I tensed when I felt a cold, thick liquid on my lips. When I caught a sweet scent, however, I parted my lips. Then I ran my tongue over my lower lip, swallowing the liquid.
It was delicious.
I had never tasted anything like this before. I opened my eyes to see what it was. The first thing I saw was a stone ceiling. A huge chandelier adorned with diamonds hung from it. Then I slowly sat up.
I was lying in a bed—a large bed. It was very ornate. The wooden frame, in particular, was a true work of art.
Did they still make things like this?
I furrowed my brow.
Where am I?
I flinched when there was a knock on the door.
"Come in."
I quickly turned toward Valen when I heard his voice right beside me.
How long had he been here? More importantly, what had I swallowed?
When I looked at Valen, I saw that his gaze was fixed on the door. Then I looked at his hands. He was placing an empty glass bottle inside that mini pocket fridge I had seen in the car.
A red-eyed, middle-aged-looking man and a young woman entered the room. The man was definitely a vampire, but I wasn't sure about the woman. Her gaze was fixed on the floor, and she looked uneasy.
When they came before Valen, the man pushed the woman from behind, making her fall to her knees.
"I brought the blood donor you requested, Your Majesty," the man said. I could see both of his long fangs as he spoke.
A blood donor?
Was Valen going to feed on someone right beside me?
I didn't want to see this.
Valen nodded in response. Then he grabbed the woman by the arm, pulled her to her feet, and brought her over to me. The woman was trembling with fear.
Was he going to feed on her right beside me, too? This was too much. I couldn't just stand by and watch—
But the woman smelled so good. I felt my mouth water.
Don't be ridiculous, Kayra.
"There's no need to hesitate," Valen said. "She belongs to you now."
I didn't want anyone to belong to me anymore. I was so tired of this whole belonging mess. It had always caused trouble for me.
"I don't need a servant," I said sharply.
The woman started crying when I spoke.
Why was she crying? She should have thanked me.
"Didn't you like her?"
I looked at Valen when he asked. There was no way to tell what he was thinking from his expression.
"Take her away," Valen told the man. "Bring another."
"I don't want another one either—"
"Please, don't take me away," the woman interrupted me. Then she turned to me.
"Please, don't let them send me away," she pleaded.
The woman's eyes were light brown. I hadn't seen any long fangs when she spoke, either.
"Aren't you a vampire?" I asked.
The woman looked at me in surprise.
"Ha-ha…"
When Valen suddenly started laughing, the woman flinched in fear.
Was my question really that ridiculous?
"You'll learn to tell them apart by their scents over time," Valen said.
What was I supposed to understand?
"I-I'm human," the woman said.
How many more people knew about these supernatural beings? I wondered if we had soldiers who fought against them.
"Humans cannot become aware of our existence until we capture them," Valen said. "We do not allow that."
So what? Were humans nothing more than blood bags to them?
Valen grabbed the woman's arm, brought it to his mouth, and bit her. The woman groaned in pain but didn't pull her arm away.
"What are you doing?" I asked in confusion.
Then he brought the woman's bloody arm toward my mouth.
"Drink," he said. "If you don't like it, we'll find another."
I stared silently at Valen for a while. I wasn't going to drink blood. I wasn't a vampire. But the scent made my mouth water again, and my gaze shifted to the bloody arm. Unable to resist, I licked my lower lip.
It looked delicious.
First, I breathed in the scent. It wasn't as sweet as the one I had smelled when I woke up, but it still smelled just as good. Then I slowly ran my tongue along the entire wound.
I felt my heart beating faster.
"Ugh…"
The woman's reaction made me realize what I was doing, and I immediately pulled away. This wasn't me.
"I'm not a vampire," I whispered.
"No, you are."
My eyes widened in fear.
"What do you mean?" I asked Valen. Then I got out of bed.
"I can't put up with this nonsense anymore," I continued.
Valen shrugged.
"If you don't believe me, look in the mirror," he said, pointing toward the huge mirror across from the bed.
I immediately rushed toward the mirror. But I couldn't control my speed. If I couldn't slow down, I was going to crash into the mirror. I closed my eyes and braced myself for the impact. But instead of hitting the mirror, I crashed into someone. Then the person wrapped their arms around my waist and helped me regain my balance.
When I opened my eyes to see who it was, I found myself face-to-face with him—Valen. Just as I was about to pull away in panic, that scent filled my nose. That delicious scent I had smelled before I woke up…
I took a deep breath, inhaling the scent. Then I felt my teeth starting to become too big for my mouth.
With my hands pressed against his firm chest, I rose onto my toes, trying to reach Valen's neck.
Why were the men in this world so tall?
When I reached his neck, I swallowed first, then ran my tongue along it. Just as I was about to sink my teeth into him, Valen grabbed my arms and pulled me away from him.
I hissed at him in anger.
"Mine," I said in a hoarse voice.
"Impudent," said the man who had brought the woman. "You should punish her for this, Your Majesty."
This time, I hissed at the man.
"You cannot bite your master," the man continued. Then he turned to Valen. "Her behavior is very strange."
Master?
Valen pulled me in front of the mirror without saying a word and placed his hands on my shoulders. When I tried to pull his hands away, he tightened his grip.
"Look," he said in a commanding tone.
Obeying him, I quickly turned my gaze toward the mirror. My skin had gone pale. My eyes… My eyes were glowing bright red. When I opened my mouth, I saw two long fangs.
This isn't real. I can't be a vampire. He couldn't have killed me—
Wait…
I quickly turned around.
"Arkan," I said. "Is Arkan alive?"
My heart tightened. Please, let Arkan still be alive. Please.
What about Kongar? What had happened to him? Where was he? Or had he really died this time when my heart stopped?
I suddenly collapsed to the floor and started crying.
"The last time I saw him, he was dead."
Valen's words left me frozen. Then I wiped away my tears. They were bloody.
Had I really become a vampire?
Now, none of that mattered. Valen would pay for what he had done to me. I quickly got to my feet and lunged at Valen, who was standing in front of me. We both fell onto the marble floor. I was on top of Valen.
"Murderer!" I shouted as I swiped at him with my lengthening claws.
But just as my claws were about to touch his face, my hand stopped involuntarily. I swung my hand at him again. Then again… But it wasn't working. Sometimes, I couldn't even see my hand as I swung it; it was moving that fast. Yet even though Valen did nothing, I simply couldn't sink my claws into him.
"What are you doing?" the man shouted. "Get off His Majesty, now!"
Why wasn't Valen fighting back?
The man grabbed my arms and quickly pulled me into a corner. Then Valen suddenly appeared beside me and freed me from the man's grip.
"Your Majesty, I think you should eliminate her," the man said. "Do not give her your blood again. Let her slowly rot."
I had never liked this man. Besides, who wanted to drink Valen's blood?
Disgusting.
Even though my body wanted it, I didn't.