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“Well?”

It was if some inner fire had exploded within me. I felt as if my eyes were blazing and my skin was flushed with the heat. My hair shimmered over my pale shoulders like curls of flame. “I hunger!”

Cneajna laid a gentle hand on my arm. “I know, dearest, but you must remember who took the ring. ”

Her cool touch settled the fire slightly. “She is not here. ”

“If one of my people have displeased you in anyway, I will-“

“Silence!” Cneajna snapped at Ilona, cutting her off. “One of your women took her ring. We want it back. ”

A young gypsy woman sauntered into the kitchen in the company of two men. When they saw us, their footsteps halted.

“Arghira, do you know who took a ring from the young one?” Ilona asked.

The woman’s eyes widened until her dark pupils were drowning in a sea of white.

“You!” I snarled at her.

Before Cneajna could react, I vaulted across the room. With a shriek, the gypsy fled. The two young men attempted to intercept me, but I slammed them both into the wall, running into the night after the girl.

I could hear Cneajna chasing me, cursing herself for her stupidity under her breath. “Do not kill her! We are not allowed to kill them!”

Well, I was never much for paying attention to rules. Arghira ran into a hut and slammed the door shut. Hissing angrily, I struck the door, breaking off the sharp tips of my nails.

Realizing that one of their own was in danger, the men of the gypsy clan snatched up torches and whatever sharp instrument they could find, rushing toward me. I whirled about and hissed as Cneajna crouched low, growling at them warningly as she bared her long teeth.

The sharp, piercing cries of the frightened woman trapped within her dismal little hut echoed in the darkness. I was crazed with the hunger and her cries only made me even more famished. I battered the door with such fierce blows, the wood cracked and splintered.

“Glynis! Stop! This is forbidden. Get the ring and let it be!”

The gypsies shouted angrily, obviously frightened to move against us, but determined to save the girl. Ilona appeared in the courtyard, crying out for them to stand back least we kill them all.

“Glynis, please, stop!” Cneajna moved rapidly toward me.

The door broke open, wood splintering in every direction. With a shriek of glee, I rushed into the darkness within. Cneajna was just behind me as I grabbed the girl. I grunted as Cneajna grabbed hold of my long red hair and wrenched my head back.

“Stop it now! We cannot touch the gypsies!”

I was crazed. Desperate. Hungry. I struck Cneajna with the back of my hand, and she immediately slapped me back.

“Let go of the girl!”

The madness of the hunger burned in me. “No, she is mine! I hunger!”

The gypsy girl cowered on her knees before us, her arm caught in the vise-like grip of my hand. She whimpered, her hands clutching Cneajna’s dress.

“She is not yours to kill. ”

“I must feed,” I shouted at her. I shoved past her, dragging the poor girl with me.

The courtyard was filled with angry, terrified gypsies. As I pulled my screaming prey toward the castle, they yelled at me, brandishing their torches. I hissed at them, furious with their impertinence.

The doorway to the kitchen suddenly filled by the presence of Prince Vlad Dracula. His dark green eyes burned as he stared out at the drama unfolding before him.

“What is happening here?”

“They came to us and the young one-“ Ilona babbled just before Cneajna slapped her.