Page 26 of King of the Damned
Kaius leads me to the other side of the palace, where a large ballroom is already bustling with chatter. In the background, unsettling notes on stringed instruments vibrate throughout the hall, and it makes me feel like a lamb being led to slaughter.
As Kaius leads me through the crowds of red, hungry eyes, they simply nod in greeting as we pass. Their eyes stay fixated on me with chilling smiles, like they know a secret I don’t. Like they’re waiting for their king to give them permission to finally taste me.
The scene within the ballroom isn’t as gruesome as I imagined it would be. There aren’t human sacrifices laid out on the tables and there isn’t the pungent metallic smell of blood in the air. Candelabras burn strategically around the room to light it enough for poor human eyes to see clearly. The ceiling is red-tinted stained glass, and it’s no wonder this chamber has always been sealed tightly when I tried to enter it before. Other than the windows newly added to my suite, this is the only glass in the entire palace.
Kaius leads us to a table that’s been set just for us. There are only two chairs, one significantly more ornate than the other, obviously meant for him. To my surprise though, he insists I sit there while he takes a seat in the smaller, more plain chair. Dravon immediately comes to greet him with a golden goblet of wine.
“My Lord,” he says casually holding up his wine in toast, suspiciously eyeing me in the seat at his side. Kaius gently clinks the rims together. “A toast to your most lovely…guest.”
I stupidly meet Dravon’s feral eyes, and suddenly the cloak fastened around my shoulders and neck feels far too tight and suffocating. I touch my hand to my throat to attempt to relieve some of the pressure, but that only makes it worse. Kaius uses a dismissive nod to send Dravon away, and then he turns slightly to face me.
He reaches across the small space between us and unfastens the cloak from around my neck, letting it fall over the arms of my chair. Instantly, I can breathe better.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
“You look like you’re going to be sick.”
I turn my head and glare at him. “You sure know how to make a woman feel beautiful.” He simply smirks in response, and my eyes find Dravon across the room. “I don’t like that one,” I admit quietly, afraid he’ll hear me.
His eyes float to Dravon too, and he leans over to be closer to me as if we’re simply gossiping. “I’ve warned him that you are off limits.”
I give him a sardonic scoff. “Is that supposed to make me feel better? You’ve claimed me, is that it?”
“Adelasia, please don’t,” he says, and if I didn’t know better, I’d say he sounds almost like he was begging. “I brought you here because I thought the music and dancing would make you happy.”
I ignore him and let my eyes continue to search the room. A human servant brings me a plate of turkey and small potatoes seasoned with rosemary and lemon butter. Some of the help and other humans have lightly bleeding fang marks at the curve of their necks, though they don’t seem bothered or in pain. In fact, they seem proud.
“Do the humans really enjoy being fed on, or is that a lie your kind has spread to lure us in?” I ask.
“Yes and no.” He motions his head towards a couple–both women, one vampire, one human. The vampire licks along the human's neck before biting. The human woman’s face twists painfully for a few seconds, then her entire body relaxes. Her face quickly melts into an expression of very obvious pleasure. She’s enjoying it. “See how she licks her neck before biting? Our saliva acts as an aphrodisiac, to make humans less resistant. Something as simple as a kiss could flood the human mind with lustful thoughts. So yes, they enjoy being fed on, but their willingness? Questionable in certain circumstances.”
My cheeks turn bright red as I watch the couple. They’re touching each other and grinding their bodies together. The human moans softly, undeterred by the attention their display is bringing. I feel like I’m intruding, yet I can’t look away.
I’ve never been touched by anyone other than myself. I’ve always been so concerned with my dance career that relationships and intimacy just weren’t priorities for me. I’ve been on no dates, and I’ve only shared a kiss with one man in my entire life. He was my dance partner my first year at the company. It was a sloppy, uncoordinated kiss. He was a pleasant man, but there were no romantic feelings between us. The kiss was a quick moment after a show, and we never spoke of it again. Watching people be so open with their sexual desires is as intriguing as it is foreign to me.
“Adelasia,” Kaius says softly, pulling me out of my trance. “Your dinner will get cold.”
I nod and spend the next few minutes focusing solely on my plate, eating the entire thing and then even asking for seconds.
“I’m glad to see you’re eating,” Kaius says as I eat the last few bites. “I was afraid you’d starve yourself to spite me when we met.”
“I thought about it,” I admit. I lift my goblet to drink some wine to wash it down, but my cup is empty. I reach for a decanter placed between us to pour more, but Kaius places his hand over the top and gently forces me to set it down.
“Not that one,” he explains, then waves over a servant who pours me a glass from a separate decanter.
I drink heavily for the next few hours, let the wine soak into my bones and allow my body to hum with a warm serenity. Some of the chatter has quieted down as the vampires find their own meals around the room. Soft cries of pleasure have filled the space, but through the influence of the wine, it no longer bothers me.
The music has turned a bit more melodic, and after a few moments of people-watching, Kaius offers me his hand. “Would you like to dance?”
I don’t know if it's the drink or because I need something to do other than stare at vampires while they feed, but I don’t hesitate, placing my hand in his.
Thirteen
Kaius
I lead her to the center of the room and pull her to my chest, closer than we were in the dance studio earlier tonight. I can feel her heartbeat spike at the proximity. She takes my hand and rests her other on my shoulder, and the action feels natural. She doesn’t hesitate or falter when I take the lead. Her steps are perfectly in sync with mine, without a single hint of uncertainty on her face.
Adelasia is graceful, even under the influence of wine and her cheeks flushed red from witnessing the impropriety of others.
