CHAPTER 4
Aria shifted uncomfortably as she tugged at the collar of the sweater she wore. It was a velvety type material and she had never felt anything like it. It felt marvelous against her skin, but she couldn’t get used to it. Her clothes were always rough, ragged, and nowhere near as warm as this gentle cloth. She tugged at the scooped collar again, unnerved and frightened by how much of her skin it exposed. Even in the summer she wore long sleeves and collars to avoid bug bites, scratches, and other hazards amongst the woods and within the caves.
The sweater, though strange, was not as bad as the skirt they had put her in. It fell to just above her knees in gentle black waves that swayed and flowed as she walked. She didn’t like the feel of it, or the fact that her legs were exposed. Usually she even slept fully clothed, just in case there was a raid. It was essential that she always be quick on her feet and able to move swiftly if it became necessary.
Wearing this though, she wouldn’t be able to move fast, and would almost surely be caught as the sweater was a bright red homing beacon to her location. The women had scrubbed her clean, had even done the strange task of removing the hair from her legs with a razor, but they couldn’t take away the bruises and scratches that marred her skin. She looked ridiculous in the skirt, with her battered lower limbs and knobby knees. The garments were uncomfortable, but far preferable to being nude as they had taken her other clothes away, with the blond snickering something about burning them.
The women fluttered around her, brushing her hair out as they talked quietly. They hadn’t said a word to her, nor had she spoken to them for the past few hours. They exchanged gossip, talked of men they liked, and spoke in whispered reverence of the prince. From all of their excited chatter, Aria learned that the blonde fancied herself amongst one of the prince’s favorites.
Aria tried not to think about the discomfort and confusion that revelation caused her. She should be relieved the prince had other women to keep his attention; maybe he would simply just take blood from her and nothing more. That thought was repulsive enough, but until she could escape, she felt that she might be able to bear it. Aria winced as the blonde, Lauren, nearly tore her hair out at the roots from brushing it far too roughly. Aria glowered at her, but the woman scarcely noticed as she continued her assault on Aria’s hair.
“When was the last time you brushed this mess?” Lauren muttered.
Aria clenched her jaw and her hands, refusing to answer the vapid woman. The brunette, Maggie, gave Aria a sympathetic glance as she finished applying some kind of strange color to Aria’s nails. She stared at them in confusion, not understanding why anyone would like to do that to their nails, but apparently it was popular as all three of the girls had it on. Julia, the redhead, brought forth a pair of shoes that Aria was certain had been designed to kill her. Who walked in such a high and pointy shoe anyway? Whose ankles could take those things?
Aria remained still as they applied their final touches and stepped back to examine her more closely. Aria’s gaze slid away from them, hating the bite marks that marred their necks and inner wrists. It was apparent that they willingly, and from the way they were talking, eagerly gave their blood away. She wondered if it was just the prince that they gave themselves to as they seemed very much at ease in his place, or if they gave themselves to any vampire that asked.
“Why do you think he chose her?” Julia inquired, tilting her head to study Aria more closely.
“I don’t know; she’s most certainly not anything to look at. The prince must have decided that it would be good to have a blood slave available to him whenever he was hungry,” Lauren replied. “Though we’re always available.”
Julia giggled; her eyes sparkled brightly as she covered her mouth with her hand. “Yes, we are.”
Aria managed to keep her face impassive, she itched to smack the insipid women, but she forced herself not to react to any of their catty words. Though Aria felt she was no competition for the voluptuous women, it was more than apparent that Lauren felt threatened by her for some reason. Aria wasn’t going to reassure her that she didn’t have to be concerned that Aria was competition; she wanted nothing to do with this place or its people.
“Bony little thing,” Lauren muttered.
Aria bit back her sharp retort. Julia knelt before her and thrust the tortuous shoes onto Aria’s feet. She winced as her foot was twisted and crammed into the awful, cramped monstrosities. When Julia was done, she grasped hold of Aria’s arms and pulled her to her feet. Aria cringed, hating the uncomfortable things now strapped to her. She stood, wobbling and uncertain, and trying not to grimace in pain.
“You will get used to them,” Maggie told her, patting her arm reassuringly. Julia and Lauren rolled their eyes, but decided to keep their snarky comments to themselves for a change. “The prince is waiting.”
Aria moved forward, trying to adjust to the new shoes, but barely able to move in them as she crept forward at an annoyingly slow pace. There would be no escaping in these awful contraptions, and she found herself cursing whoever the idiot was that had invented them. Maggie took pity on her and grasped hold of her arm, helping her to walk. Aria didn’t jerk away from the girl, mainly because she required the help, but also because no matter how much she disagreed with Maggie’s choices, she found she almost tolerated her.
She was led back into the main entrance room. The prince was laying on one of the sofas, his large body taking up most of it. His arm was tossed over his eyes, and he had one leg planted firmly on the floor. The wolf lay on the floor before him; the animal lifted its head to watch as they entered the room. The prince must have sensed them as he dropped his arm and sat up. He was still wearing his glasses, but Aria knew the moment that his eyes landed upon her.
Her heart flipped in her chest, a strange sensation trickled through her as he stared silently at her. “Leave us.”
The three girls nodded briskly before slipping silently from the room. Aria stood uncertainly, her hands folded before her, frightened by what was going to happen next. “Much better,” he murmured. “Come here.” Aria swallowed heavily, biting on her bottom lip as she met his gaze again. She hated the way that he made her feel so frightened and nervous, but at the same time, strangely excited. Apparently being captured had frazzled her mind as she found herself oddly unafraid, and more than a little curious of the man that had purchased her. “I won’t harm you.”
She didn’t know if she should believe him or not, but she felt that she could. She stood still for a moment more before attempting to totter forward on the death traps now strapped to her feet. A small cry escaped as her ankle twisted out, her legs buckled beneath her. He was beside her instantly, catching hold of her before she hit the ground.
Aria stared up at him in surprise as he lifted her effortlessly. She began to shake, unable to understand this strange creature before her. Vampires were monsters, they destroyed humans, used them and abused them before tossing them away, but this creature was an enigma that she couldn’t even begin to fathom. One moment he was overbearing, intimidating, and threatening. The next he was like this, almost kind and gentle as he held her gingerly in his grasp.
Was this part of his game? Did he plan to try and gain her trust before tormenting and eventually destroying her? That explanation seemed far more likely than the one where this creature, one of the leaders of the monsters, might actually be kind.
“I don’t think those shoes are for you.”
Aria eyed him warily as he settled her onto the sofa he had just abandoned. “Most definitely not,” she agreed.
Startled disbelief filled her as he knelt before her. Her breath froze in her chest; her heart lumbered heavily as the prince of the vampires very leisurely slipped the awful things from her feet. His hands were soft upon her; his touch caused an odd thrill to race up her spine. She found herself wanting to trust him, wanting to like him even.
And she knew that was a very hazardous thing to do.