Chapter 3

No Signal.

Blythe had no means to communicate with the outside world. And now, the screen went black after minutes of trying to seek help. 

A groan escaped her lips as she pulled herself out of the small space in the wardrobe and onto her feet.

She crossed the room, latching her palm onto the door knob, but it took three tries to pry the door open before she realised that she was locked in.

"Shit!" she cursed, stomping her foot against the wooden floorboards. 

Her eyes drifted over to the window which had the moonlight still peering from it, and in an instant, she found herself in front of the window with her fingers wrapped around the ledge, while peeking down from above.

Her eyes struggled to adjust to see beyond the thick fog formed below,that was until, a bold thought popped in her head. One that sent sirens blaring.

She lifted her foot, placing it  on the creaky window ledge, while steadying herself by gripping the two sides of the wall.  But then, something flickered behind her eyes sending a sharp pain to the side of her skull.

And then she saw it—her limp body hanging at the edge of a rocky cliff, with blood pooling from her forehead and nose.

She blinked hard, ignoring the recurring throbbing headache.

“Nope. Not doing this.” She muttered under her breath. Just as she was about to step down, the door slammed open, startling her.

One second she was reaching for the ledge, with her finger spread, the next— nothing. Her fingers gripped to the air with a memory of the hard ledge only lingering in her mind.

The last thing she saw, before completely losing balance, were the panicked eyes of Ronan.

Tears fell freely from her eyes with a shrill scream erupting from her throat as she braced herself for the impact of the fall.

Thinking she had finally met her demise, her back plunged into something hard, forcing her eyes shut as she waited to hear the sound of bones snapping or an explosive headache from a cracked skull.

But nothing came.

With tears still streaming down her face, she peeled her eyes open only to meet a face contorted with rage.

“Are you insane?!” Ronan barked, his jaw ticking. 

Blythe stayed silent, but her eyes darted around, only to see she was being held mid air, at the bottom of a rocky cliff, while the tall imposing stone walls of an ancient castle sat neatly on it. It looked way too similar to the one she had imagined.

“I'm-I’m alive?” She stuttered, wide eyed. “You're floating?!”

“Of course I am! All vampires do, but that's besides the point.” He complained. “Bloody hell! I told you-”

His strings of  cuss words and corrections faded into the background as the word, ‘vampire’, kept ringing over and over in Blythe's head. 

She went still first, before her eyes found the clearing that was now visible. Waves crashed around violently, while the smell of the salty ocean attacked her senses. Then she looked back at him before unclenching her fist.

“Okay,” her voice came out breathy and uneven. “So, you're a…vampire.”

She didn’t scream nor dare to cry. A long time ago, she had learnt that reacting big rarely got her anywhere good, and she was not about to try that in the hands of this…vampire.

He stayed silent, then circled around the castle, before stopping in front of an open window. Blythe took it as her cue to climb through, before he did.

The room had white sheets draped over furniture like patent ghosts. Lavender hung in the air, like perfume that had stayed on a fabric for too long, but beneath it, a faint smell of mothbolls and something musty lingered in the air.

“Um, thanks.” she said, turning away to wipe her eyes with the back of her palms, then back to him.

“Thanks? What the hell were you thinking?!” he exploded, grabbing a handful of her shoulder.

His tone caught her off-guard, causing her nails to dig into her palm as anger bubbled up at the pit of her stomach.

“What was I thinking?” she spat, “A freaking monster takes me to the middle of nowhere and I’m expected to just stay calm after everything I saw?”

She slapped his hand away, while looking at him dead in the eye. 

“If anything, you got me into this mess, Ronan,” she accused, shoving her fingers to his chest. “So excuse me for trying to find my freaking way home. I have someone to get home to, while you and your friend made sure whoever that woman was, she’d never reach hers!”

The silence was so deafening that the sound of her quickened heartbeat could almost be heard amidst it. Blythe's chest heaved up and down as her eyes mirrored his enraged ones.

“Corvin didn’t kill her.” He blurted out.

Blythe’s head jerked back in surprise. “What do you mean? I know what I saw.”

“What you saw before you blacked out,”he said, fingers closing around her wrist. “In fact, she got home quite safely.”

“No! She was barely alive. You’re lying!”

Before she could draw a breath, his grip tightened around her arm. The room blurred, the floor seemed to vanish beneath her feet, while the walls streaked past like painted shadows. She stumbled into the hallway illuminated by gasoliers and a bunch of candle lamps on the wall, while she stood face to face with an enormous wooden door. Her heart hammered, as the echo of his impossible swiftness still clung to her skin. Never in her life had motion felt so sudden. 

He pounded rapidly against the wooden door, and a soft, ‘come in’ came from the inside.

The door creaked open, revealing none other than the young lady from the alley.

“Your highness,” she gasped, putting down a book she was reading.

Blythe staggered backwards, clutching the door knob.

“H-how?” she blinked hard, turning to him. “Is she a vampire?”

Ronan looked towards the woman, offering a small wave, and received a small bow in return. 

“She’s a human.” Ronan replied flatly, placing his hand on hers then shutting the door.

Heat crept up her neck at the gesture, but she quickly pulled away, embarrassed at the false accusation.

“She willingly had a blood bond with Corvin. What you saw there wasn’t an attack. It just happened at the wrong place.” Ronan explained, running his fingers through his silky black hair with his gaze set on her. 

He hadn’t planned on watching her that long. When she finally looked back at him, he realized he hadn’t looked away first.

“Please, I don’t want to get caught up in all this.” she pleaded, fiddling with her fingers. “I need to get back home. All this–”

“You can’t.” He interjected, sealing her fate.

She opened her mouth to argue, but he raised his hand, silencing her.

“For centuries, not once have I failed to erase the memories of a mere mortal, even the weakest vampires can perform such a flimsy act. But you my dear,” he said, reaching out his hand, brushing the strands of hair that fell against her face while staring intensely at the bloody bandage, “you are the first.” 

That was when it hit Blythe. The repeated act of putting his finger on her forehead must have been his attempt at wiping memories of all she had witnessed.

“I won’t put the lives of my brood at risk by letting you go scott free.” he said, snapping her back to reality.

Anger surged through Blythe—Or perhaps it was fear. Whatever it was, it rose within her, driving her hand upwards until it struck his face with a sharp slap. 

The sting of her palm lingered in the air, but the fury that had driven it was already shifting, twisting into something harder to name. 

Ronan’s eyes flashed bright red. His jaw ticked, as he did everything in his power to suppress his rage.

“You’re going to regret that.” He whispered, clenching his fists. The color drained from Blythe's face as realization washed upon her.

Two shadows appeared beside Ronan before she could utter a single word. 

They came in the form of smoky silhouettes. The haze thickened, and figures began to take shape, rising from their feet upward until at last two men stood revealed. 

“Lock her up,” he  snarled with fury raging in his eyes. “She doesn’t leave… not until I say so. ”