Page 10 of Cinderella and Her Vampires (Dirty Paranormal Fairytale Haremlan 5)

He shrank back and struggled against his chains, which bound him to the wall of the cell we were in. He started to shiver. His teeth clicking against each other. We were in a basement with little heat. It also leaked. All of it added to the sweet torture of the man in front of me.

I chuckled and took a seat on a small, wooden crate about five feet from him. I took out my pocketknife and started to clean my nails with the tip of the blade. All of this was for my benefit. The enjoyment I got out of mentally torturing the human, and who could tolerate dirty nails?

“I’ll find a way to make you pay,” he snapped, finally coming up with an answer to my question. “I’ll figure out a way to free myself and then I’ll find a way to make you wish you never crossed paths with me.”

“How is that working for you so far?” I smiled even wider. There was something about this man and his tenacity to hang on to his dwindling courage. Still, I shook my head. “You’re not going anywhere until you give me exactly what I want. And even that is a maybe.”

“And what is it, exactly, that you want?” he asked.

I shrugged. “I haven’t exactly decided. It could be you begging me for your life. It could be you giving up on a war that would devastate both realms. It could be becoming like me. Or it could be you becoming my next meal. I’m not entirely hungry right now so that one is the lowest one on the list, lucky for you.”

“Oh, how generous of you,” he said, voice full of sarcasm.

“I know, I truly am great,” I said. “But I do want information. Perhaps we could start there. And not the regurgitated crap you fed my sire. What do you say?”

He stared at me like he had no idea what I was speaking of.

I shrugged. “You’ll figure it out. Until you do, I’ll keep stopping by to check on you. I so hope you enjoy your stay.”

I moved to stand up.

“Information like what?” he asked.

“This whole… war thing,” I waved my knife in the air as I sat back down, “why is that so important to you?”

“I already explained that. The story isn’t going to change just because you misled yourself into believing there was more.”

“Ah, but there is more… isn’t there? Otherwise, you wouldn’t be dying to get people to rally behind you and bring the war to our front door as well… Am I at least warm?”

I kept my voice even, soothing almost. Patronizing would be the word humans used, but I called it tactics. He was going to become putty in my hands. What I did with him once he served his usefulness was dependent upon several factors and how obedient he was to me was just one of the things I was looking for.

He shook his head and focused on the wall near him. I flicked my gaze toward the wall, watching as a thin stream of water trickled along the stone from a crack near the top of the wall. It was a weird thing to focus on. But what did I know? I hadn’t been human in so long.

Regardless, the conversation was growing stale, and I still had a job to do, and dragged my attention back to the human.

“Give up on the war, and I will let you go immediately,” I said.

“Never,” he said.

I sighed. “Oh well. I tried. Unless you want to reconsider the information portion of our chat…”

“Something wrong with your ears?” he asked. “I already told you there was nothing more to tell.”

I rather liked this man. If we had met on different terms…

I shook my head to knock off the wishful thinking. However, a new thought crept into my devious little mind. Though I would never take a step toward betraying Silas, my curiosity was getting the better of me.

I was old enough to have my own offspring. Collin would make a damn good vampire. But he wouldn’t go for it without me sweetening the deal. I had to appeal to his greed and desire for power and destruction. All were my specialties.

“Yes, well… I can always taste the lies humans tell. Very bitter. It’s an acquired taste for sure. I love it. Pairs well with blood.”

“You’re demented,” he said, eyeing me as though I had grown a second head.

I laughed. “Maybe. I’m fairing far better than you are. You’ll probably die here, and your cause along with you. So, regardless, I’m winning.”

He snorted. “So, what was this whole charade for then?”

I shrugged. “You tell me.”

---