Love & Loss

Chapter 38

Marcus' POV:

"Wait, so if the Princes weren't even living here then what did you do on this floor?" I asked, leaning forward from the headboard of my bed.

Carlo turned to look at me from his face-up position at the foot of my bed, seeming amused at my question that honestly came out of nowhere.

What we were talking about before was a completely different subject.

"Honestly, not a whole lot," He began, pushing himself up on his elbows, the longer parts of his hair falling to nearly cover one of his eyes, "A whole lot of cleaning and tending to the garden was most of it. The Lord would give us one of those master keys to tidy up the Princes rooms whenever he sent them an invitation to return home in case they actually decided to return."

"That's it?"

He nodded.

"Pretty much. Working the Prince's floor was basically a job Lord Vanderwood would give slaves that excelled in their work as a rewarding break, and Lily's only job was to feed the slaves that worked up here. I guess Lord Vanderwood would request our, well, mostly my assistance from time to time, but other than that," He shrugged, "Not that exciting."

I crossed my arms, placing them atop my bent knees.

"Yeah, it doesn't really sound like it," I responded.

Carlo shrugged once more before shifting back to his prior position, resting his head on his arms behind him.

"Which is why I wasn't really that bummed to give up my position as the head slave. I was good at what I did while the Princes were absent, but I'm sure having a slave that they actually know and trust as the head of their floor is better than whatever I could have done. The only thing I do really miss about being head slave is this room."

My eyes gazed over the room as he spoke.

I'll admit, it was an impressive room for a slave, even for a head slave.

Even the normal slave's rooms were an upgrade from what I was used to.

Meaning this room had many more things than I was used to.

Space being one of the main things.

Even though the room already held a King-sized bed, which was insanely comfortable, a wardrobe, and even a coffee table between two couches, the room was still, well, roomy.

It even had a whole different attaching room for a bathroom.

And heater.

God, I loved that heater.

I could definitely see how this would be the one thing Carlo would miss.

I glanced at my pocket watch that sat beside me.

"Well, if its any consultation, it looks like you're going to have to spend the night in this room."

"Oh yeah?" Carlo questioned.

I nodded.

"Yup. All the slaves are supposed to be locked away in their rooms by now because of the blood moon, and as head slave of this floor, I'm not allowing you to leave this room and risk being pounced on by a blood-crazed vampire," I said, smirking jokingly towards the end of my sentence.

Even though I knew none of the vampires on this floor were having that problem.

Carlo mirrored my expression, snickering a bit before completely accepting what I had said.

"Damn why didn't I exercise my authority like that when I was head slave?" He asked sarcastically, placing the arm he wasn't laying on over his eyes.