"What did you just say?" Lord Eclaire asked. His eyes were set on her and his voice dropped. "That's what happened, isn't it? You killed her because of Lord Hunt's betrayal," Charlotte said. She was standing her ground despite knowing that he could easily kill her. Charlotte knew she was playing with fire by confronting him on her own. She felt that if he knew someone had figured him out, he might be inclined to take his leave, if she kept her mouth shut. Bargaining with a vampire was dangerous work. They were much stronger than she was in every sense of the manner. Even if he was injured, she didn't doubt that he could still snap her neck like a twig. The laws protected signed servants and humans from killings, but that didn't mean there weren't vampires that broke those laws. She wanted to do something though, if only to keep Lord Hunt from another fight. Lord Eclaire slowly stood from the bed and his glare only became more intense. At the moment he stayed where he was, which w

There was no telling how long Charlotte held Lord Hunt. By the time he stopped trembling, it felt like hours had gone by. The whole time, he kept his face buried into her shoulder and his arms wrapped around her as though his life depended on it. She hadn't planned on trying to move away from him when he needed the support, but that didn't change how desperately he clung to her. This was something that he had waited so long to do. It would be hard, she was sure, for some time. At least he would be able to start healing now that there was some closure. When he finally managed to stop trembling, Lord Hunt loosened his grip around her and slowly sat up once again. He looked even more tired than he had before. The only real evidence that he had been crying was the glossy look of his eyes. The entire time he shook and wept into her shoulder, he hadn't made a single sound. It would have been impressive if it wasn't such a tragic circumstance. Charlotte's heart ached for him. She wished she

At the mention of being taken, Lord Hunt stood from the table. No words were said, he just launched himself at Rimidal, seemingly to prevent him from doing what he said he was going to do. Everything that happened next came in such a blur that Charlotte only had enough time to gasp and stand from where she was seated at the table. The moment that Lord Hunt reached Rimidal, he moved a hand out to swat at the side of Lord Hunt's face, the back of his hand making contact with his cheek. A motion that looked like it would have been just a simple backhanded slap, had enough power in it to throw Lord Hunt through the dining room wall. A loud crash echoed in the hall and dust from drywall filled the room. As soon as it occurred, Charlotte was up and out of her chair, a gasp tearing from her lips. She wanted to rush over to Lord Hunt and make sure he was okay since he was still healing from his injuries, but she stayed frozen. That one little slap had enough strength to put Lord Hunt through

"You really think it's a wise idea to try and face him in your condition? You know the likelihood of him just letting you take her back without a fight," Vincent called out to him. Rodrick paused in the corridor. He knew that his old rival was right. If their master took a liking to Charlotte, he would want to keep her there for himself. Which meant that getting her back would be even harder. In which case, he wouldn't have the strength to even withstand another hit from Rimidal, especially not while he still hadn't fully recovered. Despite that, he still had a mind to go after her. He didn't want Charlotte to be stuck there any longer than she needed to. Already, it would probably have to wait until tomorrow night and that alone was enough to leave Rodrick unsettled. Rimidal's castle was a few hours away and even more secluded than Willow Creek. There was no way he would be able to reach it before sunrise. The timing of Rimidal's unexpected visit almost seemed to be planned for th

Rimidal swept the double doors closed as he left Charlotte alone with the group of vampires. As soon as they shut into place, the six girls gathered around her. Charlotte was left to stand in the center of a small circle, turning where she stood to capture the expression on each of their faces. They were looking over her curiously, talking among themselves as though she was an object instead of a person. A few of the comments she caught honestly made her a little uncomfortable. So, she tried not to let her mind linger on them, hanging onto the idea that these girls followed Rimidal's instructions without any question. "She's got the scent of another vampire on her," one of the girls said with an amused laugh. "Did our King bring a little treat that belonged to someone else?" Another one laughed. "Oh, that means she has experience. His majesty only said we couldn't hurt her, not that we couldn't have fun with her," came a third voice. "Girls, that's enough. This isn't how we tre