Page 101 of The Veil of Blood and Magic

My stomach turns. Starvation already triggered an attack, and my snarky mouth is about to dig my grave for me.

“How many times do you think I can bring you back from the brink of death with this little magic concoction you have?” he asks. “How do you think that will feel? Your heart almost ending your suffering only for me to bring you back to life to do it all over again?”

Ice fills my veins. The fear is so palpable I almost give in. I almost drop to my knees and beg him for even one swallow of his blood.

But I tip my chin, feeling like this is more a game of wits than anything, and even though I'm severely at a disadvantage, I can't help but try and play. He must be bored, never being challenged. Maybe that’s why he kept me after all.

“From what I understand,” I say, calm and collected. “You've wanted a succubus for a very long time.”

The prince carefully places his hands on the armrests of the chair, leaning back slightly, his thighs parting in a confident way. “I have.”

“And now you have one,” I say, forcing myself to meet his eyes. They look like pools of smoke. “Not only a succubus, but a tress.” I hold up my wrists showing off the silver bracelets for emphasis. “I'm quite rare, maybe even the rarest. Your father doesn't even have someone like me, does he, my prince?”

He narrows his gaze at me, but I hold my smooth expression, hoping I'm correct in assuming there’s a bit of competition between him and his father. Isn't there always between males?

“Gray,” he says, and I tilt my head. “I am not yourprince. My name is Gray.”

Something about him telling me his name and demanding I use it feels like a victory. Small, but a win nonetheless.

“Gray,” I say in the most seductive tone I possess in my state. “Would you agree that I’m rare enough to be important to you? Important to your collection?”

A muscle in his jaw tenses, but he dips his head just slightly. “You are important to me.”

“Then you really don't want me to die,” I say. “I need more than blood. I need desire. Not just any blood and desire, I need my Linked.”

“You’re capable of feeding from those that aren't your Linked,” he says matter-of-factly. “I'm quite versed on succubus culture. But nice try.”

“You’re correct,” I say, doing my best to not let the anger slip into my tone. “I wasn't implying that I couldn't, more so that Iwon't.”

His lips form a tight line. “You belong to me,” he says. “You will feed from me or you will die.”

I swallow hard. “I will feed from my Linked,” I say, doing my best to present a confident bravado when I feel like I'm slipping down an icy slope. “Or you’ll have a dead tress on your hands. How will your father feel about that? You said he was interested in me. Why he kept me alive and gave me to you.”

He stares me down, studying the lines of my face like he's looking for a weak spot.

I show him nothing but an unmovable facade I hope to fuck I can hold on to.

He sighs, the smallest smile peeking at the corner of his mouth. He stands up, striding across the room, his long gait eating up the space between us in a few strides.

“Fair enough,” he says, gently clutching my arm and pulling me off the bed. “We'll revisit this conversation another night,” he continues, practically dragging me toward the door, throwing it open as we walk into the hallway. “It’ll be much more fun when you'rebeggingto feed from me.”

“That's never going to happen,” I say as we weave through the palace until we reach a stone spiral staircase that leads us deep beneath the palace.

“You keep saying never,” he says.

“Because it's true,” I fire back, unable to stop leaning into him as we spin down and down, my weak muscles barely holding me up. He doesn't let me fall. I'm sure he doesn't want his precious pet marked up.

“Never is a ridiculous promise to make when you're mineforever.”

A sharp retort dies on my tongue as we clear the steps, pressure in my ears from how deep underground we are. Torches are lit, hanging from the walls and illuminating cell after cell after cell, iron bars and the unmistakable smell of magic soaking the stone walls.

Most of the cells are empty as he leads me down two more hallways before stopping in front of?—

“Liv!” Jagger is on his feet in seconds as he rushes to the bars.

Zev releases a low growl right behind him.

“Back up, both of you,” Gray demands in a voice that’s so different from the one he'd been using with me—this one is icy and laced with a threatening power.

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