Trisha’s P.O.V:

The first thing I noticed as I came to was that I was being suspended by my arms above my head. My arms were stretched up as they supported the weight of my entire body, my feet hanging above ground and the harshness of the rope against my skin was as unwelcome a perception as was the sensation of the absence of my clothes on my body.

I could feel the gentle movement of air around my skin as if there wasn’t any thread of clothing left to prevent the chill. My nipples were pebbled hard and goose bumps appeared on my skin. I couldn’t feel anything else in the room, however. The air was dead silent, with the absence of any scents or movements that could help me figure out where I was. Which meant that I was either on a skyscraper, high enough that even my enhanced hearing couldn’t pick up any noises, or I was in an abandoned area somewhere far away from population which didn’t have enough buildings around it to reflect sound waves. But the only plus point to my situation was, I couldn’t hear any bird songs. Which meant that the sun hadn’t risen…yet.

“Why pretend to be passed out when we both know you aren’t?”

I sucked in a gasp. I knew that voice! I knew it well enough that it had every hair on my body standing on end, making a shiver ran down my spine. And it was not a pleasant feeling at all.

I opened my eyes to a dark room and they immediately fell on the lone figure sitting on a throne like chair not too far away from me. Even though the curtains were drawn with sunlight proof drapes and there wasn’t a hint of light in the room, there was no mistaking that sinister presence, those vibrant green eyes that were lit from within, making them glow in the dark like emeralds and that presence so powerful, it made anyone and everyone run in the opposite direction, as far as possible. Because this was none other than Damien Vandolff, the Vampire King.

Damien was perfection personified. Built the size of a battle tank, a physique to die for and a face so unparalleled in beauty that no one can forget it once they had a look. His hair appeared black in the darkness but I knew that it was originally a very, very dark shade of red. He was the most coveted and the most dangerous creature on the planet. Except, he didn’t just break hearts, he crushed them in the palm of his hands, after ripping it out of the person’s body.

A smile formed on his face. A smile that was as cunning as it was beautiful. “I see you’re standing your ground. You’re more stubborn than I initially apprehended.”

I returned the smile, because if I didn’t hold my own against him, I’d be mincemeat in no time. “Why do I get the feeling that you’re not done yet?”

Damien leaned back on his chair. “I’d say you’re quite right, Ms. Redfern.”

I tilted my head to the side, and it pushed my breasts up even further, but I fought through the urge to feel humiliated. Shame wasn’t something immortals felt often, especially after having lived centuries. And even though I wasn’t nearly as old as Damien, I had seen my fair share of years. “Are we on last name basis again, Damien? I’ll have to say I’m disappointed.”

I know I shouldn’t be pushing the wrong buttons right now but I had valid reasons. I won’t stand down, not when there were several lives on the line. Lives that Damien had sworn to protect but has never acted on his promises, at least not since Vampires became the rulers of Earth, taking over the human race and any other minor supernatural species that exists. The fight had been long and hard and Damien had fought tooth and nail to bring back peace to all the landforms on the planet, but we are on shaky ground once again and Damien has decided to stand by our race alone and abandoned the rest to a cruel fate.

The only reason I was in this position right now was because I had dared to take a stand against him in public. And with the current political conditions, it had seriously affected his rule, making some of the masses, who had been strong and brave enough, to question his decisions.

Good. His ego had needed a jitter after he’d made human slaving legal right after becoming King and has never once thought about abdicating that law even after two centuries had passed under his reign. He needs to get back on the right track.

“You always seen to surprise me, Trisha.” He got off the chair, his face the only thing visible in the darkness, which made me guess he was wearing his usual dark clothing. “We’ve battled countless times in court and I have to say, I’d liked the banter because you usually had a valid point. But this time you’ve gone too far, Trisha Redfern. Your behavior has led several aristocrats to rebel against me.”

“So that’s why you’ve brought me here? To humiliate me? I didn’t think you’d be so low as to rape me into submission!” I knew I was fighting for the greater good, to save an entire race from becoming extinct, but the closer Damien moved to my body, the more I could feel heat pool between my legs. I was no exception to the effect he had on the opposite sex, but right now I needed to fight back if I wanted to get out of this alive, not be wet and ready to do as he pleased. The moment he scents my arousal, he’ll do everything he can to break me.

The next words that he spoke were like a sharp knife against my skin and I felt death whisper in my ears. “Never. Ever. Say that repulsive word in front of me again. Ever!”

His voice was low, spoken through gritted teeth, and I felt every cell in my body grow stiff in response. “Then why am I tied to a pillar, naked?”

“I don’t want to cause a scene by publicly harassing you, Trisha.” His face was inches away from mine, and if I hadn’t been tied up, I probably would have had to look up into those gorgeous gemstone eyes because of how tall he was. “This is me asking very nicely that you drop the case or face the consequences.”

The said case was of an entire human family being slaughtered by an Aristocrat who’s only excuse was that he had been bored and in need of entertainment. But he hadn’t stopped there. He’d kept the youngest son alive only to have him watch his family get killed one by one, his mother having suffered a fate worse than dying before death became her freedom. That boy, Neema, was now under my custody, having escaped that Aristocrats clutches and found his way over to me.

“Never!” I spat.

The smile that followed reassured me that this will be the last thing I’d ever see. A sadistic smile on a hauntingly beautiful face. God was cruel indeed. He always made the predators the most magnificent of beings so they had no trouble attracting innocent prey.

“I had a hunch you would say that. After all, you’ve always chosen the difficult path.”

The next few instances happened in a blink of an eye. Damien pulled out a remote from the back pocket of his pants and pressed a button. A shifting noise came from the ceiling as I followed the motion. The next instant I tried to look past the blinds and realized too late that the sun was already up and the blinds had not only been light-proof but soundproof as well for me to have missed the noises all around me. A thin beam of sunlight streamed down the opening in the ceiling and fell on my body.

And then there was only screams and fire.