Page 4

Chapter 3

Buttercup

Silvana

T he man slowly came back to consciousness to find me sitting on the floor in front of him, smiling. His wife had taken the bag of coins I’d left her and ran. Not from me so much as from this life and him, it seemed. I don’t know if she thought I was going to kill him, or maybe just injure him? No clear idea. But she left, and for that, I was proud of her.

It wasn’t easy leaving behind everything you knew. Most of the time, leaving the familiar is the hardest part—no matter how terrible the familiar may feel.

I rose to my feet and slowly walked around the wooden chair I had him sitting on. He wasn’t tied up or anything—at least not at that moment. I should have probably learned his name, but then again… I didn’t care. So why bother? He’d be dead soon anyway. Fuel to get me home.

Maybe I’d make up a name for him. That was a fun idea.

Just something to call him. Something to bother him with. Set him on edge.

Ideas. Doll face. Sweetie. Buttercup could be fun. Something like a flower. Soft and feminine, like his sad and pathetic ego.

He finally opened his eyes fully as he looked down to realize he wasn’t restrained. He quickly tried to jump to his feet, but that wouldn’t do for what I had planned for our evening together. Grabbing his shoulders from behind, I slammed him back down onto the chair.

“Now, now, Buttercup , the fun is just getting started. You can’t head out just yet.” I walked around the front of the wooden chair and crouched down in front of him while placing my hands atop his. His arms were laid across the chair’s armrests and he gripped the ends so hard his knuckles turned white.

Slowly, I ran my hands down his forearms, letting my magic flow through me and into him. One thing I was reborn with, gifted, some would say, was ice magic. I didn’t know how or why, but some of the vampires were reborn into their next life with gifts. Ice magic, shadow magic, necromancy, the power to shift into an animal, or grow wings, and so on. Only the Fates-blessed were given something, so only the blessed ruled over one of the four courts and their covens.

Sometimes someone was reborn with nothing but the basics a vampire was given—increased strength, speed, vision, and hearing. Plus, the inability to enjoy getting a tan and the ridiculous hunger for blood.

It wasn’t known how it was decided—some thought it had to do with who turned you and their sire line. As if it may act like a family line did for humans. Some thought each new child of Ernesia was picked by the Fate herself. Personally, I didn’t care. I’d never wanted power. I’d just wanted revenge—thankfully the power made it easier, though. I stayed out of court politics and flew under the radar. Something about the inner courts always made me want to run the other way. As if being in the spotlight was a death sentence.

Back to my task at hand, I didn’t want to kill Buttercup just yet—just keep him somewhat still for the fun I had planned. Freezing his hands and arms to the chair felt like a good way to do so. I smirked as he started screaming. I’d gathered over the years that this was somewhat painful for humans. Good thing I didn’t exactly like this human very much.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Buttercup. Does that hurt?” I asked in my fakest whiny voice as I stuck my bottom lip out into a pouting position.

“You stupid bitch, yes!” he screamed, trying to rip himself from the chair.

I laughed—I truly couldn’t help myself. He wasn’t going anywhere. I’d already frozen the legs of the chair to the ground ahead of time, so he couldn’t even fall over if he wanted to.

I grabbed his chin and pulled his face to look me in the eye. My face was completely serious. “Almost like you hurt Odette? Every single night? Breaking her? Bruising her?” I leaned in, running my nose down the column of his throat as I whispered, “Let me ask, Buttercup, did you ever force yourself on her too? Take what you believed rightly belonged to you? Treat her as property you believe is yours to claim? Because of what? Your fragile ego?”

Tears were streaming down his face as his entire body shook. I ripped his shirt open down the middle and tore my nails down his chest, leaving behind a trail of his blood. I inhaled roughly. “Oh, Buttercup, don’t worry now. I saved poor Odette, and you do smell delicious all wrapped up and ready for me.” He whimpered as I ran my tongue slowly along the cuts, licking the blood as I went. “Something about evil men just tastes so much better—do you know what I mean, Buttercup? Almost as if the bitter and fragile masculine ego you possess makes your blood taste more… spicy? I’m honestly not even sure how to describe it to you.”

He started crying harder. “Please don’t turn me. I’ll give you anything you want! I have coin! I know people!”

I almost choked on my laughter. This imbecile. I guess he figured out the vampire part. Technically our existence wasn’t a secret among humans. We lived in covens in major cities and did our best to stay apart from most of them. Although there were some who intermingled. Whether it was for blood or companionship.

Normally those humans were turned, but not always.

“Turn you? Do you think I would offer you such a gift? Absolutely not. But you will make a delectable dinner on my way out of town.”

His eyes widened. “A gift? You’re a monster!”

I crouched back in front of him. I had to look up to see his eyes at that angle, but that was fine with me. “Before I died, the only memories I can recall were of a man who claimed to love me… but every single night he showed me just how wrong that idea was. Love. I don’t know how it happened, and honestly, I don’t even care. All I know is I awoke as something better. Stronger. I was finally free. So maybe I’m a monster in your eyes, but in mine? I was given the gift of revenge and power.”

I rose back to my feet and sat down to straddle his lap while wrapping my arms around his neck, pulling myself closer. He actively tried to jerk himself away from me, but he was failing miserably. “So, you see, I’m going to relish the sound of your screams because this is my revenge just as much as it was Odette’s.” I leaned down into the crook of his neck and slowly licked his pulse point. “Make it sound good for me, Buttercup. I do love it when my food screams for me.”

Slowly running my fangs down his neck, I let them scrape hard enough to draw blood. I was right before; he still tasted fantastic. He was screaming at that point, trying with all his strength to shake me off his lap, but quickly he concluded that I was stronger than he was. He also wasn’t much of a match against my magic. I leaned back; my arms wrapped around him as if we were lovers.

“What do you think, Buttercup? Should I mind my manners and serve you up in a cup? Or drink straight from the source?” I tapped my index finger against my chin, as if deep in thought. I could tell by the way he was grinding his teeth together that he was trying to keep his snarky response to himself.

I sighed dramatically. “You’re boring me, Buttercup.”

I rose from his lap, and he let out a breath he’d been holding—as if it was finally okay for him to relax. I turned toward the cabinets in his kitchen and started to rummage through them.

“It makes sense why he hit you…” he muttered under his breath.

I stood up straight and peered down at him, my control starting to wane. I wanted him to suffer. I wanted to draw this out, but I felt myself teetering to that place in my mind I hated to go.

“What did you just say?”

He looked up at me, eyes widening for a moment—shocked I heard him. I could tell in his eyes when he decided it didn’t matter anymore. He knew he was going to die before the sun rose again.

“I said, I understand why whoever in your life before you became this monster, beat you. With that mouth, you were probably asking for it.” He shrugged, an air of indifference about him, and before I could think better of it, I was in his lap with his head in my hands. Only it was no longer attached to his neck.

I let out a deep breath as my vision cleared. “Now I’m going to have to find dinner elsewhere. Pathetic.”