said that I didn’t kill any of your men. Unfortunately, a few of your horses were not so lucky.”
Of course he would have fed on something during the attack. Angeline was glad that he had given her cause to be reminded that he was little more than a vicious animal that needed blood to live, regardless of how polite his manners. She dropped her head and her hair fell to hide her face.
“I think I’d like to be alone now if you don’t mind,” she said.
There was a pause as neither one of them moved. Then she heard him sigh. Just as she saw his feet turn to go, Angeline’s stomach let out a loud growl. Her hands flew to her abdomen and she suddenly remembered that she had skipped dinner.
“I have forgotten my manners, Princess. I brought some food for our journey,” Connor said, digging into a sack that was lying against the wall.
Angeline was starving, but she had no idea what he’d pull out of the bag. She hoped he wasn’t going to try feeding her something closer to his preferred sustenance. She had no idea how far she was from the closest town, and trying to escape on an empty stomach didn’t seem wise. Plus the bump to her head was starting to give her a headache and she felt a bit lightheaded. She decided to sit down before she fell down.
She watched Connor dig through the bag. When he saw that she was settled he seemed pleased. He slowly moved closer, and she had to will herself not to move. He said he wouldn’t harm her, but she had no intention of leaving herself vulnerable based on that flimsy promise. When he was within a few feet of her, he dropped to his knees. Then he opened his hands. In one there was a perfect red apple, and in the other some grapes.
Angeline’s stomach growled again and she swiped the fruit from his hands. She considered trying to be ladylike for all of a second before starting to scoop the food into her mouth.
“I’m sorry I didn’t pack any meat, but I knew I’d be able to hunt along the way,” Connor said as he watched her closely.
Angeline was uncomfortable with what his idea of hunting probably entailed. Then she noticed that he was staring at her. “Don’t you have something else to do? Like stand guard in case Rhone comes looking for me?” she said with a full mouth, which normally she would be mortified about but she wasn’t out to try to impress a vampire.
“We are many miles from where we left your escort, Princess. And I’d be able to hear them coming long before they got here. Humans don’t try to hide their movements much,” Connor said as he sprawled out on the ground in front of her and put a hand under his head. “I haven’t been around a human like this in many years. I find it strange and fascinating.”
With the little bit of food in her stomach, Angeline was feeling more bold. “That seems hard to believe. I mean, WE are your food right?”
She saw that flicker cross his eyes again and she wondered what it was.
Connor sighed heavily. “We are all what we are, Princess. We all have our duties and responsibilities, and the most basic is survival. I do what I must, but only when necessary. But if it makes you more comfortable to know, I haven’t hunted humans in many years.”