Page 40 of The Depraved Prince
“No one has ever tasted as divine as you.” I suck in a breath as tears fall down once more. “I’m afraid I’m the one that’s fucked. I’m the one that’s ruined,” his deep voice whispers as he kisses my neck, getting ready to go back for more. His red eyes glow like I’ve never seen before. Beneath all of those monstrous features, he’s still the most handsome man I’ve ever seen.
“Am I going to become like you now? A vampire?A monster?” I whimper, my spirit dreading the answer.
“It’s not as simple as that, Millie. Unfortunately, you’re still human, and you’re still my prisoner.” He grins.
Oh, thank the Lord. I feel the weight fall off my shoulders, knowing I’m still mortal and I’ve avoided a life-altering transition.
From my peripheral, a group of his vampire staff gathers, watching us at a distance like they’re ready to jump in for a slice of me.
I watch my crimson dark blood drip from his beautiful soft lips down to his shadowed beard that coats his sharp jaw. The feeling of my own blood outside of my body snaps me out of the trance Hayden placed me in. My senses kick in once again, and I’m fighting. My chest rises and falls with a new idea. It’s cliché, but I’m hoping it’ll work. He’s a man, after all.
Throwing my shin forward, it connects with his balls.
Hayden immediately doubles over, an exhale of unforeseen chaos hits him, and he fully surrenders to his injury. He palms the floor as he grunts ferociously, an inhumane-like sound that’s louder and more deep than Kallum’s earlier unleashes.
I don’t get a chance to soak in his well-deserved pain and my revenge. I open the heavy doors just as more vampires swarm the area, but for the first time, I’m able to outrun them into the light. Blood still falls down my neck as I jump into the Earth’s sunset.
Hayden reacts quickly, escaping the raw sunlight from outside. He moves out of the way and disappears back into the shadows of his Cathedral, and I run further away as if my life depends on it.
I was right about two things.
One, if you kick a vampire in the balls, he will stop sucking your blood. Two, the sun is a weakness for them. The comics and movies were right.
The bottom of my feet touch gravel and rocks, making me stumble as I run, but the pain is not enough to stop me. At this point, nothing will. I have a chance as long as the sun stays above the ground.
“Millie!” Hayden shouts at me in a monstrous, inhumane growl. He sounds like a beast from hell. I dare to give him one more look over my shoulder as I run towards a bridge. I don’t owe him anything after kidnapping and touching me…even though I loved every second of his hand wrapped around my neck and his fingers thrusting inside me. And drawing my blood.
Nothing.
“Millie!” he shouts again, demanding I return to him. Desperation laces his tone as his voice transforms into a creature-like roar. I don’t know why I do it, but I give in to his clamor commands. Each shout louder than the one before. There’s vexation mixed with sorrow in his tone.
I glance over my shoulder again before I turn a corner, which will make me lose sight of the enormous stained glass cathedral. I’m still running with burning lungs and blood dripping whenI see that he’s standing there with his shoulders slumped and pained, narrowed red eyes. He’s hiding behind a line of shade, like a starting or finish line on a race track, not daring to step over it. He keeps himself behind the shadows of the Cathedral. A black tear falls down his cheek, making me question my sanity. I blink increasingly as the warm, dry summer air kisses my skin, making my hair blow in the wind.
I’m convinced I’m seeing things because there’s no way in hell I just made a heartless monster cry. I turn back around and focus on getting away. Freedom to walk outside never felt like paradise before.
14
HAYDEN
“She’ll bedead as soon as the sun goes down. She’s bleeding all over herself. I shouldn’t have bit her. Fuck!” I push a chair over after snapping it in half.
I miscalculated. I made a mistake. It’s an oversight because she’s distracting. Her beauty and blood will always have me at my weakest.
I was always going to bite her, but I chose the wrong time and place, and it cost me my little Bambi. My future powers.
She’s…gone.
No.
“We’ll find her big brother. The sun goes down in an hour or so.” Kallum walks behind me as I grow tired. I should be resting. His eye has fully healed like Millie never stabbed him in the first place. I’ve got to give her more credit. She’s capable of playing us so well. I let my fucking guard down, something I’ve never done with anyone. Not a friend, a family member, another vampire, my one-night stands. No one holds a candle to the wall I’ve built up since I was born…except Millie.
Again…it must be a Valkyrie trick.
Our King’s guard steps behind me as I uncurl the cuffs on my suit. He’s tense, and his nerves get the best of him.
Good.
The sleepiness I once felt drifted away once I heard Kallum cry out for help. I took a private plane with my father to attend the meeting. Our plane had just landed, and then I entered chaos. I’m tired. Beat. And longing for sleep. But that’ll have to wait. I can only go so long without sleep, but I’ll sacrifice anything to get my Valkyrie back.
