Page 17 of Blood Bought

Alaris was shirtless this time in some low-hanging sweatpants, and one look at him told me it had been a bit since he’d fed. “Leave us, Ren. I want to talk to her alone.”

I grabbed his hand quickly to try and stop him, whispering, “Please don’t,” but he pursed his lips and left anyway. I swallowed thickly and tried to stand a little straighter as I turned back to Alaris. “If you’re going to kill me, at least have the decency to leave me dead.”

He scoffed, chugging from the glass in his hand like he was dying of thirst and then he tossed it on the small table with a clank. “Sit down.”

I didn’t.

“Did I ask you a question, Adalind? Or did I tell you tosit?”

Suddenly my legs were moving of their own accord, right to the couch across from his and I was forced down onto it with a thud.

“Better. Why are you so fucking defiant?”

Gasping, I tried to get back up to run, but couldn’t move. “I’m sorry! I—”

“You’re not sorry. I can see hownotsorry you are, so save me the bullshit. I haven’t fed in days, I’m not in the mood.”

The red around his eyes proved to me how true that was, and I hoped my blood was sour enough at the moment that he didn’t get any ideas. “Why not? You have a whole room full of willing people. Why do you even need someone else?”

“It is sour enough, don’t worry. And this is my atonement. You wouldn’t understand, all you see is a monster and I don’t have it in me to try and prove otherwise. Think what you want, but the problem here isn’t that you failed. It’s that you failed on purpose.”

I clenched my jaw and lowered my gaze as my stomach sank. Denying it wouldn’t have done me any good; he’d know. “You killed her,” I said quietly. “How was I supposed to make someone else come back here?”

“First, I didn’t kill her on purpose. Second, I don’t just facefuck a bloodwhore on their first night here unless they want it, and if they do, I’m gentle. And third, because it’s your fucking job. Do you know what happens when I don’t do my job? If my father doesn’t do his?”

I shook my head slightly. “No.”

“Chaos. Imagine vampires with no discipline.” He stood up and returned to the kitchen with his glass, rummaging through the cupboards like he was looking for something, and all the while, I still couldn’t stand. He returned with the bottle of alcohol and snacks – very human snacks that I was sure I hadn’t seen in any of our markets in years. “What? I’m hungry.”

Seeing him like this was strange, but I was thankful he wasn’t taking his anger out on me. “Message received. Hungry vampires are chaotic and snacky, so I should do my job in the future. Is that all?” I asked, trying to keep my tone as non-combative as possible.

The way he stared at me as he chewed had me squirming in my seat. “Still don’t believe you. We’ll try again in a few days and go from there. Maybe you’ll actually be appreciative of your room.”

I didn’t have to voice my confusion, he knew — and the wicked smile that spread across his face as Aerin came in had me shaking my head quickly. “No. You can’t be serious, you’re putting me back in the cell?”

“Mmhm,” he mumbled. “Ciro got me someone for after my atonement and seeing as she didn’t come willingly, it won’t be an enjoyable experience for either of us. Cross me again, and he’ll go get Kendall. I’ll have years to sweeten her blood up before I touch her. And calm down, it’s not what I want. I want you to stop being so hardheaded.” He took another bite of food as Warrior Princess moved closer. “Aerin, no books this time, but make sure she has food and water every day. I already ensured there were better blankets down there, so... enjoy your stay, Miss Sour.”

His tone was flippant, making me wonder what would happen if I actually, thoroughly pissed him off. I stood without another word and followed Aerin out, knowing if I said anything at all, it would be bad.

I didn’t want to think about what he’d do to whoever Ciro kidnapped for him or what would become of my sister if she was brought here, but it made one thing excruciatingly clear to me: he wouldn’t tolerate failure, and next time... I’d have to be perfect.

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