safe and protected. Her chosen position seemed to be one of mental programming, telling me that much more about the university’s training.
Janet snapped her fingers to grab the attention of a nearby staff member. “Your temporary royal is here. Either bring him fresh blood or offer your own vein,” she snapped.
The female human paled, her lower lip quivering just a little. “I will bring a selection for his choosing,” she replied, her head bowed. Then she scurried away like a frightened little mouse.
“Is that attire normal?” I asked Damien, noting that the servant wore nothing else apart from the metallic piercings and their dangling chains.
“Yes. The more piercings they wear, the longer they’ve been serving,” Damien replied as he picked up the limb lying lifelessly on the table and moving it onto the abdomen of the dying male. Janet had been feeding near his femoral artery. The teeth marks on his flaccid cock indicated she’d enjoyed that extremity as well.
“I see” was all I could manage to say. Similar sights around the room made my stomach roll. Everyone had returned to their meals, the sounds of whimpering a background noise everyone seemed to ignore.
It made my jaw tick.
Where was the excitement of the hunt? A predator seeking his prey? What enjoyment did easy acquisitions truly inspire?
I found it boring.
Irritating.
Disenchanting.
Willow’s moans on the plane were so much more gratifying than the cries humming through the air now. She submitted to me because she relished the sensation. The mortals in this room were weeping over their loss of life, which was a very different sound indeed.
“So, how long do you intend to stay, My Prince?” Janet asked, her hazel irises flickering with hidden emotions. What she failed to realize was that I already knew her secrets.
Alas, I had a game to play.
And so I did.
“However long it takes,” I replied vaguely. “There’s so much I need to learn about Silvano’s former territory.”
“As well as our society,” she added, her gaze flicking to the top of Willow’s head before glancing at one of the staff members.
“Do you not feel my pet is dressed appropriately?” I asked her, not following the insinuation of her gesture.
“Oh, no. She looks quite edible in that gown. I’m just surprised you haven’t offered to share her yet.”
“As I just sat down, I’ve not had the opportunity to decide on such a cause yet.” Willow trembled slightly at my statement, suggesting she hadn’t believed my commentary on the plane about not sharing her. We would rectify that later, or perhaps my actions tonight would prove to her that I’d meant it.
Word games often required extensions of the truth. This dance with Janet would be no different.
The vampire to her left cleared his throat. “Silvano was fond of sharing his harem members with elite members of society.” A slight Spanish accent smoothed his tone.
“Was he?” I asked, eyeing the now dead male on the table. “And he enjoyed sharing his servants as well?”
Janet laughed, the sound more condescending than humorous. “Oh, Ryder, how your reclusive ways have dated you.” She gestured to the diners all around us. “These bodies are fresh from the blood farms. You know, where they breed and raise humans for our tables.”
The male to her opposite side nodded. “Unfortunately, we’re a bit short on adults at the moment, as there have been some issues down south at one of the farms. Silvano and Arrick were supposedly addressing it.”
“Yeah, and where’s the proof of that?” another asked.
Of the six other vampires at this table, I only recognized three of them—Janet, Tandem, and Dom. The other three weren’t young, but they weren’t old either.
Tandem was the one who’d questioned the proof, his tone underlined in that usual sardonic note he favored. According to Julian, Tandem had approved of Janet’s plan. So had Jorge, who sat at the table beside us, his forehead dotted with perspiration. I caught his gaze as he glanced our way for the thousandth time, and arched a brow at him. “Is there a problem?” I asked him, not holding back the irritation in my voice.
“N-no, Your Highness. No problem.”
Ah, he thought he spoke the truth. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t. Because there was absolutely a problem—one I intended to solve soon.
I gave the poor excuse for a male a short smile before refocusing on Janet and did my best to feign disinterest.
This was the part of the game where I made her feel comfortable and didn’t give away anything. Her punishment would be so