Chapter Four: The Price of Obedience
1333 Words
The silver light beneath my skin faded slowly.
One moment the veins in my arms were glowing like lightning trapped under glass—then the next, the strange brilliance began to dim until my skin looked normal again.
But nothing about the room felt normal anymore.
Lucien still held my wrist.
His grip wasn’t painful, but it was firm enough that I knew escaping him would be impossible.
Around us, his siblings stood frozen.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
The tension in the throne room was thick enough to choke on.
Finally, the silver-haired vampire broke the silence.
“Lucien,” he said carefully, “you should explain.”
Lucien’s eyes remained fixed on my arm.
Slowly, he released my wrist.
I stepped back immediately.
Not far—just enough to breathe.
“What did you do to me?” I asked.
Lucien tilted his head slightly.
“Nothing,” he said.
The answer only made my chest tighten.
“Then what was that?”
He didn’t answer right away.
Instead, he turned toward his siblings.
“You felt it,” he said.
It wasn’t a question.
The twin-looking vampire nodded slowly.
“Yeah.”
His voice had lost its earlier arrogance.
“That wasn’t wolf power.”
The female vampire crossed her arms.
“And it wasn’t vampire either.”
Lucien’s gaze returned to me.
“Exactly.”
My stomach twisted.
“Stop talking like I’m not standing here,” I snapped.
Lucien’s lips curved faintly.
“There’s the fire.”
His calm tone made my irritation spike.
“You’re acting like you own me,” I said.
His expression didn’t change.
“That depends.”
“On what?”
“On whether you accept the deal.”
The words hung in the air between us.
Deal.
The same word that haunted the title whispered across vampire territories.
A deal with the devil.
I shook my head.
“I didn’t agree to anything.”
Lucien walked back toward the throne.
Each step was slow.
Controlled.
By the time he sat down again, the room felt even colder.
“You were brought here as tribute,” he said calmly.
“That makes you my property.”
Anger flared in my chest.
“I’m not property.”
His crimson eyes lifted to mine.
“Everything in this kingdom belongs to me.”
Something about the way he said it made my pulse quicken.
Not arrogance.
Certainty.
I forced myself to hold his gaze.
“Then kill me,” I said.
A murmur moved through the room.
Lucien leaned slightly forward on the throne.
“You think death is mercy?”
I didn’t answer.
Because I didn’t know.
The silver-haired vampire stepped closer to the throne.
“Lucien,” he said quietly, “if what you believe is true…”
Lucien raised a hand.
Silence fell instantly.
Then he turned his attention to the twin-looking vampire.
“You disobeyed me earlier tonight.”
The words came out casually.
But the atmosphere changed instantly.
The twin stiffened.
“I was hunting Davies.”
“You were told not to leave the city walls.”
The vampire shrugged slightly.
“He was close.”
Lucien stood slowly.
The movement alone made everyone tense.
“He has been close for ten years,” Lucien said calmly.
“And yet you thought tonight was the night to ignore my orders.”
The twin’s jaw tightened.
“I was trying to protect you.”
Lucien stopped directly in front of him.
The height difference between them was small.
But the power difference was enormous.
“I don’t need protection.”
The twin laughed quietly.
“That’s funny coming from someone who has a human hunter chasing him across continents.”
The words had barely left his mouth when Lucien moved.
Fast.
Too fast for my eyes to follow.
A flash of silver.
A sharp sound.
And suddenly—
The twin vampire was on the ground.
A dagger buried in his chest.
Right through the heart.
The room went completely silent.
My breath caught in my throat.
The vampire on the floor didn’t move.
His crimson eyes stared blankly at the ceiling.
Dead.
Lucien straightened slowly.
The dagger remained buried in his brother’s chest.
He turned calmly back toward the throne.
No emotion.
No hesitation.
“Clean that up,” he said.
One of the other siblings sighed and stepped forward.
“This is getting repetitive.”
Lucien sat down again.
“You know the rules.”
The female vampire crouched beside the body and pulled the dagger free.
The moment the blade left his heart—
The corpse gasped.
Air rushed violently into his lungs.
His eyes snapped open.
Alive again.
I stared in shock.
“What the hell…”
The resurrected vampire groaned and sat up slowly.
“That never gets easier.”
Lucien’s voice was cold.
“Perhaps next time you’ll remember that.”
The twin rubbed his chest where the dagger had pierced him.
Then he muttered something under his breath.
Lucien’s gaze flicked toward him.
“Did you say something?”
The twin shook his head quickly.
“No.”
Lucien’s attention shifted back to me.
“As you can see,” he said calmly, “mistakes have consequences in my kingdom.”
My stomach churned.
“You kill your own family.”
His expression didn’t change.
“They come back.”
“That doesn’t make it better.”
Lucien studied me for a moment.
Then he smiled slightly.
“Your morality is charming.”
Something about that word irritated me.
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
The room fell quiet again.
Lucien leaned back in the throne.
“Now,” he said, “let’s discuss your future.”
I crossed my arms.
“I told you already.”
“I’m not making any deal.”
Lucien looked almost amused.
“You misunderstand.”
His crimson eyes darkened slightly.
“You don’t have a choice.”
A cold shiver ran down my spine.
“What do you want from me?”
Lucien’s smile faded.
“Your blood.”
The words hit like a punch.
“What?”
“You heard me.”
The silver-haired sibling spoke quietly.
“Lucien believes your blood may be capable of creating stable hybrids.”
The room seemed to tilt.
“You want to use me for experiments?”
Lucien didn’t deny it.
“I want to build an army.”
The casual way he said it made my stomach drop.
“You’re insane.”
“Perhaps.”
His gaze sharpened.
“But imagine it, Lira.”
“An army stronger than wolves.”
“Stronger than vampires.”
“Strong enough to end every war before it begins.”
My heart pounded.
“That’s not peace.”
“That’s domination.”
Lucien smiled again.
“Exactly.”
I stared at him in disbelief.
“You really are a monster.”
Something flickered behind his eyes.
But it disappeared quickly.
“Yet you’re still here.”
Before I could respond—
A loud boom echoed somewhere deep in the castle.
The entire throne room trembled slightly.
Everyone froze.
Then one of the guards burst through the doors.
“My king!”
Lucien stood immediately.
“What is it?”
The guard’s face was pale.
“There’s been an attack.”
The word hung in the air.
Lucien’s eyes narrowed.
“Who?”
The guard swallowed.
“A human.”
The room went still.
Then the guard finished the sentence that made the atmosphere turn deadly.
“The hunter.”
“Davies is inside the castle.”
Lucien’s smile returned.
Slow.
Excited.
Dangerous.
“Well,” he murmured.
“That was faster than expected.”
Then his crimson gaze shifted slowly back to me.
And something about the look in his eyes made my heart stop.
Because suddenly I realized something terrifying.
Davies hadn’t come here for Lucien.
Lucien said quietly—
“He came for you.”
- Writer
