word is too weak. Everything about Maddox, the Mad Prince, is power.
I rub my arm, noticing that it’s hardly swollen anymore, and it was just broken. When I touch my neck, the cut is nothing more than a scab. “How am I...okay?”
Maddox yawns. “Vampire blood heals humans, and I fed you some. If you drink enough of it and have your heart turned cold, you will become a d’vampire. I like that idea.”
He healed me? I drank blood. Sickness fills my throat at both of those ideas. “Don’t do that again.”
Maddox turns his head to the side, and quicker than humanly possible, he is leaning over me on my seat, his face buried in my hair. I freeze. “I will do as I please. You belong to me now. Your blood, your body, your soul and, most importantly, your death. I command you.”
Turning my head to meet his gaze as he leans back, I watch him carefully. “I belong to no one, and you may forcibly take my blood and body, but you will never, ever have my consent, my willingness to be yours.”
“Is that a bet, Riona?” he softly asks, his eyes sparkling with a challenge. Not many people call me by my full name, mostly because they call me Ria. But when Maddox says my name, it’s like he owns it. “I think it is.”
“It’s a promise, Prince Maddox.”
He laughs and leans back, and I finally feel like I can breathe now he isn’t so close. I still don’t relax, because like it or not, I’m on an island of vampires who clearly have no respect for human life. Or morals, while I’m thinking about it.
“Where are we heading?” I question after a brief pause of silence.
“To my castle at the top of the mountains. The royal castle of The Onyx,” he answers me, still sounding bored, and it gets on my nerves. “It is mine, and my brother did live there until he decided to move out.”
He yawns again.
“Am I boring you?”
“Mildly.” He waves a hand at me. “I’m waiting until you get to the bit where you beg for your lover boy to be found and brought to you. Or will you beg for someone else? Women can be so fickle with their love.”
“His name is Arlo, and I know better than to ask you for anything, Mad Prince,” I counter, crossing my arms to stop him seeing how much he is affecting me, even as I shake with anger. All I want to do is attack him, hit him hard and see if he bleeds. If the devil can bleed at all. “I will ask Reign to help me.”
“My brother is a fool for blondes,” Maddox responds. “I’m sure he will help you, or he will kill the competition. It’s hard to tell. I may be mad, but he is nothing if not fickle.”
Turning my head away from him, I bite on my lip to stop myself saying anything that will get me killed. The carriage turns silent, and I’m thankful for it, a moment to collect my thoughts and plan my next action. Realistically, I know that Maddox’s castle, being at the top of a mountain of blood-red snow, isn’t the best place to try to escape. He must have other humans working for him, or at least there for food, so I could try to find out as much as I can about how to actually hurt a vampire. From there, I think the best plan is to reason with Reign, he seems the more logical one of the two princes.
I have a feeling Maddox is just going to use me as a pawn in whatever game he is playing with his brother, and I want nothing to do with him. He is the devil. I’m sure of it. The carriage eventually comes to a stop, and Maddox opens the door, jumping out. I stand up, feeling a little wobbly (likely from blood loss), and walk to the edge of the carriage. Before I can climb out, Maddox is in front of me and grabs my waist, picking me up and lowering me onto the red snow-covered stone path. His hands stay on my waist for a second, both of us extremely close, and I stay very still, unsure what he is thinking. His hands feel like they burn into my skin, and he is so warm to touch, much more than a human is.
We stare at each other for a long time,