Chapter 3 Trap

Dahlia's Pov

Theodore let out a cry. His hands flew to his chest. Unfortunately, staking wasn’t enough to kill a noble vampire. You had to cut their head as well.

Theodore collapsed to his knees, his furious eyes wide with disbelief. Zayn, breathing raggedly, didn’t hesitate. He drew a short blade from his boot and raised it, aiming for Theodore’s exposed neck.

The blade never fell.

A blur of motion crossed the room.

Cassian.

Zayn was suddenly airborne.

His body crashed into a stone pillar hard.

The blade clattered across the floor and Zayn slumped motionless.

"Zayn!"

I rushed toward him.

By the time I reached him, other vampires in the hall were already moving closer, circling us.

I positioned myself in front of him immediately.

No one was touching him. I had died protecting those I loved, I would do it again.

Cassian stepped forward.

"Enough."

The authority in his voice silenced the hall instantly.

"Stand down."

Cassian's gaze swept over everyone. Including me.

"I said stand down."

Slowly, the vampires backed away.

Cassian looked toward guards in the corner.

"Take Theodore to the healers. A stake isn't fatal to him, but it's still unpleasant.”

Theodore looked ready to argue, humiliated, but one glance from Cassian silenced him.

The guards quickly escorted the furious noble away.

Once they were gone, Cassian's attention returned to Zayn.

His expression hardened.

"What he did is punishable by death."

My stomach dropped.

“Cassian, no…”

He held up a hand, silencing me. “However,” he continued, his eyes locking with mine, “I am aware that should I order his execution, you would find a way to follow him into the afterlife.” He paused, as if the thought pained him. “Therefore, I will grant him mercy. He will be turned. He will become one of us.”

A flicker of horrified hope sparked in me. Zayn would live even though I hated how.

“But,” Cassian’s voice dropped, “his death as a human will not be swift. It will be a lesson. For him, and for you.”

The spark died. “You can’t! He’s innocent! He was defending himself!”

“He is a slave who raised a hand against his master!” Cassian’s voice cracked like a whip, finally showing a sliver of the anger he’d been holding back. “In this world, that is the only truth that matters!”

He turned to some other guards still standing nearby. “Take this human to the cells. Now.”

“NO!” I launched myself at the nearest guard, but Cassian was faster. His arm shot out, wrapping around my waist, and he hauled me off my feet as if I weighed nothing.

I screamed, kicking, clawing at his arm, to release me but his grip was unbreakable. He turned and strode from the hall, moving with such speed that the torches became mere streaks of light, the angry faces of the vampires a blur. In moments, we were back in the oppressive silence of the bedroom. He didn’t set me down gently, he threw me onto the center of the bed.

I scrambled up immediately, my chest heaving with rage and terror. “Leave him out of this! This is between you and me!”

“You should be grateful,” Cassian said, his voice low as he paced at the foot of the bed.

“What he did is inexcusable. The only reason he draws breath at all, the only reason I am offering him the gift of immortality, which, I assure you, I do not wish to do, is because of you.”

He stopped pacing, his eyes burning with jealousy. “I saw you with him during the war. Sharing a tent. Whispering in the firelight. The way he looked at you. The way you looked at him. If our kind did not require human blood, and if Theodore had not already claimed him as a blood-slave, I would have killed him immediately the war was over, just to ensure your paths never crossed again. He is an issue, Dahlia. One I am not happy to keep around.”

“You think…? Gods, you’re insane! He’s my lieutenant! My best friend! Nothing else. We’ve been friends since we were teenagers!”

“And where do you think you are?” he shot back, his composure cracking further. “This is not a human campfire where you share stories! This is my court. Any human within these walls is a slave.”

“After you died the surviving humans were rounded up. They are slaves now. Livestock. The nobles of my court were allowed to select which they wanted to serve them personally. That is the world now. The war is over. You lost.”

The blunt, brutal truth of it was a physical blow. My people, my soldiers, reduced to cattle. The horror of it was so painful I felt myself going crazy.

An angry sound escaped me, and I launched myself at him again. My fists pounded against his chest, over and over. “I hate you! I hate you! How dare you! HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO THEM!”

He let me hit him. The blows landed against his immovable frame with dull thuds. After a moment, his hands came up and caught my wrists, stilling me. His grip was firm, but not cruel.

“You need to learn,” he said, his voice weary now, the anger subsiding into something else. “What I told you on the balcony was not a metaphor. Your previous life is over. You are a vampire now. Your concerns are no longer with human politics, human friendships, human morality. Your place is here. With me.”

He released one of my wrists to gesture around the room. “I told you to stay here earlier. You disobeyed. Your little display in the hall has accelerated things. Now, more of my court than I intended know of our bond. That makes you a target. There are dangers in this castle that you cannot comprehend. I cannot have you stumbling into a stake while I am occupied with a kingdom fresh from war.”

He leaned in close, his eyes holding mine captive. “So you will not leave this room. Not until I deem it safe. Not until you understand what you are.”

Before I could start another denial, he kissed me. Then he was gone, moving to the door in a blur.

The heavy door swung shut with a sound of finality. I heard the sound of a lock engaging.

I hurled myself at the door, my fists and palms beating against the unyielding wood. “Cassian! OPEN THIS DOOR! CASSIAN!” I screamed until my throat was raw, pounding until my hands ached. No answer came. Only the mocking silence in the aftermath.

The anger and frustration turned into despair. My eyes lifted from the rug to the tall door leading to the balcony. The fog beyond the glass was a perpetual, swirling grey.

An idea took root.

This was all a nightmare. None of this could be real.

Maybe if I jumped out over the balcony this nightmare would end.

With that thought I approach the balcony ready to end this.