I don’t know how I know it, but this woman is a vamp. I think it’s the way they hold themselves, no crouching or movements like breathing. She is just still, and the more she stares, the more uncomfortable I get, but I still hold eye contact. Her sharp green eyes are a clear challenge.
“Oh, they will like you, girl,” she eventually states, breathing out the sentence in a husky tone. “I can smell your blood from here, and it is different. Delicious.”
She licks her lips. “I might bid for you myself, seeing as I’m not allowed to feed on the new stock.”
“Were you ever human?” I question, crossing my arms. I’m done being frightened of these monsters if they are going to kill me anyway. “Are you all born vampires with no ounce of humanity left to save you?”
She laughs and walks across the room. “Humanity is overrated, as are your emotions that come with it.”
I don’t reply, unsure what to say to that. Humanity would be overrated to someone who clearly has none. “But humans are as cruel as we are, make no mistake about that. The Onyx owns its crimes and doesn’t hide them. Can you say the same of your race? How many terrible things have you humans done and hid?”
“Why am I here?” I question instead, hating that she might be right.
“To prepare you. I will run you a bath and dress you, and then you will be taken. It is the way of things around here,” she casually comments. “My name is Merethe.”
“My mum always said it was rude to play with your food. Why don’t you just kill me and get it over and done with?” I ask her instead of giving her my name.
She tilts her head to the side. “Do you want to die? Is there no one you want to go back to?”
“My family would rather see me dead than in constant suffering,” I counter.
She leans down close, shaking her head. “Not everything in The Onyx is about suffering. Pleasure is just as much a desire as blood is. Both can be enjoyed at the same time. You will see, you are very beautiful.”
I turn away, sickness filling my mouth. That is a fate worse than death in my books. “I will be no one’s.”
She laughs like that is impossible here. “Are you a virgin?”
“What does that matter to you?” I snap. She keeps laughing and steps close to me so quickly I can’t track her movement. Her hand cups my face, and her eyes stare into mine. “Tell me the truth, are you a virgin?”
Something indescribable takes hold of me, forcing me to want to tell her the truth, but I push it back, gritting my teeth. It hurts to resist, and the more she stares at me, the more pressure I feel until it suddenly disappears. “Fuck. Off.”
Shock fills her eyes, and she lets me go, stumbling back. “How…how did you do that?”
“Do what?” I question, not understanding how freaked out she is. Rather than answer me, she starts to pace, muttering to herself, and I catch some of it.
“Must tell...princes...they will pay more.”
Princes? Don’t tell me the vamps have a royal family.
“Hello?” I wave my hand, and she finally stops, plastering on a very fake smile and breathing out a long breath. Her eyes stare me down like I’m a prized pig at a Texas BBQ.
“Let’s get you dressed up. You look cold,” she replies, pretending like our whole conversation didn’t just happen, but she looks at me differently now than when I first came in here. It’s almost like I suddenly turned into gold. “Everything will be better once you are warm and dressed in auction house clothes of a neutral colour. Can’t have any arguments about you that are blamed on me.”
“Why does the colour matter?” I question, holding my ground. She walks away and into another room, and I stand still, wondering if I should follow her. Every inch of me wants to run away as fast as I can, but I know running isn’t going to work well for me until I come up with a decent enough plan.
My brother always said I was the smart one of us both. And he was damn right.
Steeling my back, I keep my arms crossed as I walk to the room Merethe last went into and head inside. It’s a small bathroom with a white tub, a modern one with its own shower head. Merethe is running the steamy water into the tub and pouring something that smells like lavender in.
“Get undressed,” she commands and pauses to look at me. “Not that you’re wearing much to begin with,” she tuts. “Humans.”
I scowl at her as she turns back, and I awkwardly stand there, not wanting to get undressed in front of her. Merethe sighs, turns the tap off, and comes to me.
“Nudity is not a care for vampires or d’vampires on this island,” she firmly tells me and grips my dress. In one smooth motion, she rips it off me, and I gasp at the slight pain that caused. I cover my bra-clad breasts and panties with my hands, and she rolls her eyes at me. “You can keep them on if you like.”
“Yes,” I answer and tip toe my way to the tub. I climb in, my feet stinging from the sheer difference in heat and the tiny cuts I can feel on the base of them. Sitting still, I nearly jump when Merethe leans over me, grabs the shower head, and turns it on. She washes my hair like we are old friends, pouring in shampoo and conditioner by the feel and smell, and I just sit there. I feel numb. Shocked into staying still.
“What is the difference between vampires and d’vampires?” I question, needing to understand the creatures on this island more if I have any chance of surviving this.
She sighs. “Vampires are born, like humans are, and d’vampires are humans who have been turned. D’vampires cannot turn humans, but they are just as strong as born vampires. Honestly, there is not much difference.”
“When can I go home?” I quietly ask. Merethe turns the shower off and squeezes out the water from my hair before stepping back. I look up, meeting her eyes, and I see some pity there.
“Most ask that first, and then they freak out when I answer them,” she comments, her voice lacking human emotion of any kind. “Then they threaten to kill themselves, which some do anyway, or they try to run. Running gets you nowhere, by the way. I was surprised you didn’t ask any of these questions.”
“How do you keep us under control then?” I ask.
“Compulsion, plain and simple. Compulsion is my art, I am the best at it, and that’s why I see the humans first and…soothe them,” she replies with a smirk. “And you’re the first human I’ve ever seen resist it. Are you sure you’re not a witch or something else?”
“Are witches real?” I question back, my mouth popping open. Vampires are bad enough. Witches? Nope. I still remember that film I watched as a kid where the witches turned kids into mice. I shiver. Standing out from the other humans was not the game plan. I need to go unnoticed to escape, and I have a sinking feeling that isn’t happening here. What is wrong with me? I should have just pretended to do what she asked.
“Very real and dangerous. But you can’t be one; you don’t have the markings, and you are human. I smell it,” she replies and offers me a towel before turning around as I take it off her. I wrap myself up and climb out, the cold air brushing against my skin. “Get changed into that dress and blow dry your hair over there. Don’t do anything rash, I am listening. We vampires have excellent hearing.”