Her Hidden Half (War Songs of the Courts #1)

Chapter Seventeen

I stiffened in his hold as he caressed my neck lightly, halting over my pulse. His expression was almost entranced as he stared at the spot his thumb rested over, making me draw back from his touch with a petulant glare. His eyebrows shot up in surprise and he gave me a toothy smile, his fangs sharply glinting at me. His hand curled firmly around my neck as he stared into my eyes with a taunt that sparked my defiance.

"Fucking vampires," I growled quietly as I pulled at his unmovable grip, trying desperately to get out of his hold.

"Well, aren't you a little spitfire? And you looked so sweet," he said while he examined me.

"Yeah, I get that a lot," I told him blandly.

"What is it with vampires and their suits? I don't get it. I've met a total of three of you assholes and two of you have looked pretentious as all hell. I mean, you're in a forest. Wearing a suit. You realize that, right?" The words spewed out of my mouth shortly after I thought them and I mentally kicked myself at my bad timing and defective filter.

His expression was unresponsive for a tense moment, temporarily stumped by the unexpected comment. "I'm not sure if I should bite you or spank you," he said, tilting his head in consideration.

"Lose that vampire status and I'm down. Otherwise, I'll have to regretfully decline that..." I paused and gave him a faux-apologetic look, "tempting offer."

His hand tightened on my throat painfully and he pulled me within inches of his face. I clawed at his hand and made a noise of protest.

"I don't think you understand the dangers of the line you're balancing on. I'm a vampire. I could very easily snap your neck. Angry vampires tend to..." He took a moment as he contemplated his words, leaving me plenty of time to feel the threat before he spoke again. "Break things. You don't want to provoke me."

"Don't I? Because that sounds exactly like something I'd like to do," I choked out as I abandoned my grip on his hand to push at chest. 

A flash of an emotion I couldn't identify crossed his face before he blinked it away. He loosened his hold enough to let me breathe normally and I automatically inhaled a long, ragged breath of air.

"Do you have a death wish?" He asked incredulously.

"No, I have a problem with authority. Anger tends to override any sense of self-preservation I'd normally have," I said with a dramatic sigh.

He gave me no reaction. Nothing.

"It's a problem. I'm working on it," I informed him with a hint of sarcasm.

His eyes gave nothing away as he stared into mine, squinting slightly, before shaking his head subtly. "Enough. This isn't amusing anymore and I've wasted enough of my time. I'm afraid this will hurt. Scream, if you must," he said with a sigh, the tone so casual that I almost didn't connect the two.

He moved in a blur and before I even had the chance to react I felt a sharp stab on the side of my neck. An abrupt wave of pain seared through me as he sunk his fangs into my skin, a surge of warmth and pain quickly following it in pulses. I attempted to shove him off me but his anchored body wouldn't budge at any of my efforts. I felt a significant shift at my core, the action taking the air from my lungs, and my senses all hit me with an intensity I'd never experienced before. Every cell in me turned to fire in my body and I felt myself drift in and out of consciousness, making me go slack in his hold. A distant whining entered my consciousness as I limply continued pushing at the form against me.

"I know, I know, but it's necessary." I barely made the words out over the agony radiating throughout my body.

He licked the wounds he inflicted softly as he lowered me to the ground, the pain gradually lessening to an ache and my breathing turn deep. I felt a touch on my cheek and shortly after a gasp tore from my mouth when a cooling feeling trickled its way through my limbs, creating a feeling of intense relief. I relaxed on the floor of the forest in exhaustion as I heard footsteps move away from me.

"Demetrius," a voice rumbled in the distance with a thinly veiled rage.

I attempted to pry my heavy eyes open but the simple action required more effort than I had to give.

"It's nice of you to finally join us. I was beginning to think you wouldn't show," the man who I assumed must be Demetrius said in a voice that would suggest he was late to a fun party rather than the assault on my neck.

The response was a threatening growl that vibrated the ground underneath me.

"Really, Kieran, your reaction time is pathetic," he continued, not sounding affected by the hostile answer at all.

There was a shuffle and then a crash.

Demetrius made a tsking sound. "Now, that's just rude. I don't know why you're so angry; I helped her more than I hurt her. Your track history with her kind isn't exactly the best. I just saved her from the fate of the last one. At least for a while. I think you're going to have some difficulty claiming her now, but that shouldn't be a problem. After all, the Courts just want to help, right?" He sounded overly sincere and I knew I was missing a lot of context.

"Don't pretend this is somehow a selfless act of kindness, Demetrius," Kieran said, sounding more inclined to tear his head off than thank him.

"Well, of course it's not, but what does it hurt? She's dying. I'm giving her more time. Sure, I have my own agenda, but that's such a minor thing in comparison," Demetrius said frivolously.

"You're a ruthless bastard, you know that?" Kieran responded in a quiet but harsh voice.

"Yes, and I've never pretended to be anything else. You, though, you like to pretend that your actions are out of some kind of moral superiority, but we both know that's not the truth. Don't we?" Demetrius softened his voice to a deadly whisper, secrets woven within his pronunciation.

"Don't push me." Kieran's cold voice sent a chill down my spine and it wasn't even directed at me.

"Oh, no. Never that," Demetrius paused before continuing in a dismissive tone, "I can't stay, but tell the king I stopped by, will you? Oh, and try not to get too attached to this one, yeah?"

I felt the air shift drastically, removing the tension from the area and I knew the man must have gone. I tried calling out for help but I could only manage a barely audible moan.

"Echo." Kieran's voice held an uneasiness that surprised me.

A rough hand cup the side of my face before lifting me off the ground effortlessly. The comfort of his warmth made it difficult to fight the darkness that threatened to overcome me, but I managed to hold on long enough to hear a snippet of a conversation.

"Is she okay?" The soft voice I identified as Gayle asked.

"He bit her, Gayle. Nothing is okay," the chest I was pressed against rumbled gravely.

Gayle gasped and let out a shaky breath.

"No," she whispered, her voice wavering.

I felt myself inevitably being pulled into a deep sleep as Kieran responded, his voice lulling me even further into a state of safety. His words were all I could think of, set on repeat in my mind as everything went black.

He bit her, Gayle. Nothing is okay.