Page 18 of Slaying the Vampire Conqueror

The man seemed unsettled by this, giving me a skeptical stare I was certain he didn’t realize I saw.

I slid down the post and sat down, legs crossed.

“Thank you,” I said. “I am hungry.”

“Don’t thank me,” he grumbled, before setting the plate down in front of me. He sat on the ground, watching me. His fingers played at the cut on his cheek—the one I had given him at the inn. Vampires really did have incredible healing abilities. The gash was barely there.

“That already seems a lot better,” I said.

“What?”

“Your cheek.”

After a moment of hesitation, I bit into the turkey. It was incredibly bland and overcooked, and cold, like someone had carted this back from the nearest town. I supposed I couldn’t fault them for not really understanding what humans ate.

“So you really can see, huh?” He was openly skeptical. “Despite the eyes.”

“Yes.”

“How many fingers am I holding up?” he said, not moving.

“None,” I replied.

He muttered, “Damn,” which sounded like either respect or disapproval, or probably both.

I took another bite. It was awful, but I was hungry.

“So you’re here to supervise me?” I said.

“Something like that. At least until we know you aren’t running.”

I jangled a chain and smiled. “Clearly I’m not going anywhere.”

The soldier did not smile back. “My commander has a high opinion of your cult. Thought it would be foolish to rely on iron to keep you.”

Ah, maybe he was wiser than I’d thought. He was right. If I’d wanted to be gone, the chains would be the last thing keeping me here.

“Very flattering,” I said. Then, “What’s your name?”

“Erekkus.”

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you formally.” I took another bite, then said pointedly, “Mine is Sylina.”

Since no one had bothered to ask.

Erekkus just stared at me like I was a show animal, unblinking, rubbing his beard.

I gave him a bemused smirk. “Is there something more you’d like to ask me, Erekkus?”

“No.”

A lie. There were all kinds of questions he wanted to ask me.

Then he said, after a moment, “Atrius is giving you a very good deal. I hope you know that.”

Ah. There it was. No question mark there, but the question was clear all the same. He was wondering why his commander was taking this risk for me.

“Atrius,” I said, rolling the name slow over my tongue. “It’s good to put a name to a face.”

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