The Dark Heroine: Dinner with a Vampire. Abigail Gibbs

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      Kaspar raised his glass and I was sure I heard him mumble ‘you couldn’t, Charity’ into it.

      ‘Indeed. Education is no longer simply for the elite,’ an old man said. His wispy white hair was tied in a long ponytail, his beard flicked over his shoulders. He spoke to Charity, but watched me with an increasingly pensive stare.

      Fabian noticed the man’s stare and shifted. ‘Violet, this is Eaglen. He is the vampire I told you about the other night. The old one,’ he mouthed. The man, Eaglen, smiled.

      ‘Yes, the old one,’ he echoed, finishing off the last drop in his glass, which was hastily refilled. He chuckled and turned away, seemingly satisfied. I arched an eyebrow at Fabian, who shared my puzzled expression.

      ‘He’s like that sometimes,’ he muttered.

      Glasses continued to be filled at the King’s order, but as the waiters moved forward, bottles now empty, they paused, staring at me – the next nearest blood source. I saw Alex and Kaspar exchange worried looks and Fabian did the same whilst discretely shuffling his chair closer to mine. Conversation died away and the room rippled into hush.

      ‘Violet, go,’ Ilta said, as Fabian pushed my chair back. ‘Quickly.’

      I didn’t need telling twice. I scrabbled out of my chair and backed to the wall, feeling my way across the room, too scared to turn my back on any of them. Every bloodthirsty pair of eyes followed me until I reached the door and fell out, slamming it behind me.

      I leaned against the wall of the corridor, breathing heavily. A couple of tears escaped my sore eyes and I wished for nothing more than my bed, at home, where it was safe. A knot of homesickness formed in my stomach once more. At that moment, the door opened and Kaspar slipped out. I wiped the tears away before he noticed I was crying.

      ‘You okay?’ he asked, stiffly. I shrugged, trying to act offhand.

      ‘They won’t attack you, you know,’ he said. I looked up at him disbelievingly. ‘If they kill you, there could be an all-out war. Believe it or not, we don’t want that,’ he replied, glumly.

      ‘This meeting is about me and that is why the council has assembled,’ I replied, equally as sullen. He nodded mutely. ‘Why now?’

      Sighing, he leaned up against the wall beside me. ‘Because we have been informed that the slayers have made a truce with a group of rogue vampires. They plan to attack us, take you, and God knows what else.’

      ‘I—’

      ‘Don’t bother, no slayer will set foot here,’ Kaspar interjected. He stared blankly at the opposite wall, deep in thought.

      ‘Life is so crap sometimes,’ I mumbled to myself.

      ‘Tell me about it,’ I heard him say, ever so softly. I turned to him, surprised. He felt my gaze and turned too.

      ‘I won’t be safe here any more, will I?’ In an instant, he was right in front of me, breathing on my neck, his chest rising and falling in time to mine. My heartbeat quickened.

      ‘You were never safe here, Violet Lee.’

      He lowered his head to my neck, his hands settling themselves on my hips. I backed as far into the wall as I could, but he just pushed himself further into me. I was shaking and my hands clenched into fists, my body tensing, waiting for the onslaught of pain. I tried pushing him away, but he didn’t move – I doubt he even felt me trying to escape. His fangs met my neck, grazing the skin. I whimpered and turned away. He took a deep breath, inhaling my scent. His mouth opened wider and I prepared for the bite.

      ‘Don’t. Please.’ A single tear rolled down my cheek, as I resorted to begging. ‘Kaspar,’ I whispered. To my surprise, he pulled away, his eyes opening. Another tear slid down my cheek and he caught it with the back of his thumb, wiping it away.

      ‘I don’t understand why you don’t get it.’ His hand ran down the length of my neck and side, until it came to rest on my hip once more. ‘We lust for you and your blood and your body. You want it too. I can see it in your eyes and feel it in your heartbeat.’

      My eyes searched for the floor, but I could only see him.

      ‘You don’t get that right now I could snap you in half and suck you dry. You don’t get that you are food and that we struggle to see you as a living creature. An equal. Because you’re not.’

      ‘And you don’t get that I am a person with feelings,’ I breathed.

      He backed away a little, taking his hands off me, searching my face with his eyes. ‘No, I don’t,’ he murmured back. ‘You are never safe here, Violet Lee. Remember that. Never.’

      He turned his back to me and I could hear him breathing; see his hands balling into fists, fighting the urge to bite. He turned back, placing his hands against the wall either side of my head. ‘Stay away from Ilta Crimson,’ he said, his eyes burning and menace fuelling his words.

      ‘Why?’ I asked, surprised at his complete change of tone.

      ‘Because I don’t trust him,’ he growled.

      ‘You don’t trust him?’ I mouthed, surprised. ‘In case you didn’t notice, he wasn’t trying to bite my head off back there. He is the least of my worries.’

      ‘Goddamn it, Girly! Why don’t you just listen to me? Just trust me!’ he yelled back, all softness in his nature gone, disappearing so quickly I flinched and hit the back of my head on the wall.

      ‘Trust you?’ I squealed. ‘Why would I trust you? You kidnapped me! You constantly try to suck my blood! I’d much rather trust Ilta than you!’

      ‘But you don’t know him! You don’t know what he is capable of!’ Kaspar roared back, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me like a ragdoll.

      ‘No. You’re right. I don’t know him,’ I replied, more calmly, taking deep breaths. His hands unsnapped from my shoulders like my skin was made of hot coals. I sidestepped away from him. ‘But I’ll take the risk, thanks,’ I spat.

      His face lit up with anger, his eyes turning pure black. I turned and walked away, fuming.

      ‘Where the hell are you going?’ he shouted down the corridor after me.

      ‘To my room!’ I screamed back, spinning to face him. Our eyes met, and I glared at him for a full minute.

      ‘On your own head be it, Girly. Don’t say I didn’t warn you,’ he snarled.

      I turned on my heel and stormed up the hall, towards the stairs. But as I reached the end, I couldn’t resist having the last word. I spun around to see Kaspar staring at me, anger still evident in his face.

      ‘You know what, Kaspar? I wish you had just killed me back in London! Just ended it there. Then I wouldn’t have to suffer this. Why didn’t you? Why?’ I shrieked, and ran, but not before I caught his expression, which spoke a thousand words.

      He didn’t know why.

      SEVENTEEN

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