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I wrinkled my nose at him, and said, “I do not serve you. I am your prisoner. ”

Vlad turned his head slightly, his green eyes never straying from my face. It was if he considered his words before speaking them. He abruptly released me, sitting back in his chair. “Your brother has written my solicitor in Buda. ”

I started in my chair and for a moment I was overwhelmed with fear. The visage of my beloved brother swam before my eyes. I felt tears, hot and fierce well in my eyes.

“He actually wrote to your parents first. When there was no response, he wrote to Sir Stephen inquiring as to the whereabouts of your family. He is my solicitor in Buda. Did you know that?”

My eyes narrowed. “No, I did not. I thought him merely your lapdog. ”

Vlad lightly ran his fingertips along the edge of a goblet sitting on the table. I could smell the blood within. “I spoke the truth when I told you that I planned to marry you and move to England. ” His eyes darkened and his voice deepened as he said, “But your father defied me and those plans were lost to me. Or so I thought. ”

“You made me a vampire. I cannot be your devoted mortal wife any longer. ”

“That is true, but that does not necessarily mean I should abandon my plans. Sir Stephen was under strict orders to not allow anyone to know your destination. Your brother’s letter mentions me by name. Obviously, he failed. ”

“May I eat Sir Stephen?” I asked with a sweet smile.

Vlad flicked his gaze toward me and gave me a slight smile. “No. I did not know of your brother back in England. This changes everything. ” Vlad slid a letter across the table to me. “Your brother is concerned. He is worried for you and for your family. You must write him and tell him that the shadow of misfortune has fallen across your family. ”

“You want me to tell him what you have done to us!” I gaped at him in surprise.

Vlad merely chuckled, shaking his head. “No, no, no, my impetuous one. I want you to write to your brother and tell him that as your family journeyed here a storm overtook your carriage and it was swept off the pass and into the river. Only you survived and were rescued by my people. They brought you back to my castle and I am nursing you back to health. ”

I snorted in disgust at his tale. “You are such a bastard! You are not a hero of some false drama! I will not lie to my brother!”

“But you must. You shall continue to write to him and tell him of my great compassion for your well being. You will tell him that I am caring for you and that you are beginning to love me. ”

I curled my fingers into tight little fists. “Never!”

“In time you will write to inform him that you have married me and that we are quite happy together. ”

“Never!” I rose angrily to my feet, tears streaming down my face. “What duplicity is this you ask of me? I cannot do that. I will not be party to your deceit!”

Vlad rose up before me, dark, menacing, and cruel. “Yes, you will. You will do as I say, my dear Glynis. ”

“I will not help you go to England and destroy what remains of my family!” I turned away from him, sobbing, furious, my body shaking with my emotions.

Vlad’s fingers dug into my hair and he dragged me against his body. He drew my face near to his and whispered in my ear, “Do not defy me. ”

“Kill me! Kill me and write to my brother that we all perished!”

“Kill you? I will not kill you, Glynis. I will punish you as only I can punish you. I will make you suffer and beg for a death that will not come. If you do not obey me, I will torture you with a living death I have only granted one other. I loved her as I love you, but she betrayed me and I had to banish her from my home,” Vlad whispered in a low, terrifying voice.

“You do not love, you do not love,” I hissed at him. The veil of my tears warped his face as I tried to draw away from him, but he held me firmly against him.

“I do love. In my way, I do love. Even when I strike you down, I love you. I love your pain. I love your misery. I love your tears. I love your blood. I love your cries of torment as much as I love your moans of pleasure. And if you force me, I will love you even as I grant you a living death that will be your hell on this earth. ”

“I will not obey! I will not give you my brother! I love him and he is all that I have left in this world!”

“I do not want his blood. I want his help. That is all. ”

I shook my head in protest.

“You do not believe my threat?” Vlad stepped back, his fingers tangled in my hair, and thrust his hand downward, forcing me to my knees. Drawing back my head, he leaned over me and said. “Since you do not believe me, then I shall show you. ” He flung me away, and I fell to the floor.

Panic ripped at me as I gazed up at him through the cascade of my hair. The tone in his voice was an echo of the night he had killed my family. What more could he do to me? I was certain I did not want to know.

He moved to stand over me with mirth and anger mixed in his eyes. He let out a growl that made me clutch at the floor in dread.