more heat than I intended. “Between people and tributes?”
His lips quirk and his eyes sparkle with something like amusement. “That’s a matter of perspective, I suppose. All chihuahuas are dogs, but not all dogs… you understand.” He surveys the city again, then looks at me with renewed interest.
I’m a little worried. This conversation isn’t going the way I expected it to at all. Part of me thinks I should just drop the subject, but I bring him back around to the question I asked earlier. Even though I’m not sure I actually want to know his answer, I feel compelled to get inside his head a little, if I can. He’s always such an enigma, usually so hard to read, and he’s the man who ostensibly runs this place.
“What do you mean when you say I’m not like most people?” I ask, letting the question of tributes vs. people go for the moment.
He flashes me a quick grin. A few days ago, I would have taken it as a threat. Now there’s an almost human quality to him. My guard is down, I realize a little belatedly. I don’t force it back into place just yet, though. His guard seems to be down a bit as well, and if I clam up, I know he will too.
“Most people—tributes and other vampires—want to know what powers I’ve collected. What strength I have. What villages I’ve conquered, metaphorically and otherwise. You… you ask me about my memories.” His voice softens at the end. He sounds gently pensive and a little sad. I catch myself moving closer to him, subconsciously offering him some kind of comfort with my nearness.
For fuck’s sake. Comforting vampires? First Connor, now Bastian. If I’m not careful, I’ll be comforting Rome next. Or, God forbid, James.
Bastian makes a noise in his throat as he considers my question, drawing my attention back to him. And when he speaks, his answer is nothing like what I expected it would be.
“What I remember most—most vividly and most frequently—is my parents dying,” he murmurs. “They were slaughtered in front of my eyes.”
He gazes out over the city, but his eyes are haunted, watching a scene I can’t see. Remembering every second of their deaths, I’m sure. No matter how long ago it happened, I’m positive he can still recall the exact details.
I take another step toward him in spite of myself. I recognize that look, and the feeling behind it. I know that pain. I live in that pain.
“Who killed them?” I ask softly.
“A vampire hunter.”
I stare at him, stunned, my heart going still in my chest for a moment as I stop breathing.
We’re two sides of the same coin, and only one of us knows it.
For once, Bastian doesn’t seem to notice the small shift in my body as I react to his words. He lives in his memory for a moment more, the pain carving deep lines in his young-looking face.
I’m still struggling to breathe right, struggling to push down the emotions surging inside me. I don’t know what to do with these feelings. I don’t want to get any closer to him, but I can’t pull away.
Soon, though, he sighs and smooths his brow, tucking that pain away into some hidden part of himself. All at once, he’s Prince Bastian again, royal vampire in need of a tribute.
My heart skips a beat as he moves toward me, closing the small distance between us. There are so many different ways this could go. I feel like I experienced both extremes the day that both James and Rome fed on me, and from what I’ve seen, Bastian isn’t a disgusting animal when he drinks the way James is, but my heart still flutters with nerves.
The prince surprises me again though. Instead of going right for my neck, he turns me around so that I’m facing the city. It glitters and gleams as if it has something to offer, but I know better. Still, the view is killer. So is the man currently putting his arms around me, holding me close, cradling my body against his like a lover.
The worst part is, I have trouble remembering that he’s a killer as he brushes the hair off my neck and cradles my head on his shoulder. He doesn’t tease—but he doesn’t gnaw on me the way James did either. He breathes on my neck just enough to warm it, sending a slow heat spreading through my body.
I barely notice when his teeth slide into