When Kingdoms Crumble

2

Maybe it had only been a few hours in the dungeon. I doubted that though. It felt like weeks. There were no windows and even if there were, my vision went in and out. I wouldn't have been able to see light for very long.

I had no idea how long it took to turn into a vampire, but no one had even checked on me. It had to have been a couple days. I was starving. I had been hungry the night I was captured, but in the time I was turning, I had thrown everything up. Multiple times. My senses were sharpened which was the worst thing that could have happened because all I could smell was everything that came out of my body.

The burning . . . That was horrible. I could handle the sickness. I had been raised in the forest so every once in awhile we ate something that made us sick, but that burning was something I would never forget.

I had the ability to move my body, but I was so weak I could barely roll off of my severely damaged shoulder. I had rolled onto my stomach so I wouldn't choke on my own vomit, but I didn't have the strength to move any further.

I heard a pair of shoes walking down the cement corridor. I didn't have the strength to look, but I was surprised I could feel him. I knew who it was without ever looking up at him.

"Quinn?" Cyrus asked.

When I didn't respond, he told someone to open the gate. I didn't want anyone else in here. I wanted to die already. I had hoped the turn would kill me, but apparently that wasn't in my life. I was doomed to walk the planet as the one thing I hated more than anything.

"Quinn," he asked again as he kneeled next to me. He didn't seem to be bothered by the disgusting mess everywhere. I was.

"Mary, get these clothes off of her and clean her up," he ordered.

"Yes, Your Highness."

The girl replaced him in my line of sight. I hated to be this weak, but that came with the territory of turning, I guess.

She carefully leaned over me and started cutting my clothes off. I groaned in protest, but she didn't stop. She pulled my shoes off and draped something over my body. Her skin felt so hot against mine. I could hear the pulse in her neck. If I hadn't been so weak I would have sank my teeth in her and had my fill of her blood

"Your Highness," she called once she had me covered.

Cyrus scooped me into his arms much to my dismay and started down the corridor.

"Should I get her a donor?" The girl asked.

"No. Just bring a few bags upstairs. Get her something to wear as well."

"Yes, Your Highness."

He didn't say anything to me as he walked through the castle with me. Everything seemed quiet, almost peaceful. The lights were dim which I was thankful for. Even the dim light was nearly blinding.

"Close your eyes," he mumbled. "It'll help with your senses."

I didn't want to listen. I knew he was less cruel than his father, but I wasn't holding out much hope for the situation. Still, if he said it would help, I wasn't going to completely ignore him. I closed my eyes after a minute and let the darkness mend my tired eyes.

I heard a door close behind us. The click might as well have been a gunshot in my ear.

He set me down on something soft, but that did little to ease my discomfort. I was covered in everything that was supposed to be inside me and my body was sore beyond anything I had ever felt.

"Here."

A bag of something warm was placed in my hands. I squinted down at the bag and instantly recognized that it was blood. I didn't hesitate. I tore into the bag knowing that it would help me survive. I didn't necessarily have any moral issues with surviving on blood. It was what vampires became after living so long that bothered me. They had a superiority complex.