That was when I realized that the migraine and the coughing had vanished. I tried to think back to when I’d last experienced either and realized that it was while I was on the rowing boat, just before I entered the boundary of the island.
It must be a coincidence.
“Actually, I could eat something,” I said. Now that my headache had subsided, I was hungry. Ravenous, in fact.
“I’ll bring you up a meal. Make yourself comfortable.”
“No, I’ll come with you,” I said, seeing it as an opportunity for a guided tour.
“As you wish,” he said.
I followed him out of the room and we climbed back down to the ground floor. We reached a trapdoor near the back of the building.
“I’ll be back in a moment,” he said.
As soon as the trapdoor opened, the unmistakeable smell of human blood came flooding out. My mouth salivated instantly. It’d been so long since I’d tasted human blood, every cell in my body was crying out for it. Screams echoed out of the dark dungeon below, along with the clinking of chains against metal.
The vampire emerged with a young man. He pulled him toward me by the scalp while the boy struggled to break free.
“This one is freshest. Newly in,” the vampire said with a small grin. “That’s why he’s fighting more. He’s young too. His blood will be sweet.”
He pushed the boy toward me. I grabbed him by the arms and stared at him. It took all the restraint I had to not immediately rip my teeth through his throat.
“Please! No!” he screamed.
“What are you waiting for?” the vampire asked, raising an eyebrow at me.
What am I waiting for?
I gripped the back of his head and pushed the boy onto the floor, crushing my body against him to stop his violent wriggling. I lowered my head to his neck, breathing in his delicious scent. And then I drank. And drank. With each gulp I took, energy rushed through me.
Once I’d finished, I stood up and the vampire picked up the corpse from the floor.
“Satisfied?” the vampire asked me.
I nodded.
“Well. Now that you’ve finished your meal, I have matters to attend to. I trust you know your way back to your room.”
I nodded again, although I had no intention of returning to my room now. I waited until he’d disappeared before taking off in the opposite direction. I decided to head outside first and walk around the building—see if there were any other buildings attached to it that could possibly belong to the witches—as well as to gain a better perspective of the size and area of the castle.
But just before I reached the door, I stopped short. I’d just caught sight of myself in a tall mirror that hung near the entrance. Reaching a hand to my face, I squinted and moved closer to the mirror to check that I hadn’t imagined it.
I hadn’t.
Blood-red eyes gazed back at me.
My headache has vanished.
My eyes are back to red.
What is this place?
Chapter 6: Mona
“Who’s this?”
The young girl sat on a four-poster bed with a wooden board on her lap, her purple eyes gazing at me suspiciously as soon as I entered her chamber. She had the same elegant features as her mother, but the first thing about her that caught my attention was a bruise on the side of her cheek.
Mogda pushed me further into the chamber.
“This is your new servant, my lady.”
The girl frowned and pushed herself off the end of the bed, padding across the floor toward me. Mogda gripped my shoulder and pushed me down on my knees as soon as the girl approached.
“Show some respect,” Mogda hissed.
The girl reached out her hand and brushed my face with her thin fingers. Then she withdrew it and took a step back. She returned to the bed, sat down, and turned her back on me, apparently having lost interest in me already.
I looked back at Mogda for any direction as to what I should do next. She offered me no guidance, instead sitting herself down on a stool in the corner and watching me with beady eyes. I stood awkwardly, watching the little girl.
I cleared my throat.
“My name’s Mona,” I said.
She didn’t respond. She continued drawing on her board with charcoal. I dared walk round to her side of the bed and steal a look at what she was working on. It was a depiction of a large black mountain.
“Where’s your brother?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest and trying to act casually.
The little girl shrugged, not even bothering to look up from her drawing.
I looked over at Mogda again. She scowled, but still kept her lips sealed.
“What am I supposed to do?” I asked, walking over to the ogress. “Lady Elyse said that you were supposed to guide me.”
Mogda sighed. “Your job here is not to talk to the children. Your job is to stay here and take orders. If they need something, they will ask it of you. Your job is to fulfill their request, no matter what it is. Don’t ask questions. It’s not required of you. Speak only when you are spoken to. And don’t interfere with what goes on in here, whatever they get up to. No matter what you see.” She looked at me sternly. “Trust me, you’ll be better off that way.”
Her words had only made me feel more nervous, but I looked back at the ogress and nodded.
“I’m going to leave now,” Mogda said. “I have duties to attend to.”
Mogda left the room and gently closed the door behind her. I stared at the door until the sound of her plodding footsteps had disappeared.
Then I turned back to look at the girl. Since she remained seated on the bed, I went and sat in Mogda’s stool.
An hour passed in complete silence. The warmth of the room began to weigh heavily on my eyelids. I hadn’t slept properly for days. Once I rested my head on the windowsill, it didn’t take long for me to doze off.
* * *
I woke to the door crashing open. A boy sped in and ran over to the bed. I jolted upright, cursing myself beneath my breath for falling asleep on duty. The boy hadn’t noticed me at first, but when he did, he stopped short and stared at me.
“You’re our new servant?” He raised a brow as he looked at me. He looked no older than thirteen, though he was taller than me. I found his presence intimidating for such a young age.
I nodded, composing myself. I hoped that he hadn’t noticed that I’d been sleeping.
“Where’s my sister?” he asked.
His words alarmed me. I looked over at the empty bed.
“I… I don’t know. She was just in here…”
He rolled his eyes at me and walked through a door at the back of the room. I followed and stopped just outside what appeared to be a bathroom, peeking through the crack in the doorway.
Elsbeth was curled up in a corner while the boy towered over her.
“What are you doing in here?” Dorian’s voice was aggressive. “I told you to wait in your room until I got back. I told you to stop hiding from me.”
The girl whimpered. He clenched his fists, and for a second I thought he was about to strike her. Instead he gripped her jaw. She struggled as he lifted her up the wall by the neck and stared into her eyes.
“Why weren’t you waiting for me in there?”
She whimpered more. Anger bubbled up inside me and I was about to burst in when he let go of her. She sank to the ground, sobbing.
“How many times do I have to warn you? How will we ever be ready in time if you keep disobeying me?”
He swung the door open before I had a chance to return to my seat. He stared at me.
“What are you looking at?” he asked, his eyes narrowing on me.
I said nothing. I just stared back at him until he stormed into his bedroom, which was connected to Elsbeth’s by another door the other side of Elsbeth’s bed. I went into the bathroom and approached the girl. She had her head buried in her arms. I tentatively brushed a hand over her hair.
She
fell silent and flinched as soon as I touched her.
“Are you all right, Elsbeth? Elsbeth?”
She lifted her head and stared blankly at the opposite wall. I dared bend down to grip her arm and pull her up, but she resisted me.
“Leave me alone!” she screamed.
I jumped back in shock. Taking one last look at her trembling form, I left.
I need to find Mogda. I need to tell her what’s going on in here. Elsbeth’s parents need to know how her brother is treating her.
As I approached the exit, something rammed into me, sending me crashing against the cold stone floor. My head reeling, I looked up to see the young boy on top of me, his strength terrifying. He reached for my neck and gripped it hard.
“What did you just do to make my sister scream?” he hissed, his pupils dilating with rage. “What did you do?” He spat in my face. “Know your place. Know that I will have you thrown out—or worse—if I catch you interfering again. And don’t even think about going to my parents. I’ll warn you only once.”
He released his hold on my neck and gave me one last glare before returning to his room, slamming the door behind him.
My whole body trembled as I pushed myself back against the wall. Clutching my windpipe, I breathed in heavily. Once I’d calmed down, my shock was replaced with outrage and frustration at the hold this boy had over the young girl.
What is this place?
Chapter 7: Kiev
After hours of searching, I concluded that the castle was the only building on the island. Unlike The Shade back in the human realm, this place was covered entirely by forest, with the exception of a few clearings. There were no mountains, and the hub of all activity seemed to be the castle. I assumed that the witches must be somewhere inside there too.
Narrowing my list of places to search down to the castle helped somewhat, but the castle was so big for such a small number of vampires that it was still a task to look through.
I ran from room to room—even searching in closets and under beds—but I didn’t find them.
The only place left for me to search was the top floor—the Lord and Lady’s chamber. These were the most spacious and comfortable of all the living quarters, but still I found no sign of any witches.
As a last resort, I ran down to the dungeon from which the vampire had retrieved my meal. The dungeon was huge, and the humans—men and women—were kept in cages in the dark. As soon as I opened the trapdoor, light flooded down and they screamed, crawling to the back of their cells.
As I scanned the underground chamber, I couldn’t fathom where they got all these humans from. I had been told before that there weren’t many humans in this world of supernaturals that Cruor hadn’t already snatched up for themselves.
Brushing the thought aside, I finished searching the dungeon and, still not finding anything, I decided to head back up. It seemed that I might have to ask the vampire after all. I had wanted to avoid this in case he became suspicious. But time was running out.
I decided to go back outside and walk around the island one more time, in case I had rushed my search too much before and missed something. Then, if I still haven’t found them, I’ll just have to ask the vampire.
I exited the castle and walked back through the woods until I reached the beach. As I was about to begin walking along the sand, I heard something that chilled me to the bone.
Someone calling my name.
“Kiev… Kiev.”
Matteo. No!
I had suspected that he might come to search for me. Furious, I whirled around toward his voice.
Beyond the boundary, Matteo stood in a boat along with Lorena and three other vampires, all looking around blindly, completely oblivious to the island right in front of them.
I dove into the water and swam as close as I could to them without crossing the boundary. If I crossed it, I would have no way of getting back in. I’d have to call the vampire again, and that might cause suspicion. I couldn’t risk that.
“Matteo, shut up!” I hissed.
He fell silent immediately and looked toward my voice. I feared that the old vampire could have already heard Matteo’s shouts.
“It’s me. Kiev. Go away. Leave this place. I’m safe. They don’t seem to know I’m affiliated with you. Just trust that I will do all in my power to bring a witch back with me before the end of three days…”
I stopped short, as a pain seared through my skull. I groaned.
“What’s wrong?” Matteo said, his voice quieter this time.
“Quiet!” I hissed, closing my eyes shut and biting my lower lip. The migraine had returned tenfold. It was a feat just to string a short sentence together. “Just g-go… Now! I will return to you with a witch. I… I promise you.”
My promise seemed to assure Matteo, and he nodded.
“Thank you, Kiev,” he whispered.
Without making another sound, he turned the boat around and sped off into the waves.
Struggling to keep myself afloat, I somehow managed to swim back to the beach where I crawled onto the sand, lying on my back and panting. But the minute I had climbed out of the water, my migraine disappeared just as suddenly as it had arrived.
What in the world…
I stood up and stared at the ground, frowning.
Can this really be a coincidence?
Chapter 8: Mona
I spent the night curled up in the tiny cupboard Mogda had given me to sleep in—just a few meters away from the royal siblings’ chambers—listening to Elsbeth sob herself to sleep.
I breathed out in relief when there was a knock at the door the next day. As soon as Mogda opened the door, I walked out of the room before she could step in.
“I need to speak with you,” I whispered.
She looked at me curiously.
“I can’t do this,” I said. “I can’t sit in there and watch the way that monster is treating his sister. I don’t know what he’s doing to her, but if I stay up here, I’m going to interfere. Do you know what is going on with him?”
She looked scared and shook her head. “You want me to give you a different job?”
I nodded. “Please.”
She scowled. “You were only just given this job.”
“Please.” I clutched her heavy arm and shook it.
She shrugged me off and sighed. “All right. I’ll find you something to do. Come with me.”
I followed her down several staircases and along dozens of dark corridors. We didn’t stop until we had arrived back in the same hall that contained the entrance to the dungeon I’d been thrown in when I first arrived on the island. But rather than descending back down into that dungeon, Mogda opened a door on the opposite side of the room. It led to a narrow set of stairs. We descended and reached yet another door at the bottom. She creaked the door open.
I gasped and clasped a hand to my mouth.
The brightly lit room contained rows and rows of human infants spread out on wide, long wooden tables. Each lay in its own straw cot and was wrapped up in a blanket—many of them crying, while others slept.
Ogres ran in and out through another door at the other end of the chamber, grabbing several baskets of babies at a time and running back out into the room next door.
“It’s almost breakfast time for the royals,” she grumbled. She breathed in deeply, her face twisting into a scowl. “The rest of us are stuck with animal meat.”
For the royals.
“No,” I gasped, stumbling out of the room and leaning against the wall in the staircase outside. “Give me something other than this. Anything other than this.”
She rolled her eyes again and stomped her foot. “Listen to me, little girl. If you’re going to live here, you’re going to have to get used to how we live. How do you expect to stay here if you are so squeamish about everything?”
“Just… just give me something else,” I stammered, placing a palm over my forehead, trying to ease the queasiness bubbling in my stomach.
/> “One last duty I’ll offer you. If you reject that too, I give up. I’ll go to the king and explain that you’re too much trouble and are interfering with my own duties.”
“All right.” Nothing else she could offer me would be as horrific as what I’d just witnessed.
We climbed the stairs and returned to the dark hall. This time, she unlocked the door to the dungeon where all the women were kept. Several women looked up as we entered, scurrying to the back of their cells and whimpering. Many of them looked up at me with desperate eyes as we walked.
It’s a wonder any of them survive until childbirth in these conditions.
We reached a door at the other end of the cavernous chamber and entered though it. In this room were more humans—this time, all of them male. There were far fewer men than women in the room we’d just left.
She stopped once we reached the opposite wall of this chamber and entered a smaller connected room that contained a large metal container and other cleaning equipment.
“Your job is to clean this dungeon and also the one next door,” she said. “You don’t need to clean inside the cells—I don’t trust you enough to give you the keys to them yet—just clean everything else you can reach outside. These floors are so slippery, even I have slipped up a few times in here going about my way.”
“All right,” I breathed. “I can do this.”
She looked at me, unimpressed. “Good, because I’m not going to be indulging you in any more of your whims. Now get to work. I’ll come down and tell you when you can have a break. Don’t stop work until then.”
I nodded and the ogress walked away. I exited the small utility room and took a closer look at the cells surrounding me in the male dungeon.
Many of the men who had previously been dozing had woken up. Although they appeared to be fitter and healthier than the women, their faces betrayed what weary souls they had.
Feeling uncomfortable under their gaze, I walked back into the washing room, filled the basin with water and picked up a mop. I began to work in the furthest corner of the dungeon until I could no longer avoid walking close to the cells. I tried to avoid eye contact with the men as much as I could, but by the time I had reached the third cell, one of them spoke to me.