Page 7 of Prince with a Chance of Darkness (Grimm Cove #7)

Chapter Seven

Vlad

A week later…

Vlad moved in a slow circle, his arms out, one hand holding a bag of human blood. Mirroring his movements was Ponytail Girl. This bizarre feeding ritual had been a nightly event for them. It almost always ended with her drinking directly from him. But it always started with her defiance—her fire and grit showing through. She had already attacked him three times since he’d come to check on her.

Vlad had thought they’d made headway the first night she’d sunk her fangs into him. Thought they’d turned a corner in whatever it was that was happening between them. She’d fallen asleep on him, her mouth against his flesh.

He’d held her there, lying on the cold stone floor, unconcerned with comfort. He’d been thrilled with the simple act of being permitted contact with her.

Pathetic , said his demon. Give in. Take her to bed with you. The pleasures we could give and receive.

Ponytail Girl lunged at him and Vlad narrowly missed the strike.

She is getting faster , said his demon, approval in his voice. Let her pin us so we can get to the good stuff. Her biting us.

Even it understood there was a routine. One that left Vlad checking on her, trying to get her to eat, she’d attack him and after several hours of sparring, she’d settle enough to let him hold her. Then she’d feed directly from him, forgoing food and human blood.

As amazing as it felt having her drink directly from him, it wasn’t sustainable. His blood was not like others. He was powerful and there was no telling what the prolonged effects of drinking only from him would do to her. It could mentally break her and she wasn’t exactly showing signs of being stable to start with.

She hissed and swiped a clawed hand out at him.

He sighed. “Either eat the food provided or drink this.” He held up the bagged blood.

In the hall was a small table Lucian had brought down to hold the trays of food Katarina tried again and again to get Ponytail Girl to eat. Tonight’s tray was filled with foods Lucian suggested Ponytail Girl might prefer.

Vlad could tolerate some human foods still and ate some occasionally, but nothing about what was on the tray looked or smelled appealing. He wasn’t sure what a chicken nugget was, but it didn’t smell anything like normal chicken to him. The pizza didn’t look appetizing either.

The youth of today had corrupted taste buds. They wouldn’t know good food if it bit them in the ass. They’d need it first put in to-go packaging and for it to come with a toy to entertain them.

Humans.

Howls and then growling echoed down the hall from the direction the White Wolf was in. From the sounds of it, Lucian wasn’t having anymore luck than Vlad when it came to dealing with the other twin.

Ponytail Girl’s head snapped up at the sound of her sister’s growls. She tried to rush to the cell door.

Vlad caught her and she sucked in a deep breath, but didn’t attack him.

That was progress.

He dipped his head. “Eat and I shall take you to your sister myself.”

She tensed but shocked him by nodding, her hands moving to his—the one with the bagged blood. She pushed it away, shaking her head.

“ Lumini?a mea , you cannot continue to feed from me and me alone,” he said, desperation coating his every word. “It could keep you locked in this state forever.”

She pushed at the bagged blood more. “No.”

Vlad nearly shouted for joy at the sound of the single word falling from her lips. “Eat some food.”

She whimpered and pressed herself closer to him. She nodded.

He stepped back from her, half-expecting her to bolt. She remained in place as he retrieved the tray of food from the hallway. He brought it in and held it, waiting for her to make the next move.

She concentrated on it and he could almost feel her internal struggle. Her attempt to sort through the darkness, seeking reason and control. She snatched one of the chicken nuggets from the tray and popped it into her mouth. She ate it and then grabbed another and did the same. Next, she took a piece of pizza and bit into it, chewing it fast.

Vlad was fairly certain his face would crack from all the smiling he was doing. “ Lumini?a mea , careful or you will make yourself sick. There is plenty more where this came from. I have not let Radmila or Teya eat the chef— yet .”

She paused in her chewing and studied him. “Rad-mila?”

He wondered if this was what people felt when they spoke of being elated. Hearing her forms words rather than snarls and hisses was everything to him. “You met her. She has red hair. I would say she has a temper, but next to you she is starting to look like a sweet kitten.”

Some of the black in her eyes began to recede.

Vlad remained perfectly still. “ Lumini?a mea ?”

More of the black faded away, leaving bits of bright blue showing. “W-who?”

He licked his lips. “You.”

“Me?” she asked, pointing to herself with the slice of partially eaten pizza.

He inclined his head. “I do not know your name. It is why I call you lumini?a mea .”

“I have…a name,” she said, lifting her chin.

“Yes. I’m sure you do.” He resisted the urge to grin from ear to ear. They were having a conversation—sort of. “What is your name?”

Her expression fell. Gone was the hatred and wildness. Vulnerability replaced it. “I… I don’t remember.”

Vlad set the tray on the floor and stood to his full height, stepping closer toward her. He didn’t want to frighten her or set her off again, but he did want to provide comfort. “ Lumini?a mea .”

She dropped the pizza slice and touched her upper chest—the spot she’d been stabbed. There was a puckered scar there, the only thing marring her perfection. To him it was a sign of how strong she was. Of what she’d survived. And a sign of what had brought them together.

“You are safe,” he stressed, raising his arms out some, trying to show he wasn’t a threat to her. “Your name will return to you in time. Until then, you can remain my little light. Yes?”

She blinked and a lone tear slid down her cheek. She launched herself at him, not to attack or go for his jugular as she had numerous times before. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he found himself lifting her, her legs going around his waist. She clung to him and broke down in tears.

He held her with one hand and used his other to sooth the back of her head gently. “ Lumini?a mea , all is well now. You and your sister are safe.”

She tensed against him. “Sister?”

“Yes. She is here. Down the hall.”

She put her forehead to the crook of his neck. She kissed softly there and then trailed a line of small kisses up toward his ear.

He tensed. “ Lumini?a mea, you have been through much. You are feeling vulnerable.”

She put her lips near his ear and blew softly.

Vlad shuddered as need slammed through him. He shook his head. “ Lumini?a mea , this is not right. I am far too old for you.”

Her hand found the scar on her chest again. “Birthday.”

“What?” he asked, wondering how far gone her mind was.

“It was my… our birthday,” she whispered. “I wanted to look for something… No. Someone. I made her come too.”

He said nothing for a minute as he thought harder on what she was saying. “ Lumini?a mea ?”

“I remember that much,” she said, her voice soft yet husky. “Why can I remember that but nothing else?”

He held her tighter, rocking her body with his. He kissed the top of her head. “Do not push too hard to remember. It will come. Do not force it.”

She nodded against him, her lips finding his shoulder. She kissed his neck next and then his jawline. Her lips were nearly to his when Radmila’s voice cut through the moment.

“Master?”

Vlad set Ponytail Girl on her feet and backed away from her, thankful for the intrusion. He wasn’t sure he’d have stopped things had they progressed. “Yes?”

“Lucian wanted me to tell you that the white wolf is finally eating,” said Radmila. She entered the cell more, eyeing Ponytail Girl from head to toe. “It looks less feral tonight. Now it looks as if it might cry.”

Ponytail Girl jutted out her chin.

Vlad stepped in Radmila’s path, blocking her view of Ponytail Girl. “What is it you want?”

“Teya is being stranger than usual,” said Radmila, her voice hard, yet her eyes holding concern for her sister. “She is insisting our prisoners?—”

“Guests,” corrected Vlad.

Radmila glanced around the cell before meeting Vlad’s gaze, making her point—guests weren’t kept in cells. She shrugged. “Very well, our guests cannot remain. That they are not safe here—within these walls. Still within easy manipulation distance from the cave . From Dragos. Teya says the longer they remain here, where he can influence the wolf sister, the greater the chance their minds will break for if one falls, so do they both. Her words. Not mine.”

Teya’s grasp on reality had been lost many centuries ago but that didn’t change the fact the vampire’s gifts included foresight. Her ways of getting her message across were often bizarre to most but there were glimpses of brilliance in her madness. If she was concerned for the twins, it wasn’t something to be taken lightly.

“And you, being the bleeding heart that you are, thought it best to bring me this information?” asked Vlad, knowing Radmila had ulterior motives.

“Master, I have made many hearts bleed,” she said, a slow grin touching her lips. “None of which were my own. I do not understand the need you have to see to their safety when so little is known about that. What is known is that they are slayers. Born to hunt our kind. To destroy us, yet you bring them here—to our home—as if they are cute little pets. Ones you can housebreak and keep. If it were me, I would have never assisted to begin with. I would have let the other hunters do as they wished with them so long as it did not release Dragos in the end.”

Kill her and be done with her , his demon pressed. Do not accept such blatant disregard for our authority.

Ponytail Girl stepped closer to Vlad, putting a hand on his back. She said nothing but remained there, calming him with but a touch.

“Radmila, was there not a time in our past, when another spoke of you as you speak of them? As if you, Katarina and Teya were beyond saving? Pets? Something to be broken and kept for entertainment purposes only?” he prodded, knowing the answer already.

She hissed, her eyes flashing red. “I am no man’s pet!”

Ponytail Girl reacted, moving around Vlad so fast she was a blur—even to him. She stiff-armed Radmila, sending the vampire hurtling into the stone wall with a sickening thud. Ponytail Girl tried to go at her again, but Vlad caught her around the waist and lifted her off her feet, holding her to him. He readied himself to protect her from Radmila’s wrath.

Radmila pushed up from the floor, dusted off her gown and smiled—a real smile, not a calculating one.

It was unnerving.

“I like her,” said Radmila. “She has bite to her after all. Good. It means she can hold her own with—” She stopped speaking but stared directly at Vlad.

“Me?”

She cleared her throat and dusted off her gown once more. “Master, she cannot remain. Neither can her sister. All but you seem to know this. The others fear telling you. They fear what you will do.”

No one will take her from us! shouted his demon.

Vlad craned his neck and tensed, doing his best to cage the demon while still holding Ponytail Girl off her feet.

She stopped struggling.

He put his mouth to her ear. “I will release you if you promise to behave yourself.”

Radmila snorted. “She was protecting you, Master. She saw me as a threat—to you.”

He huffed only to realize Radmila was correct. Ponytail Girl had been protecting him.

Vlad set Ponytail Girl down and drew her to his side before touching her chin, forcing her gaze upward. “ Lumini?a mea , never put yourself in harm’s way for me again. Do you understand?”

She stared at him, seeming lost, the black returning to her eyes little by little.

Vlad didn’t want to admit that Radmila might be right. That here might not be the best place for Ponytail Girl or her sister.

“Master, Dragos is evil. I did not like being so near to the other s,” she whispered, facing the cell door. “Katarina and I do not permit Teya to be so close to that cave. To him. And we do not let her wander so far into the woods, into the forest witch’s territory. It does something to her—to us.”

“The cave has no power over you. Neither does the witch.” Vlad watched her closely.

“Dragos is powerful,” argued Radmila.

“He is, but you need not worry. He cannot harm you,” said Vlad.

Radmila’s gaze narrowed. “I fear no man!”

“I am aware,” said Vlad, knowing how volatile her temper could be. “For many a century you called him master. You exchanged blood with him, you did his bidding, you saw to his twisted needs. It stands to reason he has a hold on you, at least to some degree, yes?”

Radmila flinched as she nodded. She wrapped her arms around herself and rubbed her upper arms as if fighting off a chill or memories of the past.

“That level of psychological and physical abuse does not simply fade away never to return from your mind, from your memories,” he said, keeping his voice even, his tone firm. “And that does not even factor in his supernatural powers. His is a pull you will always sense. Just as you will always sense the pull of the other. Your first master. Your maker.”

Radmila twisted quickly to stare at him. “We do not speak The Ancient One’s name. Speak Drago’s name all you wish, but I beg of you, do not speak of our maker.”

“I am aware of your feelings on your maker,” said Vlad. “He is not a man I fear.”

“Perhaps you should,” warned Radmila. “You are powerful. Said to be the most powerful of our kind, Master. But he… He is something different. Something ancient and… You would do right to have an ounce of fear.”

Perhaps she was right, but Vlad wasn’t going to start fearing the nameless vampire now. He had bigger concerns.

“And the forest witch,” said Radmila, lowering her voice as if the walls had ears and the witch may hear her. “Her power was all over the area we had been in. Did you sense it?”

Vlad inclined his head.

Radmila swallowed hard. “I felt her power pushing at the young slayer to drink your blood. To accept the change. Why is that?”

“I’m sure I have no idea,” confessed Vlad. Whatever the witch’s motives were, they’d helped so he wouldn’t question them. At least not right now.

Radmila stiffened. “Having Teya accompany us to that cave—that deep into those woods?—”

Ponytail Girl began to caress his back.

Vlad calmed even more, liking her soothing touch. “Radmila, if I could have gotten here sooner, I would have. I first tried Lucian. My hope was that he and his pack could protect the women. That I would not have to involve you and your sisters. I, better than most, know what being near Dragos can do to someone. And I can only imagine what the forest witch’s dark magik does to Teya who is so very sensitive to things of that nature.”

“The Dark One was working with Dragos,” Radmila said as she hissed, telling him what he already knew. “How could he do such a thing? You saw what Dragos used to make him do. Saw what horrors he inflicted upon him.”

“Yes.” Vlad’s breath caught as Ponytail Girl’s hand slid to the small of his back. “There are some things I will never be able to unsee. Drago’s treatment of Lucian is one of them.”

“Yet, he aligned himself with Dragos,” said Radmila and it was clear she’d been struggling with this since the night of the cave incident. “Why?”

“Because I am weak.” Lucian appeared in the open cell doorway, taking up much of it. He met Vlad’s gaze. “For over a century I have felt Dragos’s constant pull, heard his endless whispers in my mind, tried and failed to block him from my dreams. His power is great, even though he is sealed away.”

“So you succumb, knowing what he will do if freed?” asked Radmila, her gaze narrowing on Lucian. “Men are pathetic.”

“We are,” agreed Lucian, looking past her at Vlad. “But it was not just his power affecting me.”

That caught Vlad’s attention. “Explain.”

Lucian sighed. “There was another. It is dark and it whispers to me while I sleep. There are times I hear it humming on the night breeze—its song carrying with it notes of suggestion.”

Radmila gasped. “The forest witch?”

Lucian shrugged. “I am not sure. Possibly. But the voice did not sound female to me. I could be wrong.”

“Why have you not spoken of this before?” demanded Vlad, his temper starting to rise.

Ponytail Girl rubbed his back more.

He tipped his head slightly. “I will not attack him right now. I will remain calm.”

Radmila quirked a brow. “Who are you speaking to?”

Lucian snorted. “I believe he speaks to the young slayer. I think she is doing something to keep his temper in line.”

Radmila’s eyes widened. “Perhaps we should bottle whatever it is she is doing. For his is a temper that when set free, needs much in the way of calming.”

Both men looked at her, waiting for her to get the irony of her words.

She didn’t seem to notice.

Lucian’s attention slid to Vlad. “I know I will have to answer for my sins very soon. I cannot undo what was done. I will not make excuses for it either.”

“I hope Master allows me to be the one to kill you,” said Radmila with a sick grin. “I will make it slow—painful.”

Lucian winked at her. “Now you’re just flirting.”

She scoffed.

He grinned. “Does Katarina know you are down here? Did she not forbid it?”

This was the first Vlad was hearing of such a thing.

Lucian continued. “I could have sworn I overheard her expressly forbidding you from setting foot near either of the twins for the time being. And did I not hear her tonight—upon your rising—tell you to stay clear of Vlad? Why is that? What is she so worried you will do or say?”

Radmila faced Vlad. “Master, I implore you, permit me to wipe this earth of the mutt. You have my word. I will make him sorry he ever betrayed you.”

Vlad had little doubt in her words. She would make the wolf-shifter suffer.

“Yes, Vlad,” said Lucian with a spark of excitement in his voice. One that did not match his eyes. “Gift me to her.”

“In such a hurry to meet your fate?” questioned Vlad.

Lucian’s gaze faltered slightly. “I am in a hurry to be her plaything. Kinky.”

Radmila groaned.

Ponytail Girl eased around Vlad slowly, her hand still on him as she pushed her way under his left arm. When she was done, she was left standing by his side, pressed against his body, his arm around her like they were longtime lovers.

Lucian’s expression lightened when he saw her. “You are looking less…”

“Undomesticated,” offered Radmila.

“I was hoping for a better word, but yes,” said Lucian. “Your sister is eating on her own finally. A good sign.”

“I know you,” Ponytail Girl said, causing Radmila and Lucian to wear dual shocked looks.

“She is speaking now?” asked Lucian. “Her sister has yet to return to human form and will not communicate with me via her mind.”

“Human form?” asked Ponytail Girl.

Vlad stared down at her as he used his other hand to touch her cheek tenderly. “ Lumini?a mea , you remember Lucian?”

More of the black fled her eyes, leaving behind even more blue. “Yes. He was naked.”

Anger surged through Vlad. “ Lumini?a mea , careful or I will be his undoing here and now. I do not like knowing you saw him naked. The knowledge makes me want to kill things. Lots of things.”

“Hopefully him to start,” said Radmila flippantly.

Lucian laughed.

Ponytail Girl’s attention went to Lucian. She looked him up and down slowly.

Vlad saw red.

“Look upon him not!” he shouted, his voice echoing off the cell’s stone walls.

Ponytail Girl didn’t so much as flinch. She stared up at him. “Did I see you naked?”

“What? No. You have not seen me naked,” he said.

Yet , added his demon.

“Can I?” she asked.

His anger died instantly. “You wish to see me naked?”

“He acts surprised, as if he is not known the world over for being a master of seduction,” said Radmila, sounding annoyed.

“Surprises me all the time that any woman would want to see him naked,” said Lucian. “Also surprises me just how many women have.”

Ponytail Girl’s gaze narrowed on Vlad. “Lots of women have seen you naked?”

Vlad had always prided himself on his prowess. He’d never shied away from the number of bed partners he’d had in his six hundred plus years. Right now, he was having a serious case of regret. “Um, well, I am very old. I have lived a long time.”

“You don’t look old,” she said, additional blue showing in her eyes. “I mean, thirty isn’t that old.”

Lucian laughed.

Radmila was even suppressing a grin.

“You think I look old?” Vlad asked.

“You are old,” stated Lucian. “She is young. Very young. Eighteen? Maybe nineteen?”

Vlad grunted and kept his attention on Ponytail Girl.

She eyed him more. “How many women have seen you naked?”

Vlad stiffened.

Lucian tossed his head back and laughed. He pointed at Vlad. “The look on your face. You wish you were a virgin right now, don’t you?”

“Continue and I will permit Radmila to do as she pleases with you,” warned Vlad.

Radmila waved a hand in the air dismissively. “Actually, I am enjoying this. Continue.”

Lucian’s head cocked to the side again. He snarled.

Vlad heard it then—the white wolf howling in pain.

“Dragos!” shouted Lucian, rushing from the room.

Ponytail Girl hissed and jerked back, her eyes flooding with black. And just like that, Vlad had lost her to the darkness—again.