"Just head in," Amber opened the door, stepping aside to let me through.
I nodded, chewing on my bottom lip at the sight of the white lingerie she wore. Fresh bandages lined on her skin, but she wore them proudly like they're tattoos, not wounds.
"Ah, little Rose," Laurent greeted from behind his desk, the door clicking shut behind me.
"How are you faring?" he asked, taking both my hands and pressing a soft kiss to my knuckles.
Ravić won't be happy about it, but after what he did last night, I deserve to know.
"Where's the prince?" he wondered, his eyes drifting towards the shut door.
I thought of him dead asleep in bed, naked.
"Asleep," I replied curtly.
Laurent shot me a look of disbelief.
"He's tired," I quickly added.
"Anyways, you asked for me?" I asked, shifting the subject, taking a seat on the chair across his desk.
Laurent folded his hands, elbows resting on the arms of his chair as he leaned back.
"I wanted to tell you something about our prince," he began. What a coincidence.
"What about him?" I asked, my fingers fidgeting under his desk.
"Your husband..." he tested the word, watching me flinch, then let out a deep breath and shifted his course. "Prince Ravić is volatile."
"How so?"
Laurent rummaged through something beneath his desk, producing a blood bag. My eyes goes to it immediately, fangs extending as he squeezed all its juicy contents into a plastic cup before handing it to me.
"Drink first," he said, "he's your sire, you might overreact."
My eyebrows furrowed at his words, but I take it anyway, sipping it slowly as he speaks.
"My prince is what humans would classify as a psychopath."
I nearly choked on my drink, the blood catching in my throat. My hand trembled around the cup, but I forced it steady, tipping up to drain the last of it.
"Which explains why you're still hungry for blood," he pointed out.
"He drank from you last night, didn't he?" he asked sharply.
I pressed my lips tight, my gaze drifting to the slivers of sunlight slipping through the curtains.
He let out a breath, his eyes drifting up to the ceiling like he's searching through an old memory.
"Prince Ravić was the last and only surviving son of our King," Laurent began, "but he was too volatile to rule. Too psychotic, too much like his mother. Desperate, the King sought for answers from vampires with...gifts."
"Ravić did mention something about gifts," I said, eyes narrowing at the distant memory.
Laurent nodded. "My family was gifted with the ability to sense the nature of creatures. It was something that existed even when my ancestors were still humans. That ability evolved when we became vampires."
He paused, before continuing, "The King was desperate. He sought my family's guidance, only to be told of a prophecy, that the only one who could subdue his son's...psychopathic tendencies would be his bride."
A tear slipped down my cheek. How had it come to this?
"I was just a scientist," I said, wiping my face angrily. "This wasn't supposed to be my life."
The door slammed open before Laurent could react, its hinges torn and clattering across the floor.
Laurent shot to his feet while I remained seated, frozen.
Ravić stands in the doorway, wearing a grey shirt and pants, his red eyes glowing with rage, but it all vanished the moment he caught my tears.
His expression softened. In an instant, he was already in front of me, dropping to his knees and cupping my face in his hands, his thumb softly rubbing my tears away from my cheeks.
"Who did this to you?" he whispered.
I held onto his wrists, pulling them away.
He looked pained for a second, before someone on the door caught all of our attention.
Amber slithered into the room, smirking with a handgun on her hand.
"How sweet," she said, her lips twisting into a snake-like smile.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" Laurent snapped.
"See, you vampires are so predictable," she said, casually waving the gun before firing at a ceramic pot. It shattered with a sharp crack.
I flinched at the sudden noise, while Ravić rose to his feet and silently eased me behind him.
"You think you're the most powerful," she went on, twirling through the office like it was a game, "but you can't even step into the sun."
Laurent scribbled something on a piece of paper, his eyes never leaving the unstable Amber.
"Why are you doing this, Amber?" he asked, subtly sliding the note toward me. "We gave you everything you wanted."
I take it and fist it in my hands.
"I'm tired, Laurent baby," she said, strutting towards the table.
Ravić stepped between us, widening the distance.
Her head twists to him, her gun pointed at him.
"Maybe the prince can change me," she said, grinning at him.
"Amber..." Laurent called.
"What?" she snapped, her gun back at Laurent. "When are you turning me? It's unfair that the whore gets to be a vampire and I'm not."
"You know it's not the right time..."
"You lie!" she shouted, pulling the trigger.
The bullet flew, hitting Laurent square in the chest, causing him to collapse into his chair.
It all happened so fast.
Ravić grabbed her from behind, squeezing her neck and knocking the gun from her hand.
"I've waited years!" she screeched at Laurent, who sat bleeding in his chair, staring at the blond woman with wide, disbelieving eyes. "I did everything you asked! I whored myself out for you! To all your guests!"
I widened my eyes at Ravić, who didn't even bother meeting my eyes.
"Oh, don't worry about your precious prince, Rosie Posie," she sneered, laughing like a madwoman. "He couldn't even get it up when I stripped and bled for him."
Laurent circled the table as Ravić dragged her backward, giving him room to step in close to her.
"You've betrayed me, Amber," he hissed, blood still dripping from his chest, pooling on the floor beneath him.
Shouldn't his wound be healed by now?
"Laurent, your chest," Ravić pointed out, echoing my thoughts.
Amber let out a low, breathless chuckle. "There's no saving him now. I've already alerted the authorities."
She turned her sorrowful eyes back to the bleeding Laurent. "If you won't make me your bride, then no one else can."
As if on cue, gunfire erupted in the hallway, followed by the shatter of glass, agonizing screams and the deep rumble of explosions.
"You bitch!" Laurent shouted, twisting her neck until a sickening crack echoed through the room.
She went limp in Ravić's arms before he dropped her carelessly to the floor.
I pocketed the paper and dropped to a crouch just as bullets shattered the window, sending shards flying and flooding the room with sunlight, the curtains all falling to the ground.
Laurent collapsed as a ray of light struck him.
Ravić tried crawling toward him, sunlight searing his own skin as he tried dragging his friend to safety but he wouldn't budge.
"Go! Save yourselves!" Laurent shouted, shoving his friend back into the shadows.
"Head to the basement!" he barked. "Go!"
"Come with us!" Ravić yelled through the chaos.
"Get him out of here!" Laurent ignored him, turning to me instead. "Rosie, get him to the basement!"
"No, Laurent!
"Please, my prince," he said, tears streaming down his cheeks as fire started to burn his middle. "I'm beyond saving now. Maybe the gods will have mercy on me."
"Save...yourselves..." he uttered before I snapped out of it and yanked Ravić away from Laurent's burning body.
The last thing we saw was his hand, reaching toward the sky, fingers outstretched like he was reaching for something, or someone before it all crumbled to ash.
I dragged Ravić with everything I had, as he stumbled, hollow-eyed and trembling, grieving.
He forced himself to strengthen the moment we made it through the hallway, dodging bullets and sunlight as we ran through the chaos. Vampires and humans alike were either being shot, caught or burned alive.
All of Laurent's world, gone.
I tried not to let the grief consume us.
Not yet.
Not until we reach the basement, just like he told us to.