Realm of the forgotten

Chapter 7

Akara POV

My mind went straight to blood. Did he drink it? Human blood? Was that why I was here, so he’d have a permanent food dispenser? Could he turn me? Would he, once we were married? I started to panic. I did not want to become a monster.

He must have seen it in my face. “Don’t worry. I won’t turn you. And no, I’m not the vampire from your fictional stories, the ones humans made up. I eat normal food, like everyone else.” He chuckled.

I relaxed a little. It explained everything I’d seen so far: the strength, the speed, the skin. And since my curiosity was running the show now, I broke his rule and asked another question.

“What did you do to me to make me pass out?”

He smirked, as if he’d expected it. “I put a sleeping spell on you.”

I couldn’t get a word out. He could use magic? What couldn’t he do? Figuring him out was getting a lot more complicated than I’d thought.

Then another thought hit me. “Why would a vampire want a human?”

I realized I’d said it out loud. He smiled. “My dear, you have no idea how special you are.” He took my hand and kissed it, and the second his lips touched my skin, a tingling sensation ran from my hand up my arm. It scared me. I yanked my hand away, and I could tell he’d felt it too and was just as surprised.

He recovered quickly. He started telling me about the engagement party in a few days, and he went on for hours. When he finally finished, he informed me that we would have dinner with his parents that evening. Great.

He stood and held out his hand. I looked between his face and his hand, trying to figure out his grand scheme.

“There’s no scheme. I promise.”

“What, can you read minds now?” I said sarcastically.

“No. Your face is just easy to read.”

I narrowed my eyes and stood without taking his hand. He took mine anyway. The tingling came back, but it didn’t seem to bother him at all, and he led me toward the dining hall. At the door, I tried to pull free, but he wouldn’t let go.

“Stop resisting. We’re engaged, and we’re going to look the part.” It was not a request.

I stopped. I knew what could happen if I didn’t, and I hated that I couldn’t do anything about it. Inside, he walked me to our seats and pulled out my chair. For a vampire who had kidn*pped me, he had good manners when he wanted to, which I found very strange.

His parents came in and took their places at the head of the table.

“Hello, dear,” his mother said with a warm smile. “How are you feeling?”

I raised an eyebrow. It was the most ridiculous question I’d ever heard. Then I remembered what Eric had told me, and I forced a smile. “I’m fine, thank you for asking.”

His father, serious as ever, turned to Eric. “I hope the arrangements for the engagement party are going smoothly?”

“Yes, Father. Everything is in order.” Eric smiled at him.

While they talked about it, servers set our meals in front of us. Mine was a simple roast chicken with vegetables, rice, and gravy. Then I looked at what everyone else was getting. There was a bowl of bright green liquid, bubbling, with eyeballs floating in it. On another plate sat a small purple creature I couldn’t identify. I turned to Eric in horror, and when he saw my face, he laughed.

He’d told me he ate normal food, and I had believed him.

“We do eat normal dishes,” he said when he stopped. “But some dishes here you won’t find in your realm. What we eat will be different from what you eat on Earth, so don’t be too shocked when you see similar dishes at the engagement party. Don’t worry, I’ll arrange food you can eat.” He smiled, took my hand, and kissed it.

The tingling came again, and I pulled my hand back. It only happened when he touched me, and the strange thing was that it didn’t bother me. It felt more like being pulled toward him. I should stay away.

“Dear, are you alright?” his mother asked. “Did you feel a strange tingling just now, when Eric touched you?”

“Yes. Why?” I asked, confused.

His parents looked at each other and smiled. Eric and I looked at them, waiting for an explanation.

She turned to us, beaming. “Well. It seems the two of you are destined. You’re destined mates.”

“WHAT?” Eric and I shouted at the same time.