SOLD TO THE VAMPIRE EMPEROR

BOUGHT WITH BLOOD

NYRA'S POV

I gave up on finding a way out after the third attempt.

It wasn't that there wasn't a door. There were three, in fact. Each one was made of thick wood, reinforced with iron, and every single one was locked from the outside. I checked them all twice. Then I tried the windows.

When none of them worked, I stood in the middle of the room. That was when the truth finally sank in. I wasn't a guest. I was a prisoner.

Zevran Morvane had left after I saw his fangs. He had simply walked away, leaving me frozen where I was, rubbing my jaw where he'd been holding my chin. The servants filed out after him, and locked the door.

I'd been pacing ever since.

Finally, the door opened. Two tall, pale guards entered first. Zevran followed unhurriedly at his usual calm pace.

"You locked me in," I said.

"Yes."

"Why?"

He made his way to the chair beside the window and sat down, looking as relaxed as ever. I was beginning to realize that nothing seemed to shake him.

"You were planning to run," he said. "Locking the door saved both of us the trouble."

"Run where?" I snapped. "I don't even know where I am. I don't know this place, these walls, any of it. I don't even know what country this is."

He raised an eyebrow. "Territory," he corrected. "Not country."

"Fine. Territory. What territory?"

"The Vampire Empire," he replied. "The Eastern region. My domain."

The words rearranged the room in my eyes. I'd heard stories about the Vampire Empire. It was said to be separated from the werewolf lands by ancient borders that neither side crossed. Wolves stayed on their land, and vampires stayed on theirs. That peace had lasted longer than anyone could remember.

"I'm in the Vampire Empire?" I asked quietly.

"Yes."

"That's impossible."

"And yet you're here."

I folded my arms to hide the trembling in my hands. "How did I get here? The last thing I remember is my pack's territory. I was dying.”

My throat tightened. "There was blood... someone betrayed us."

"There was a great deal of blood," he agreed. "My men found you at the border. What was left of your pack had already been scattered." He paused. "You were the only one still alive."

The only one.

I turned away to the window. "Why did they bring me here?" I asked softly. "Why didn't they leave me there?"

He said nothing for a while.

"They were sent to find you," he finally answered. "That was their mission from the beginning."

I spun around. "Sent by whom?"

His grey eyes rested on me. They were so much like Aeron's… Yet they felt different. "I sent them," he said.

"You sent people to find me specifically?" I kept my voice flat. "Before you even knew me?"

"I already knew where you would be."

"How?"

He leaned back in his chair and crossed one leg over the other. "Because I'd already bought you." He said it as casually as if he were talking about the weather. "Your soul was sold to me three weeks ago."

My heart skipped.

"I sent my men to collect what I had paid for."

The room went silent. I couldn't hear anything except my own heartbeat.

"What did you just say?"

"Someone sold you," he repeated. "We agreed on a price, and I paid it in full. You arrived later than expected... and in much worse condition... but you arrived."

I crossed the room in seconds. My hands grabbed the front of his coat. I shoved him with all my strength. He barely moved.

The guards rushed toward us. One muttered something in a language I didn't understand.

"Stand down," Zevran ordered.

They halted and retreated, returning to their former position. He gazed up at me from the chair, my fists still gripping his coat. His face stayed calm. I didn't care.

"Who sold me?" I demanded. "Tell me."

"That information is worth more than you can offer."

"I'll break every bone in your body."

"You're welcome to try." He smiled. His fangs flashed.

The heat that had been building under my skin crested to the extent where I couldn't control it. My wolf began to emerge. The bones in my hands shifted. Claws pushed through my fingers and fur started covering my skin.

The guards gasped. One of the servants near the door froze.

The silver light returned. Bright silver lines burst on my skin. They spread all over my hands and arms like flowing rivers, lighting the room with a cold glow that made the candles seem dull.

I froze.

The light flowed around my fingers and wrists before slowly fading away. Just as suddenly as it had appeared… It disappeared. My claws vanished and my hands became normal again.

The air was tense.

I glanced at Zevran. For the first time, I saw real emotion on his face. Shock. His eyes widened for only a second before he hid it behind his usual calm expression.

"Interesting," he said. He stood, straightened his coat, and walked to the door. At the threshold, he paused. "Dinner will be brought to you. Eat it. You've lost a lot of blood. Your body needs food. Don't try climbing out the windows. The fall won't end well."

He left.

I sat on one side of the bed and stared at my hands for a long time.

The servants shuffled in and out, bringing food which I didn't touch, replaced the candles and closed the curtains after night fell. None of them spoke to me.

As they carried away the untouched tray, I heard two servants whispering near the door. They thought I couldn't hear them. They were wrong.

"The Emperor spent half of the Eastern treasury on her," one whispered.

"Half. Do you know what that means?"

"I heard it was even more," the other replied.

"They say he emptied the Karath Vault."

"For a wolf girl?" the first asked. "Why? She's not even that beautiful."

"It's not about her looks," the second whispered.

"It's her blood. There are stories about what it can do and what it can give. They say anyone powerful enough to drink it could become greater."

My breathing ceased. I covered my mouth with both hands.

"The Emperor doesn't spend that much unless he plans to use what he buys," the first servant said.

When they left, I sat there thinking. Every answer led to the same conclusion. Whatever was inside me that made my blood so valuable, someone had known long before I did and had sold me because of it. Also, that strange silver light had come from me. I never knew it existed.

My legs finally gave out. I lay down on the bed still in thought until sleep claimed me before I realized it.

***

I woke in absolute darkness. The candles had burned out.

At once, I sensed a presence in the room. I opened my eyes to see Zevran hovering above me, gazing down at me. He wasn't looking at my face.

His eyes were fixed on my neck, on the place where my pulse was.

The calm amusement he'd worn all day was gone.

This time, he looked hungry.