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But to have to touch a vampire…

Which was worse? His copper manacles glinted in the torchlight—copper instead of the normal thick iron shackles used on witches. He was bound, arms tied together in front of him, his legs tethered to a stake in the ground where he stood.

My stomach revolted. I swallowed down the bile and set my cup down, grateful I hadn’t downed it on my way over.

“Is thatsupper I smell?”

His voice was… unexpected. Stronger than it should have been after the beating he’d taken. Not an animalistic growl, but a silk-smooth voice that curled around me.

“It’s not for you. You don’t eat food, anyway.” My voice was shaky.

“Oh, I can eat.” It was almost a purr. “I just have other appetites.”

His words made me flinch before I was able to hide it, and I didn’t miss his eyes narrow on the movement. He was a predator. Any fear would be taken as a sign of weakness.

I squared my shoulders. Acting meek around Nelson might have helped me survive, but the bloodsucker would just see me as an easy meal.

“I’ve come to tend you,” I said, making up my mind. He was bound. I could deal with this. “But I’ll go if you give me a hard time.”

It was an empty threat. I had no power here, but it’d be easier if he thought I did.

“Then by all means.”

I stepped further into the cell, the door creaking behind me.

The space was dark, only the dim torchlight from the halls offering any guidance. The cells weren’t large to begin with, but the presence of the vampire seemed to swallow more space than his build should’ve justified.

I clutched the jar of ointment like a talisman for protection, sticking close to the edge of the walls until I was behind him.

A sharp inhale through my nose was the only surprise I let myself show. Cruelty and violence had been constant companions in my time at Greymere. But this…

His back was flayed. I’d seen animal carcasses less mangled. I dipped two fingers into the salve, debating where to start. His right shoulder still had the most skin attached, so that was where I pressed. Part of me wanted to abandon the salve, to dig my nails in and finish the job the guards had started. Rip him apart.Take revenge.

The exposed flesh oozed blood, a dark red canvas. If he was a monster, what did that make the guards who’d done this?

I swallowed the thought. Of course he deserved it. Worse. Who cared if he looked no different from this angle, with his red eyes turned away from me, than any other male? He was an evil creature. I’d seen exactly the kind of cruelty vampires were capable of.

But I kept my press gentle. It must’ve been unfathomably painful. How was he even standing? The only hint of his discomfort was a single hiss, cut off with half a breath. Then, nothing. Did vampires even breathe? His chest moved under my touch, but they were the undead. It’s not like they needed air.

No, just blood and blood and blood—

“Do you intend to continue, or just tempt me with the sound of your pulse all night?”

His words were unhurried and teasing, like a cat batting a mouse around. Totally belying the mangled state of his back. They snapped me from my dark thoughts. I resumed my movements, collecting more salve and covering his back in large swaths. I wanted to be done with this.

“You—you don’t want my blood.”

A soft snort. “I don’t see why you’d be the authority on that. You’re close, and your pulse is pounding like a filly’s out on her first run.”

“You don’t,” I insisted. He was in chains, but that did nothing to soothe my nerves. “The rats eat better than I do. The water I drink is half mud. My blood would taste awful.”

“With the amount of blood I’ve lost, I suppose I wouldn’t be too discerning,” he said glibly. “Lean a little closer, and we can find out.”

I pictured it, at his words. Tipping forward, his fangs sinking into me.

Blood and blood and—

I wanted to vomit. I slammed the salve’s lid shut. I had mostly finished, but even if I’d barely started, I was at my limit. Let Nelson send me to the toilets for a month. It’d be better than spending another second in this cell.