Page 10 of Ashvale: The Vampire's Thrall

He rolled his eyes as he strode further away from me, like the distance would help reduce the strange pull between us. His room was similar to mine with the same mix of modernity and age. Without any self-consciousness, he stepped into some dark jeans and the sound of the zipper made me look away as I realised I’d been staring.

“I live to serve,” he said dryly and I met his icy eyes before they vanished beneath the plain white tee he’d pulled on.

“I live to… Well, I guess I don’t live at all,” I retorted, not liking the way he watched me. Like I was somehow responsible for the bond between us. I mean, yeah, I had bitten him. But I’d like to see how his self-control was if he’d been awoken after being murdered and then someone basically dangled themselves in front of him.

“So you’re saying I was asking for it?” He snorted and I swallowed the growl that tried to escape.

“No. I’m just saying—Wait. What?”

He stilled as he sat down on the bed, the rumpled covers stirring my bloodlust again as the urge to reinforce my claim on him rose up. I squinted at him but he said nothing, so I continued, unsure if I had imagined him responding.

“I’m just saying that you shoved your hand over my lips and bled in my mouth—it would have been more surprising if Ihadn’tbit you.”

He snorted but didn’t argue and the silence between us grew fraught, like there was a thread connecting us that had grown more rigid the longer I stayed at a distance. That concerned me more than anything. I was going to have a hard enough time keeping myself in check and stopping my instincts from ruling my behaviour, the last thing I needed was this bond making things even more muddy.

“You’ll cope.”

“I knew it!” I moved toward him and nearly stumbled when my new body moved with more speed than I was used to. “Stay out of my head.”

Hayes scrubbed one hand over the shaved part of his head before growling out at me, “Trust me, I’d love to live my life without your thoughts accosting me, just another wonderful perk of this fucking bond.”

I sighed and plopped down uninvited next to him on the bed. It was true that he’d never asked for this, but I certainly hadn’t wanted it either. “How do we fix this?”

“We don’t. The bond is for life.”

For life? I didn’t even know him, and now we were stuck together for the rest of my undead existence? “We can’t break it?”

His eyes were full of a cold anger as he stood and looked down at me. “Not unless you want to die a true death, no. Keep that in mind while you’re prattling on in there,” he said, pushing the centre of my forehead with one finger and I snarled.

He may have been more experienced than I was, but he was still just a living vampire.Show him his place, a dark voice inside of me purred and my hands curled into fists as I bared my fangs.

The muscle in his jaw feathered as Hayes tilted his chin to one side ever so slightly. Accepting my dominance, even though it clearly pissed him off.

My instincts settled down but left me feeling drained. “What does this mean for us then?” I lisped around my fangs.

Hayes strode towards his door and held it open for me in clear dismissal. “It means we’re stuck together.”

ChapterFive

I was prettysure Hayes was supposed to give me a tour. But after kicking me out of his room, he’d slammed the door behind us and headed off in the other direction with a curt, “Don’t follow me.”

That suited me just fine, I needed some time to digest everything too, and I was more than capable of showing myself around. If anything, it was everyone else I was worried about—though thanks to Hayes and my lack of self-control I’d at least been able to tide my hunger over for now.

The hall was rich with daylight from the large window at the end of the hall, making my eyes water, so I decided to move upwards instead of heading back to my room or following Hayes. The sunlight wouldn’t kill me—or, at least, it would take averylong time to do so. For now, it was just irritating and achy. Kind of like a bright day with a hangover. But eventually, when I was either old or powerful enough, prolonged exposure would drive my body to flame and then ash if allowed to burn. I backed away from the window with a grimace.

The corridors and staircases seemed to snake inwards in an upward spiral, but my legs never seemed to tire as I climbed higher. Everything looked the same—smooth, dark wood and old stone walls, the cool air carrying all kinds of scents to me as I inhaled out of habit. Candles burning, dust, and a darker, richer, scent that made my mouth water until I clamped it shut. Heat rose within me and I gripped the wooden handrail beneath my hands as I fought not to follow that scent and consume it. A groan cut the air, startling me and I let go of the railing with wide eyes as I saw deep cracks forming. Shit. Hopefully some gentle destruction of property wasn’t a big deal.

I beat a hasty retreat just in case and nearly went dizzy with the speed of my movements before I paused at the base of the next staircase, a thought occurring to me. I hadn’t chosen this for myself, but there was no undoing it now. If I was going to survive this transition, I needed to find new things to love, to live for.

I hesitated for only a second more and then let myself go, sprinting up the staircases as quickly as I could, my feet barely touching the ground like I was flying. A laugh slipped out of me as I wound higher and higher until I hit the top floor and could go no further. The room was small like an attic, but round on all sides with a high ceiling. Was I inside a fucking turret?

The window was large, an ovular frame with a ledge made of stone that was chipped on the edges, and the sunlight was irritating on my skin as I peeked out at the grounds.

I was higher up than I’d anticipated and my stomach swooped with a mixture of fear and excitement. There wasn’t much that could kill me now, but that didn’t mean falling from this height wouldn’t hurt.

Or would it? Just how far could I push this new body of mine?

The window had an old-fashioned brass latch on one side and the soft snick of it unlatching made me glance behind at the open stairway warily. Was this a bad idea? Probably. But I was pretty sure I’d heal quickly if I had over-estimated my new abilities.

---