“And we will meet very soon. Then you will be mine.”
“No, I—”
“You have no say in this, I’m afraid.” He lowered his head to hers. All her thoughts froze. She tried to pull back from him, but his grasp in her hair tightened. “Lead the hunters to me. Light the torches, bring your weapons, and stop me if you can. You will fall. And when you do—when you kneel—it will be at my feet.” His lips ghosted over hers, and she felt him smile. “And what a glorious sight it shall be.”
And with that, he kissed her.
5
When Maxine awoke, lying flat on the carpet, it was several hours later. The sun was already setting. She knew she hadn’t been trapped in the vision for that long. She was exhausted, and she had a splitting headache. It had taken so much of a toll on her, she must have passed out.
She had not known what to expect. But now that she woke up feeling like she had been put through the wringer of a wash basin, she also wasn’t surprised. Picking herself up off the floor, she put the brooch back on the mantel—careful not to touch it with her bare hand—and went upstairs to change and crawl into bed. It was still early, and she had not eaten supper, but her head ached too badly for her to do anything else.
He had asked her why she wished to understand him and disagreed with her response. I only wish to know him so that I may stop him. But was it true? She thought so. But he seemed so certain she was lying that it gave her doubt. If she could discern her own motives, he said he would give her a prize. A “terrible secret” he had never said to anyone, he claimed.
Perhaps the secret to undoing him would be within those words.
When she slipped under the covers and her head met the pillow, she was almost instantly asleep. But not before she placed her fingers against her lips, recalling the brief sensation of a kiss. It had only lasted the barest second before it shattered with the rest of the memory. But it was enough.
It was the only kiss she had ever known.
And it was paid to her by a monster and a tyrant set to destroy her city and thousands of lives.
Nothing in life can ever be simple, can it?
Vlad pushed the lid of his coffin open and sat upright. Pressing a palm to his head, he let out a small grunt. He felt dizzy and out-of-sorts. Something he had not felt in a very long time. He could sense that the sun had finished its trek through the sky and his perpetual red moon had taken its place.
Fascinating child. Rare child. He smiled through his disorientation. He had never had his mind invaded before, not once, and he had expected to find the act infuriating. Perhaps it was the invader who made the act instead somehow charming and more than a little beguiling. He had wished it not to end.
Certainly not once he had tasted her, however brief that taste had been.
He suspected someone of her unique nature would not be able to withstand such direct and sudden contact. And what an unusual nature, indeed. He had never heard of someone who could touch their very soul to another’s.
Suddenly, he bemoaned having left his library tucked away. Soon, he would unleash his power, and with it would come all that he kept hidden. Then perhaps he would see what he could discover in his old tomes. Certainly, there must be some mention of someone with that kind of gift.
In his years, there was but one plague that remained a singular condition—one wretch that remained cursed without compare. Him. All others remained a derivative or a mutation at best.
Climbing from the coffin, he wavered on his feet before chuckling and steadying himself. I have never been swept off my feet by a woman before. And she has done it twice in one day. I wonder, my dear Maxine, if I have left you as perplexed and intrigued? I do very much hope so.
I will have you come to me in the end.
I think I will have you willingly kneel to me.
It wouldn’t be a hard task to seduce her. He smiled as he dressed, donning his usual garb, standing in the mirror to run a comb through his black strands. No, it would not be a hard task