Chapter 2

I turned my phone off.

The moment I severed the connection, a sharp, twisting pain lanced through the Blood Brand on my collarbone.

It was a warning throb, a magical feedback from the covenant Vincent had etched into my very being.

It felt like a leash being pulled taut from the inside. I breathed through the discomfort, focusing on the clean anger that waited beneath the pain.

Let it ache. Soon, it would be gone forever.

At two in the afternoon, the reinforced door to my private studio was ripped from its hinges.

Marcus entered, his expression grim.

Behind him filed four ghouls—their eyes glazed with the compulsive loyalty bought by regular draughts of vampire blood, their movements enhanced to superhuman speed and strength.

They were perfect, soulless instruments of retrieval.

“Miss Rossi,” Marcus’s voice was flat. His hand rested on the hilt of a silver-etched dagger. “The Lord requires your presence. Immediately.”

I didn’t look up from the canvas I was deliberately defacing with streaks of corrosive solvent. “Inform the Lord I am unavailable.”

“This is not optional.”

I laid my tools down and stood. “So he sends his master’s hounds to fetch me. How efficient.”

Marcus didn’t deny it. “Do not resist. It will only cause you distress.”

The ride in the windowless vehicle was silent. The ghouls sat perfectly still, their unblinking eyes fixed ahead, smelling of old blood and chemical obedience.

The car stopped at the grand estate. My former home, now my prison.

I was led not to the state rooms, but to the winter garden solarium,a room of glass and light he had once given me. My sanctuary.

The door opened. I froze.

It was empty.

Utterly, completely void of me. My paintings of sunlit landscapes, my shelves of rare botanical texts, the comfortable chair by the window where I used to read… all gone. Erased.

The space had been transformed. The walls were now a stark, matte black. Sleek, angular furniture made of chromed steel and frosted glass replaced my warm wood. In the center of the main wall hung a massive, hyper-realistic portrait.

It was Lilith, clad in ice-blue satin, her smile serene and utterly possessive.

“Lilith’s taste is transformative, is it not?”

Vincent’s voice came from behind. He was a silhouette of tailored black wool. Lilith clung to his side, a vision of platinum and cold elegance.

“Lilith,” Vincent said, his tone neutral, “this is Elena. The most critical resource of my household.”

Lilith’s pale eyes swept over me, a flicker of assessment beneath her polite smile.

“Vincent has told me so much about your… unique value. He says a lot about your tasty blood, you’re his favorite, huh?” She let the words hang, a veiled reminder of my captivity. “Such a weight to carry.”

“My purpose is to serve,” I replied, my voice a monotone.

Vincent gave a curt nod. He turned, tucking Lilith’s hand into the crook of his arm. “The Elders are waiting.”

I followed them to the great hall, a silent shadow.

The Elder vampires were gathered, their ancient faces impassive.

Elder Thorne, his eyes like chips of obsidian, glanced from me to Vincent.

“Vincent. Your Elena has been a fixture here for a decade. Some of us had begun to speculate about a more… intimate permanence.”

Vincent’s response was swift and cold, cutting through the room. “Elder Thorne. Speculation is beneath you.”

His gaze landed on me, sharp and definitive.

“A blood attendant, no matter how essential, remains a human servant. I do not confuse utility with kinship.”

I dropped my eyes, the public dismissal a fresh brand of its own. “The Elder misunderstands,” I said, forcing a placid tone. “My bond to the Lord is purely one of service.”

For a heartbeat, Vincent’s mask seemed to strain at the edges. Then it solidified.

Lilith’s fingers tightened on Vincent’s arm, a subtle signal of triumph.

As Vincent passed me, his hand lifted slightly—an old, automatic gesture toward me.

It aborted in mid-air. He reached up instead and carefully adjusted a flawless diamond pendant at Lilith’s throat.

He leaned in, his whisper a cold filament against my ear. “Remember your lines. Do not deviate.”

The dinner was an endless procession. I sat isolated at the far end of the long table, watching Vincent and Lilith hold court.

He felt my stare. Turning, he met my eyes across the gulf of the hall.

Slowly, deliberately, he raised his glass of deep ruby liquid—my blood, mixed with wine—in a silent, mocking toast. His expression was one of cold approval.

The approval one gives to a well-maintained tool.

I lifted my own glass of water, meeting his gaze with a perfect, hollow smile.

Keep smiling, Vincent.

The cold glass biting into my palm. Your smile will be the first thing to shatter when I’m gone.