Page 35 of Blood Day: Part One

Or he wasn’t planning to kill me but knew my time here was limited.

“While I understand the purpose of having a royal palace near each Blood University, it does seem rather wasteful since no one ever visits these areas,” he added, distracting me from my thoughts. “But I’m putting this one to good use, at least for now.”

I blinked at him. “There’s a royal palace? For… for the…?” I couldn’t finish the comment.

I knew who the royals were. The purpose of my politics course was to learn more about the lineages of all the royal vampires and alpha lycans. They were the rulers of the world, each of them assigned to their own regions where they governed and ruled the lands around them.

“It’s a palace meant to house visiting royals or alphas who want to check in on the local Blood University,” he said, answering my question again. “In the early days, they stopped by often. Now, most of those estates are abandoned. Except for the staff, anyway.”

Master Cedric turned onto a new road, this one just as dark as the former one, his headlights the only source of brightness around us.

“It seemed like a waste of resources to build a home I don’t intend to keep.” He shrugged. “So I took advantage of my hierarchy in Silvano’s bloodline and accepted a room at the palace instead.”

My eyes widened. “Prince Silvano…” I knew his name and face from my classes. He had cruel black eyes, similar to Master Cedric’s. But the royal vampire’s hair was a shock of white strands, not dark like Master Cedric’s hair.

“Yes, my Sire,” Master Cedric replied, his bored tone belying the importance of what he’d just revealed.

Prince Silvano was a powerful vampire.

A royal. One of the oldest of vampire kind.

And if Master Cedric was his progeny, that marked him as extremely high in the vampire hierarchy.

“I only accepted the role here to avoid a political request.”

That comment took on a whole new meaning.

He could be eligible for a sovereign position with his bloodline link.

Which marked him as extremely powerful.

And I’m in a car alone with him.

“Hmm,” he hummed, his nostrils flaring. “Your fear is seducing my inner predator, little flower.”

His quiet tone just made those words more threatening.

“Breathe for me,” he whispered. “Inhale slowly and then exhale.”

I swallowed, only then noticing the burn in my chest. Because I’d stopped breathing upon the reveal of his royal lineage.

My lungs refused to operate, my mind incapable of controlling my body.

I couldn’t remember how to inhale.

Master Cedric’s palm went to my thigh, giving it a squeeze. “Now, Lily.”

I gasped, at both his tone and his touch. Warmth spread from his hand up my leg to my abdomen, making it clench as my lungs expanded with more air.

“Good girl,” he murmured, his thumb stroking the inside of my thigh. “Keep breathing for me, sweet flower. I’ll fix you soon.”

My brow came down.Fix me?

“But if you utter a word to anyone about any of this, you’ll die.” His grip tightened a little, something I didn’t need because the warning in his voice was clear enough.

“I won’t.” My reply left me on a wheeze, my lungs demanding more oxygen. But I couldn’t seem to pull in enough, my side aching with the effort.

His words had left me speechless, my emotions choking me entirely. However, this issue seemed related to my stomach more than my fear of him and what he intended to do.