The Vampire Queen’s Human(1)

I was on my knees right in the middle of the huge dark room, my wrists tied tight behind my back with ropes that dug into my skin and hurt badly. The fibers bit deeper every time I shifted. A sharp cut on my neck was bleeding fresh down my chest, but I couldn’t look at it. I kept my eyes on the throne at the far end of the room. It was made of red crystal. The surface caught what little light there was and threw it back in thin lines.

The whole room was full of vampires. Hundreds of them. All of them staring at me, hungry. They looked beautiful and scary at the same time, their eyes glowing faint. The air smelled of iron and my own sweat. The throne was empty. Then there she was… Neris.

The Vampire Queen.

She wasn’t the monster I expected. She was tall, perfect, with long dark hair that fell down her back and pale, smooth skin. Her eyes were black all the way through, no white at all. My whole body went hot, then cold, then hot again. I was already reacting to her even though I was scared. Heat pooled low and traitorous.

She came down the crystal steps, slow, deliberate, every vampire in the room going quiet and nervous as she moved. The sound of her steps was soft. She stopped in front of me. Close enough that I could smell her… something dark and sweet, heavier than wine. She reached down and touched the cut on my neck with one finger. The touch was cool but it sent a rush of heat straight down my spine. Not just pain. Something hotter. My pulse jumped under her fingertip.

She didn’t kill me. She didn’t bite me right away. She just studied me for a long time… curiosity. Her black eyes moved over my face, my bound arms, the blood on my chest.

“I’ve been waiting eight hundred years for someone who can make me ask a question,” she said, her voice low and even. “And you, little soldier, are the only one who made me look at you that way.”

A flush spread across my skin. The vampires around me started whispering loud. The sound moved through the room like a low current.

“What is this trash?” one of her advisors shouted. Her skin was thin and papery, stretched tight over sharp features. “You can’t keep this human. The law is clear. No more than once. This is just for the fountains to play with before we feed him to them!”

Neris didn’t turn from me. Her finger kept tracing the cut on my neck, smearing warmth across my skin. It felt good and bad at once. I could hear my pulse racing. The ropes around my wrists felt tighter.

“I want this one,” she said, louder this time. The words made the whole room shake. Silence followed for a single breath, then the arguing started again.

The vampires started arguing. One guy lunged forward but Neris raised her hand and the air between them went sharp and still. The advisor froze. My mind kept going somewhere dark even though I was tied up and bleeding. I pictured her closer, her cool body near my hot skin, her hand on me. The thought made my breath catch.

She stood up and snapped her fingers. Two guards grabbed my arms and pulled me up. My legs were weak. The ropes bit deeper. My neck was still bleeding. They half-dragged me forward.

She walked me through long dark hallways with stairs that twisted and turned. The air got cooler and thicker. I could hear the blood fountains along the walls, a low wet sound that never stopped. Finally she stopped in front of a massive black door. The wood looked old and smooth under her hand.

She pushed it open.

Her private room.

It was smaller than I thought… silk sheets on a big bed, a fountain glowing soft pink in the corner, mirrors on the walls that showed everything. My torn body, her perfect shape, the way my eyes kept dropping to her even though I was scared. The light from the fountain made the silk look darker.

She closed the door behind us. Then she turned around.

I was still standing, hands tied, neck bleeding, heat running through me. She closed the distance between us. Her gaze dropped, then back to my face. She smiled… a small, dangerous smile. The mirrors showed the same smile from every angle.

Her cool hand came up and touched my jaw, then slid down to my chest. She traced the cut on my neck again, like she was memorizing it. I shivered hard. I wanted her closer. I wanted her to own every inch of me. My throat felt tight under her fingers.

She pulled back just a little.

“I’ve never kept a human before,” she said quietly. “But I think I just found one I can’t let go.”

The air in the room felt thicker. I was aching for her. The fountain in the corner kept its soft, steady sound.

Her hand closed around the back of my neck and forced my head down, her mouth finding my throat.