Anastasia
I turned around to my sister after Avery left. Her annoying smirked made me want to slap it off her face.
"I happened to sense something strange here," Alex said with a teasing tone. "What makes you so stupid to turn down my offer? Oh, wait...but I already know—"
"Stop it!" I spat. "It's none of your business."
"It's not?" she said. "Well, then make sure it remains as such with mine as well."
She looked at me like I was still a pathetic little child. I knew Alexandra wasn't someone you wanted to cross. She was stronger and faster than me. It was because she would never think twice about killing people for blood. I loathed her appetite. I loathed it as much as I loathed mine.
"A person is not a doll you can pass around as you please," I said through my clenched teeth.
"If you don't like that, fine, then no one can touch my doll," Alex said with a satisfied grin. "She's mine and mine alone. I'll torture her and I'll feed off her— and if I'm bored enough, I might turn her."
"Don't you dare, Alexandra!" I snarled, stepping up to her again. "She's suffered enough without her family. Can't you stop inflicting pain on someone weaker than you?"
"Because that's who we are, Anastasia," Alex said. "We're the superior ones. Not those filthy humans anymore! We're meant to rule over them now. Stop wasting your time protecting those people. Have you forgotten what they did to our family?"
Her words brought a cold chill to my bones. My thoughts froze as if someone had pushed the shut-button. We hadn't talked about it for a long time. The images of our family— locked up in a small cramped room and humiliated by revolutionary soldiers. The day we were escorted to the field and shot dead in cold blood. It all rushed back into my mind like a fresh current of a raging river. I turned my face away with a flinch.
"It's in the past now," I said at last.
"Yes, the past that still can come alive in my mind," Alexandra said, tapping her temple. "I will make them pay with their blood. Just mark my word."
"Sister..."
But Alexandra already walked away.
~*~
AVERY
I had a nightmare for the first time since I had been here. I kept seeing my father and mother being tossed around in our hiding place. They begged for mercy, but none of those black-coated vampires had ears to listen. I was screaming, but it was like my voice got lost in the wind. I felt as if I was trapped inside a glass box, leaving the horrible scenes undisturbed.
Then I felt someone's hands pulled me into a warm cuddle. My nightmare began to fade. I gripped on to that person, believing it was my mother. I heard her whispering soothingly in my ear. I thought my nightmare had ended. And that I was actually in our hiding place, and all those vampires were nothing but my own imagination.
I opened my heavy eyelids and found two bright golden eyes looking down at me. It took a few seconds until I figured out that my reality was an actual nightmare. It wasn't a dream. The realization shocked me and saddened at the same time. But the sight of the blonde girl distracted me.
"Anastasia!" I said in a croaky voice and sat up. The blonde vampire did the same.
"You were having a nightmare, and I just..." she said but then trailed off.
"Why are you in my room?" I asked, staring at her in confusion.
"I just wanted to see if you're alright," she said. "I'm sorry about what happened with my sister this morning."
Her bright eyes stared at the cut on my neck. There were two raw spots and red bruise that would be healed the next day. It was how vampire bites were. Their saliva contained special chemicals that could heal the wound, leaving no evidence on the victim.
"You don't have to," I said. "It doesn't matter."
"But it does to me," Ana said, looking seriously stressed. She pinched the bridge of her nose and turned back to me again. "Look, Avery, I have to warn you something about Alexandra. She is as cruel as she is beautiful. Whatever she does to you, don't let it control your heart."
"Like that would make any difference," I said. "I'm a slave, remember?"
"No, Avery," she said with a shake of her head. "Don't let that change you. You're not an object."
"That is funny coming out from a vampire like you," I said. "Why are you trying to help me? Don't you want my blood, too?"
Anastasia dropped her gaze and then she stood up. Her blonde hair looked pale gold against the moonlight that peered through my window. She turned back to me again with a saddened face.
"I don't know, Avery. For the first time in my life, you're the only person I want to drink from," she said truthfully. "But that's not why I help you. There's something more—something about you..."
But she didn't finish her sentence. Anastasia then crept onto my bed. I recoiled instinctively, but she raised her hand to soothe me. Then she leaned forward until our faces were almost touching. I could smell her delicious breath in my nostrils. Her golden irises were too deep as if she had seen too much in her life. I stared back into those mesmerizing eyes. They were framed with long thick lashes that curved upward like the tail of a peacock.
"Be still," she whispered. "I need to know something."
And just like that, Ana pressed her soft lips against mine. A burst of shock ran through my whole being like electricity. I went numb from the head down. Her lips were so tender and so smooth. I had to fight the urge to move over them, part those full lips and slip my tongue inside. In fact, I would have done so if I hadn't heard a low hiss coming from her chest. Then her kiss left me.
I felt light-headed and confused.
"I'm sorry," Anastasia said with a wild expression. She turned her face away as if to hide something, but I already knew what it was. Her sharp fangs had already extracted just slightly past her red lips. I realized she was making a great effort even to kiss me.
"Ana..?"
"I must go," she said and then left the room in one big blur.
I sat on my bed blinking to myself. Some part of me tried to take in what had just happened between us, but the rest of me still couldn't function yet.
Many days passed in a seemingly peaceful succession. I had gotten to know some other slaves in the mansion. One of them told me about how she was separated from her brother, who was put into the human farm. I wondered what it was like living in the factory, but then again I didn't want to find out. This morning things were quite the same. We got our wrists cut as usual, except me. Then the vampire, who we first met, came up to me in the kitchen. He dressed in his elegant clothes as I had remembered.For a moment, his violet eyes seemed to linger on my face longer than necessary."You," he said. His pale stony face held high. "From now on, you're assigned to serve whenever my mistress sends for you."My heart sank further than it usually did. What could I say about that
Iwas in my mistress's room again. It was colder than I had remembered, or it could be just my own instinctive fear that made me shiver all over. Alexandra pulled me inside after she locked the huge heavy door.I glanced around in panic, but as usual, all the windows were tightly shut. No escape route anywhere. I felt like a trapped rat waiting for the cat to gut me alive. Alexandra turned her perfect figure to look at me again. She smiled with a glint of wickedness in her eyes."Don't even think about —"I ran to the small library as fast as my feet could take me then slammed the door shut and locked it."Wow, you must have been a marathon runner," Alexandra mocked from the other side of the room. I saw he
AlexandraThat's funny.Why do I even bother to think about it? It's not like I have never killed before. Avery Pierce is just an inferior and stubborn human girl. She deserved to be punished. I don't see why I shouldn't torture her. The sound of her screams delights me. Her blood whispers to me. But then there is something I couldn't wrap my mind around. Why did I feel like there were insects crawling inside my stomach when I saw her and my sister together? And why of all the whys, why do I want to have Avery more than anything now?~*~AveryI woke up to the bright sunlight shining throu
AnastasiaAvery's big brown eyes shone with a deep longing that I couldn't refuse it. We walked hand in hand back to the bed and sat there facing each other. I kept staring at her doll-like face, so innocent and so adorable. My gaze made her blush bright red.She looked down, hiding her eyes under those long black lashes. The wind blew through the windows. Silk curtains flicked gently, making the only sound in the room.Then Avery looked up again and moved closer until our knees touched. She swallowed hard before reaching her hands over to unbutton my shirt, but I knew she was nervous. Her hands were shaking so much; I had to grab them in mine.
AveryThe bed was empty when I woke up. An immediate anxiety washed over me as I was alone and scared."Anastasia!" I called out, but there was no answer. I threw off the cover and sprinted out of the bed. "Anasta..."To my relief, she appeared in the room. But she wore nothing but a white towel wrapped around her glowing body. Her blonde hair was wet. The water droplets on the skin made her glow. I froze as she came to me quickly. Her face looked concerned."I'm right here, Avery. Are you not well?" She brought her hands to my cheeks. I couldn't breathe, not with her in a towel was this close to me. I found myself staring at her ches
Iwish things would stay the same forever when I was with Anastasia. We could live in our little house and be content. There was only one problem. I had never seen her drinking human blood like Alex, but that doesn't mean she could go days without it.I had offered her my blood, but she refused and went on a quick hunt near the mountain slope. I didn't want her to leave me alone, but I also didn't want to make it hard on her eitherAfter Anastasia left, I stayed inside doing some mundane things around the house while I waited. Suddenly, I heard a knock on the door. My heart almost leaped out of my chest.But excitement got the best of me. I rushed to the door and opened it."Ana, you came back quite early today,"
My jaw dropped. Anastasia's girlfriend? The thought stabbed at me like a blade. I felt something akin to a heart attack. I couldn't breathe. My stomach churned, and I felt as if I was about to throw up. I couldn't believe it. But the woman was standing right before my eyes. She was real, and she was here, now claiming back what was hers.Why did Anastasia do that to me? Why she never told me she already has a lover? Maybe I was just another slave to her. Whatever we had was merely a sexual enjoyment. It was too easy for me to fall in love. I was too stupid to lose myself.With the thoughts screaming in my head, hot tears streamed down my cheeks. I tried to swallow the pain, but it was too late to stop my heart from breaking.Nikol kept staring at me with her cold eyes.
AlexandraAs soon as the limo stopped in front of the mansion, I grabbed Avery by the wrist and dragged her out of the car. She almost tripped on the way but I kept walking until we reached the main hall. I turned to the guards."Call the maids," I said. "Bring her to clean up and get her back to my room.""No!" Avery cried in terror, struggling with my tight grip. "Please, don't do this to me.""Shut up!" I yelled at her. "I can't stand another minute smelling the scent of my sister on you anymore. This time I won't let you get away from me again. You'll see."Avery winced, but she