Stained By Sin

THIRTEEN

A light knock pulled Elara out of her sleep. Groggily, she sat up and rubbed her eyes. Stretching her arms, she yawned. It felt like eternity since she’d been this relaxed when she slept. Damn, it really was good to be home.

Home…

Home?!

Elara jumped out of the bed as she remembered everything that happened yesterday. It was true that she really was home, but this was no time to be relaxing. She was deep inside the enemies nest, and she could be killed any minute. She needed to be alert.

Cursing herself at her own actions, she heard a light knock on her door again. She smiled when she recognized the presence behind it.

“Come in,” she said.

The door opened and Arren entered the room, fresh dress, basin of water, and a towel in hand.

“Good morning, my queen. Here’s a change of clothes and some water to freshen you up. The king is waiting for you in the dining hall,” Arren said as she placed the basin and towel on her bedside table.

“Waiting for me? Why should I dine with that man?” Elara snapped, her mood automatically souring.

“Please, my queen?”

Elara remembered Arren’s words from last night and gave in. She needed to cooperate if she wanted to find a way out of here.

“Fine, fine. Just give me a minute.”

Arren nodded, then left the room. Elara could feel her presence outside, patiently waiting for her to come out. She was really still unsure about what to do with Arren, but at the moment, she would just observe her.

With a sigh, Elara took the towel and dipped it in the water. She bathed herself with the damp cloth to completely remove the sleep from her system. She then proceeded to change her dress, from the nightgown Arren brought her last night, to more intricate dress she placed on her bed.

Once she had finished changing her clothes, Elara twisted her hair into a bun, before leaving the safety of her room. It’s now time to meet with the lions.

As soon as she stepped out of the room, she could feel the burning gazes of everyone in the hall on her.

Just as she expected. It was probably Nero’s idea alone to have her be treated as a guest. For all the other members of the Ivory clan, she was a threat. And a threat, she was.

With a smirk, Elara went to where Arren stood.

“Lead the way.”

“Yes, my lady,” Arren said.

As they walked, Elara wondered about what was the right thing to feel at the moment. Should she feel nervous from all the stares she was receiving -- both curious and hostile? Or should she gloat from all the attention? After all, their hostility just meant that they conceived her as a threat, even if she was alone.

She had no time to actually get to an answer, however, since as they turned to a corner, the vast dining hall greeted Elara’s eyes.

Still the exact dining hall that she remembered, a sudden wave of nostalgia hit Elara. Her eyes began to water as images of her two brothers waiting for her to join at the table flitted across her mind. But when she blinked, her brothers vanished, replaced by their killer, who was sitting at the head of the table, looking at her expectantly.

Sudden rage filled Elara and she had to struggle with herself for control. All she wanted to do was to lunge at him, dagger in hand, make his head roll on the ground. But she knew she couldn’t do that… yet. She still needed him alive. She needed him to give her the names of each and every single vampire that planned the rebellion.

Honestly, she could just be an asshole about it and killed all the clan she had identified that night. But if she did that, who would be left to rule? She was not angry at all the vampires. She knew they would just follow whoever was on top. But she needed her revenge, and she also needed to set an example.

If she’s going to do this, she would do this properly. Reclaim the throne, and make a show out of all the traitors that had dared raise their arms on her family and clan.

With that in mind, Elara swallowed her anger and settled with glaring at Nero.

Nero looked like he expected the hostility as he didn’t even flinch while she looked at him with deadly eyes. Instead, he smiled at her and motioned for the table.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” he said.

Elara walked towards the table, not taking her eyes off Nero. She was also carefully sensing everyone in the hall, ready to defend herself if anyone dared attack her.

“What’s this about?” Elara asked as she sat on the opposite side of the table. She wouldn’t fold and let him sit at the head of the table while she sat somewhere else. Even if he was currently the king, they were equals. She wouldn’t let him forget that.

However, Nero did not react at all. He just continued to smile at her as his eyes followed her movements. If he was annoyed at her, he didn’t show it. And that annoyed Elara even more.

“I thought we should discuss what’s going to happen next while you’re here. Maybe we could sort this through again with talking.”

Elara looked at him incredulously. Was he serious? This guy really was a peace-lover, wasn’t he?

While she gaped at his stupid suggestion, two vampire servant simultaneously approached Nero and Elara. They both placed a gauntlet in front of them, and without even looking, Elara knew it was blood. It was also fresh.

Elara glanced at the gauntlet before looking at Nero again. She raised an eyebrow, not saying a word.

“We guard the humans, but we are vampires. We need blood to survive,” he said with a shrug.

“So, how many humans did you kill for this?”

“None. We have human contractors that knew of the vampire existence. They were the ones that willingly give us blood like this.” Nero grinned at her again before taking the gauntlet. He swished the blood inside for a couple of times and inhaled the scent as if he was about to drink wine. Then, he took a sip.

Elara gawked at him. That was the weirdest thing she had ever seen in her entire life. And that was saying a lot, considering she lead a clan of brute vampires. Back in the day, this dining room was not really used for dining. It’s more like a discussion area. The times it was actually used as a dining room, live humans were brought there to be feasted upon by her parents. When they died, all three siblings just opted to hunt. They didn’t like the brutality of letting a human run inside the hall as her parents chased it, before actually preying on them.

Elara grimaced at the memory. Maybe this wasn’t the weirdest thing she had seen after all.

With a sigh, she took the gauntlet and did the same thing. As she swished the blood in the cup, she looked at Nero again.

“Why are you feeding me?” she asked.

“Elara, I took you as a prisoner, but I am not going to treat you like one. You are still the head of the Crow clan, so I will treat you as a guest.”

“We have your sister’s mate as a prisoner, though?”

“The mate I didn’t even know my sister have. For now, I just want him back so that my sister could live without suffering. But I don’t care for his well-being.”

Elara was once again shocked by this statement. She had no idea if he was toying with her or if he was being genuine. Not that she cared if he’s being genuine or not, but what she cared about was the fact the he didn’t care about Jaiden at all. All the more reason for her to keep Jaiden away from this clan. If the king only wanted him alive for his sister, who’s to say that he wouldn’t keep Jaiden as a prisoner and also be treated as one?

Elara wouldn’t allow it. Not to her little brother.

Swallowing a new wave of anger that rose within her, Elara decided to humor him. She took the goblet in front of her and drank the blood inside.

Elara was surprised at how fresh the blood was. It seemed like the blood was harvested less than fifteen minutes ago. Were they keeping a live human in this place?

Nero smiled at her, as if he heard the question she had in her mind.

“I told you we have human contractors, right? It’s not like we have a blood bank where we store packed blood for rations. Packed bloods taste horrible,” he said, grimacing as he did in disgust.

“So you mean…” Elara couldn’t help but ask. It was unheard of that humans would willingly give up their blood for them.

“Yep. You might not smell the human here, but we have some. Those were the humans that had been attacked by rogue vampires before, and which we saved while in the midst of attack.”

Intrigued, Elara took another big gulp of blood, waiting for him to continue. Nero smiled, pleased that he finally got her full attention.

“They don’t live here, though, if that’s what you’re asking. They just go here from time to time to provide fresh blood like this. They just happened to be here while you are also here.”

“So when the humans are not around?”

“Then, we hunt, the traditional way. Honestly, we may be against killing of humans, but nothing beats the flavor of blood pumped with adrenaline. Those were always the best,” Nero winked as he drank from his own cup.

Elara glared at his action. He’s really good at pissing her off. Annoyed, but in need of blood, Elara drank the blood in the goblet in one shot. Then, she stood up and headed for the doors.

“Are you done? You can have a second serving, if you still need it,” Nero offered.

Elara ignored him, walking out of the room with as much dignity she could muster.