I shivered against the cold, had I made a mistake by standing my ground, should I have yielded when he ordered me to do so? I never knew where I stood in his eyes, he has always been so hot and cold with me; but now I knew this was it. I had a decision to make. One that quite literally meant life... or death. Time drew on in the cell my arm agonising whenever I attempted to move it, yes, I could heal some wounds; but bones, that was something I had yet to master. I curled up into a ball on my side, sobbing silently as I attempted to keep myself warm, unable to do so as I could not call on my power. The room seeming to be closing in all around me. I could have transformed perhaps, maybe into a bat, but with my arm lying broken and twisted beside me, I wouldn't have been able to fly. No matter what I transformed into, the shattered limb would follow. How much more of this could I take, how much torment did I

 I quickly turned my attention towards the wound that oozed with blood even now, hoping I could remove the entirety of the diamond with just one hand, my broken arm hanging uselessly by my side. I wanted to clench my eyes shut, I wanted to shy away from the blood, but that would not help Vincent, it would not bring him back from the brink of death. I wished that I was someone else, that I wasn’t the prince’s slave, but that would never be so, this was the way my life had intended to go, and there was no point in crying over it now, that would not change it. Nor would it make my life any easier. I took a deep breath, carefully picking away at the pieces of diamond as I cauterised each section of the wound, ensuring that I left no diamond behind, Vincent cried in anguished pain, his form shaking and trembling under my power, much like I had under Silas’ his cries increasing with each passing moment. I tugged on yet another piece of t

I startled awake, unsure of where I was, my head throbbing as I moaned in pain, my body tense and weak. I fought hard to remember why I was in pain, knowing that it had something to do with the prince, he did something to me, I felt different. I wasn’t sure what exactly had changed, but I was certain that it couldn’t be good. He … He had taken some of my blood and replaced it with his own to help my arm heal quicker, but he had taken too much; more than he needed to for the transfer of strength. I turned to look down at my arm, the flesh still slightly swollen, but as I tested my fingers and bent it at the elbow, I realised that it was healed, that the bone and muscles had mended. I stretched, wincing at the sharp pain in my head, suspecting that my body was scolding me for using up all my strength, I had overexerted myself and now I hurt. But that didn’t mean I could stay in bed until the pain was gone, after spending a night in the dun

We moved quickly through the crowd, dodging the many bodies that filled the room, eyes falling in my direction for only a second; though I knew from the warning that I couldn’t meet their gazes. I had to play the part of a good slave. The prince stopped at a small step, his seat high above the others and ushered me to go first; my head low as I climbed it without hesitation and took my place to the right of the high-backed chair. I knelt as fast as I could whilst attempting to remain somewhat graceful, my head low and I clenched my eyes shut, I had never been in the presence of so many high-class vampire families before. The pounding of my own heart in my ears reminding me of how mortal I was and how easily they could kill me should that be what they wished. Even as I wanted to pretend that I was strong, that I had a special power that would protect me, I doubted that I would be able to take two of them down before I was swarmed. There must be at least thi

Victoria snicked, but it was Kanata who spoke. “Agreed. Her children will have great power.” Wait a second, were they talking about making me have children just so they could have one?! They are mad, all of them mad. I didn’t want any kids, hell; I was still a kid. Surely, they didn’t expect me to breed like an animal so they could sell off my offspring, like I would even give my children away if I were to have them. Vincent growled from beside me, but he said nothing, clearly knowing that he couldn’t argue with all of them, and my ovaries seemed to be something they were all in agreement with. Now it was Luka Caprotti who my head snapped towards as he spoke. “I have a male who would be a good candidate for her, he will keep her in line.” He wasn’t serious. He couldn’t be. “Agreed. The Octavian line will also contribute