30 Nights

10

EDRIC

Her lips taste delicious and I can sense the warm sweet blood just under the surface. I almost can't hold back from sinking my fangs into her neck, but I do hold back, I will control this, whatever this is.

I feel her hand come up between us and she gives me a little push. There's no force behind it, like a feather and I could ignore it, I could overpower her and take what I want but I don't.

"What's the matter, Lily," I whisper, stroking her face.

"I don't want you to kiss me, or touch me or bite me," she says, taking a step back.

"Ok. Why?" This is what I dislike the most about humans, they are constantly changing their minds, up and down, but something in her eyes makes me stop and listen.

"Why? Are you joking me? You just threw me in a prison cell, I had to drink blood, I am weak, I feel still feel sick. I know I agreed to come here but I didn't know it would be like this. I can't win this, you must know that? And that hunting exercise, Max will kill me and rape me first. I can see it in his eyes."

"And I said I would make sure he didn't. I gave you the option of leaving, you didn't take it!"

"And if I want to leave now?"

"Do you?"

"Just answer me. Would you let me go?"

I reach out for her but she takes another step away from me. "No, Lily. I can't let you just walk out of here. I would if I could but there are guards everywhere. My father keeps an eye on everything. You're part of the games now."

"So I am just going to die. Well why don't you just bite me then, drain my blood, let me die right now and at least I will go out on a high."

"You're angry, hungry and tired, Lily," I say and I want to calm her down but whatever I say isn't going to work right now. Lily walks towards my desk and picks up my crystal paperweight, it's heavy, but she picks it up and throws it at me. If I was human and she took me by surprise, it might have hit me but I catch it easily. This doesn't do anything to appease her and instead she screams at me, curses and flings everything off my desk, glass smashes everywhere including a two hundred year of crystal decanter. I could stop her but I don't. When she finishes ruining my desk, she throws herself onto the bed, face down.

"Food will be here soon, Lily. Eat, sleep," I say and I walk out of my room, shutting the heavy wooden door behind me. I recognise one of father's personal guards standing outside.

"Take a break, I say, get one of Samuel's guards over here," I say.

"But your father -," he starts to say before I cut him off.

"Sir Edric commands you to leave and get one of Samuel's guards now," I shout and he runs off. After a few moments, it's not a new guard that appears but Samuel himself.

"Hey Sam. I didn't mean for my personal and very best bodyguard to come," I say.

"It's no problem, boss," he says and I wait for it. I can tell he wants to say something else, and he's one of the very few people I will listen to.

"Come on Sam, say what you want to say," I mutter.

"What's up with you and that girl? Your father's getting twitchy. You must know you can't break the rules for her," he says.

"I broke the rules for you," I say. "Do you regret my decision?"

"No. But that was during World War 2. Things were different then for everybody. Vampire or human, it was a difficult time, no-one noticed a bit of rule bending."