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Milani’s gleaming eyes widened. “All kinds. From whom may win, to which of the fallen will be the first to lose an appendage. First to drown. First to catch fire. First to—”

“I get the picture.” Bubbles rolled in my empty gut. “And what of the trials?”

Victor drew closer, as eager as I was to hear the answer.

“There are three events. One event per span. Each one more difficult.”

“And what do we get if we win?”

“Only those Carcerem deems rehabilitated will win. Those winners, having proven they are worthy of the kingdom’s forgiveness, are granted their freedom.”

I scoffed. From what I’d heard, every game, there was a survivor or two set free . Not one of them was ever seen again.

“What do you know about these three challenges?” Victor finally chimed in.

“Nothing.” The servant’s expression fell, her gaze darting between us. “The exact nature of each challenge is a closely guarded secret, known only to the king. I’m sorry I cannot tell you more.”

“That’s okay, Milani. We appreciate your help.”

At my praise, her visage brightened. “Please, rest and eat.” Milani gestured to the tray she’d placed at the end of the table.

Victor leveled the brownie with a covetous stare. “And what if I require more than food to sustain me?”

“I am here to fulfill all of your needs.” Milani dipped a quick bow, flicked her braid behind her shoulder, and presented the slim column of her throat.

“You’ve got to be kidding,” I groaned. Just like that. The woman offered her vein? I understood that a brownie’s greatest desire was to serve, but this was ridiculous .

“Far be it from me to pass up a free meal,” Victor said far too readily, drawing the petite woman closer and cupping the back of her head.

Watching the two of them, the possessive hold the vampire had on his prey and the hunger in his gaze, my blood heated with some foreign emotion I didn’t care to analyze.

“Surely, you can’t mean to…” Flustered, I waved a hand. “Here? Now?” I’d spent little time around vampires. I certainly hadn’t watched one feed before.

Victor sent me a devious smirk, dipping his mouth to the woman’s neck. “Unless you’d like to volunteer instead?”

I stiffened. “Has the sun frozen over?”

“No?” Victor arched a brow.

“No.” I folded my arms.

Locking his eyes with mine, Victor slid his tongue along Milani’s neck, eliciting a shiver from the other woman. My body responded in kind, goosebumps rising on my flesh.

“Your loss,” Victor murmured. Then, with a flash of fangs, he pressed his lips to the servant’s neck.

“Oh,” Milani gasped, turning languid in his grasp.

Still, those antagonistic steely-gray eyes remained locked on me. Crude bastard. Sure, he could strut around crowing about titles and wealth, believing he was better than others. When it came down to it, he was just as much an animal as the rest of us.

I curled my fingers into my palms, fighting the urge to drag the other woman from his grasp. To save her. Of course. Merely to save her.

To my chagrin, her lids went heavy, and Victor unleashed a low growl, clutching his prey. I squeezed my thighs together, sweat gathering between my breasts. The sight of the vampire feeding from another woman was disgusting. That’s right. Disgusting.

I should look away, would look away, planned to look away until Milani moaned. Vampires were rumored to secrete venom, the purpose of which was to make the feeding pleasurable. Apparently, the torque had failed to suppress this part of Custodis’s arsenal.

That’s it. Enough is enough .

Before I could grab the servant’s arm, the leech removed his lips from her neck, and while gazing at me, slowly licked the pinpricks he’d left on her throat.

“Thank you, Milani.” He held the dazed female at arm’s length, steadying her while she wobbled.

“My pleasure,” the servant said, trailing her fingertips over the bite wound.

I clenched my fists. The sight of the vampire’s mark on the girl’s neck filled me with rage. Instead of railing at him as I desired, I plopped down on the nearest bench, stuffing my mouth with a chunk of cheese.

“You’re excused, Milani,” Custodis said.

The servant bobbed a half-bow before scurrying away.

When the vampire settled across the table from me, my head snapped up. “What are you doing?”

“Sitting.”

“Why?” I scowled—something I found myself doing a lot around the leech. If I survived this, I’d have a permanent furrow in my brow.

“Because I’m locked in a cell with a bunch of thieves and murderers with little to amuse me.”

“And you expect me to entertain you?”

“You’ve proven very entertaining thus far,” he said in that smug way of his that I’d come to loath.

I grabbed a bit of meat, chewing it as though I’d like to rip off a piece of his flesh.

“Also, your lovers have threatened to dismember me should any harm come to you. Personally, I don’t want to face their combined anger across a battlefield when we enter the trials.”

I choked on my meal. “Lovers? ”

His gaze hardened with something undefinable. “So fickle you’ve forgotten them already?”

My spine stiffened. “Kronk and Drazen aren’t my lovers, you deviant. We were raised together. They’re my brothers.”

“Interesting family.”

“A family that wouldn’t have been sentenced to the pit if not for you.”

“For me?”

“Yes, you.” I smacked the table, making the tray jump. “If you had kept your arrogant mouth shut instead of giving the king ideas, we would be in a minimum-security cell, wearing deactivated torques, and halfway out the door by now.”

“Right, because the three of you were faring so well.”

“Certainly nothing good has happened to us since you crossed our paths. In fact, I’m starting to believe the fates sent you to punish us for some reason.

The deal with Vex was a complete failure.

On top of that, you threw me to the soldiers to save your own ass.

Then you landed us in the trials. I want little more than to be rid of you. ”

Fury darkening his brow, Victor turned to glance at the table next to us. I followed his gaze, noting three rough-looking males staring at me in a manner that made my skin crawl.

“Fine then, little sorceress. Good luck watching your own back.”

With that, the vampire lurched from his bench, storming away. Seeing him leave twisted something inside of me.

I turned back to my meal, appetite waning. Bah. Who needed him? Not me. I was better on my own anyway.