Chapter 1

Trinity

I had had only planned to pick up some cash from the bank. My mother was sick, and my father was taking care of her while I worked at my dead-end waitressing job. It wasn’t glamorous, but it was enough for now while I was still in school. I had only meant for this to be short deviance from my route home. Normally, I wouldn’t have even thought about deviating from my route this late in the winter because of how dark it was, but this bank location was close enough on the way home that it wouldn’t make me too late. My job was on the better side of town, so I thought I’d be safe. 

Then the robbers had come in swinging their guns and demanding the money from the tellers. I had been the only other person in the bank that wasn’t behind a desk, so as soon as the police showed up, they dragged me up from the floor and pressed a gun to my head as they hustled me into the car and dared the cops to shoot. 

I remembered trying to keep quiet and not draw any attention to myself as they drove, but the man who had grabbed me had taken to playing with my hair and pressing in as close as he could. 

When the car had flipped, I’d been almost thankful. Despite the headache, I’d been mostly unharmed. I’d been dragged out of the car by one of the men. I heard gunshots, but it was so hazy as the man took off from me, leaving me standing alone on the street beside the flipped car. 

How had I gotten mixed up with a bank robbery and taken hostage? 

The crunch of bone filled the air. I looked over to where a tall, broad figure in a black, hooded robe dropped the last man with a sick thump to the ground. I ducked behind the car and tried to back away and escape as quietly as possible.

How had I ended up here? How had that man killed him so easily? What happened to the other two? The figure glided around the car. My stomach lurched as I glanced back down to the bodies I could see now from where I stood. One was missing a head. The other’s chest had been caved in, and blood bubbled out of his mouth. 

The pain in my head faded around my panic. I looked back at the hooded figure.

“P-Please, h-have mercy, I—” The wind blew my scarf from over my face, and he stopped. “Please…”

Who was this man? I couldn’t see his face, but if he came just a little closer into the light, I would be able to. Then, I’d have nothing to bargain with. Did I even have anything to hide behind now? He’d killed those three men with ease and without hesitation. What was I going to do?

He hadn’t gotten any closer since he’d whispered my name, but he hadn’t seemed keen on letting me go. What murderer would, especially if I saw his face?

My heart was beating out of control. I had been hopeful when he’d first shown up, but now, I was on the edge of panic. 

“P-Please don’t hurt me,” I gasped. “I-I haven’t even seen your face. I won’t say anything….”

Bargaining with a murderer who shredded human men like paper. I was going to need a lot of therapy that I would never be able to afford. He didn’t move. He didn’t even speak, but I knew he was staring at me. 

Did he not understand me? Police sirens grew louder in the distance. I felt a bit of hope as they drew closer. I turned as the police cars rounded the corner. I turned and ran towards the lights as fast as my feet would take me. 

“Someone help me!” I cried. 

The man hissed behind me. I heard the rush of air and then felt an arm wrapping around my waist. I screamed and tried to fight as I was lifted into the air and flown away from the police cars that didn’t even seem like they’d seen me. The faces behind the glass seemed unaware of me, focused on where the car had tipped over. Darkness wrapped around me. The lights of the storefronts flickered and rushed past until I was in complete darkness. The air turned cold and stale like the inside of a cave. The beating of wings grew loud, echoing off the rock as my heart thudded. The man had me clamped tightly to his side. 

“Please let me go!” she cried. “Please!”

The cave around them grew tighter as I struggled and pleaded, then it opened as if the winged man had simply flown through a tunnel to somewhere far different. The sky was dark, but there wasn’t a single star in the sky. No clouds either, but there was a single red disk hanging in the air that cast blood-red light over the landscape. 

It was like something out of a fantasy novel and beautiful if this had been a different circumstance, but where was he taking me? And why was he taking me there? He was clearly some sort of murderous monster. Was he taking me back to his nest or something like some monstrous bird? 

I felt sick at the thought. I turned my head in the direction of where we were flying. In the distance and growing closer was a tall castle that seemed to be practically floating. The stone was dark and highlighted with the red light. It looked like a dream, but I couldn’t find any reason to be happy about it. 

He slowed and circled the highest tower before landing on the balcony and dragging me into the room. 

“Please let me go! Please!”

He threw me onto the bed. I bounced and scrambled back and away from the man, but he simply prowled after me, yanking me down the bed towards him, oddly gently before looming over me and leaning into me. I closed my eyes, turning my head as he thrust his head into the junction of my neck, holding me down and breathing deeply. He shuddered above me. 

Groaning something again, with such longing and desire, my stomach jolted.

He groaned, pushing up against me, rolling his hips against mine, and groaning. My heart beat wildly. I was frozen and embarrassed at the feel of him thrusting against me. I could feel the hard length of his erection against my stomach as he tried to force his way between my legs.

Was this normal? Would he eat me or…? My heart lurched at the thought, and I twisted in his grip, but that didn’t dislodge him or even seem to budge him. He hadn’t reached for my clothes. I was grateful for that, but that didn’t change the fact of what he was doing to me.

I got my hand free and pushed at his shoulder. My hand slipped and pushed back the hood on his head. Inky black hair fell free, spilling over his shoulders in thick waves. He reared back, and glowing red eyes looked down at me, flecked with amber and gold. He stared down at me. My chest heaving as I stared up at him, frightened and trembling beneath him. 

His eyes cleared for a moment. There was a flicker of surprise, but it vanished. He licked his lips, and the desire that had been on his face seemed to fade. He withdrew from me like a dark, passing cloud and drifted across the room to the door. The great black wings that had carried us there were gone when he rematerialized across the room and pulled open the door. He called out in a language I didn’t understand before leaving. His black robes flared out around him as he swept down the hallway.

As he left, three women appeared in a rush of air and silence. I pressed myself against the headboard, shaking as my heart threatened to beat out of my chest. 

“Who are you? What do you want from me? Where—”

“Miss,” one of them said with a heavy accent. The glint of her teeth sent a shiver of fear through me. A word I didn’t want to think about was blaring in the back of my mind like someone screaming into a microphone. “We must hurry. The master has ordered that you be dressed for dinner.”

“Dinner party?” I asked, incredulous and horrified. “I want to go home!”

“The baths are this way, miss,” another one said. “It would be best not to keep our master waiting.”

I shuddered in terror and clenched my teeth. My eyes burned, and I thought of my mother and father at home.

I should have just gotten the cash on my lunch break instead of waiting until the end of the day, or I wouldn’t be in this situation.