CH3

3:

Lester pov

The air inside the castle is thick with the scent of blood and sweat, it clings to the walls, to the velvet curtains that hang by the large windows. Inside, everything reeks of the ceremony I just interrupted.

But most of all, my home now smells of him, of the blood of my own human. The scent lingers on my tongue, seeps into my lungs like an unwelcome guest - heavy and intoxicating, reminding me of the possession I now hold.

I stand in the middle of my bedroom and glance at him. “What is your name?” I demand, my tone low and sharper than I intend it to be. I want to know his name, I want to hear it, want to taste how it feels on my tongue when I first speak it.

“Arvin, my prince, the human’s name is Arvin. He refuses to speak,” a guard mutters, standing at the door, watching us.

I wave the guard off, waiting until he bows and closes the door to give us privacy before my gaze returns on my human. “Arvin,” I mutter, sounding almost seductive as a barely there smirk spreads across my lips.

The ritual was meant to be his end. Instead, he stands before me, wrists bound in soft silk that has done little to prevent his struggle. The delicate fabric is damp with sweat his sweat and blood, but fuck, does it make him look like a beautiful mess.

Arvin’s chest rises and falls in uneven bursts, his ribs visible beneath torn fabric, his skin painted with bruises and his own blood, a reminder of his attempt to flee.

He is exhausted, but he doesn’t bow, doesn’t beg. Instead, he glares at me with the kind of fire that would have been extinguished in any other human by now. But he isn’t like the others. Arvin is naive, after everything he suffered tonight, my defiant human still thinks he has a choice.

I take a step closer to him, slowly, carefully. The floor creaks beneath my weight, a whisper of movement that has his shoulders stiffening. He is trying to steady himself, to appear unaffected, but I can hear the way his pulse stutters, erratic and wild, along with the way his breath hitches in his throat as I reach for him.

“You’ve been silent,” I murmur, dragging my fingers along the sharp angle of his jaw. The warmth of his skin is at odds with the coldness his gaze holds. “Tell me, little human. Are you afraid?”

His jaw clenches. I know he wants to spit at me, curse me, tear through the silence with whatever venom he can conjure, but instead, his voice is quiet and steady. “I’m not afraid of you.”

A lie. A delicious, desperate lie. Music to my ears, a sound so powerful, it travels through my body and reaches into the parts of me I didn’t think could be reached anymore. The words hit me so hard, I can feel them in my groin, my leather pants become just a little tighter as my smile widens briefly.

Slowly, I let my fingers trail lower, along the curve of his throat, where his pulse thrums like a bird trapped inside a cage of bones, desperately flapping its wings, unable to escape. “No?” I smile, letting my finger travel lower down his body, tracing lazy shapes on his collarbones. “Then why does your body betray you?”

His breath catches, but he doesn’t pull away. “Because I hate you,” Arvin grits out, his voice trembling with effort. “And I’ll kill you the moment I get the chance. Gut you like a helpless fish, watch life fade from your eyes the same you’ve been watching with my people, standing aside, doing nothing to help, all in the name of feeding the armies of immortal bastards.”

I chuckle, the sound leaves my throat as something low and dark, a promise I can’t quite understand myself just yet. “I do hope you try, little one, I do hope you try.”

Gently, my fingers trail up his burning skin and slip beneath his chin, forcing him to look at me. His lips part, his breath warm against my skin.

My eyes flicker down to his lips, full, plump, a little pinkish, radiating with a life force I had forgotten existed within myself a long time ago.

I could taste his fear if I wished, I could consume it and claim it fully. I could break him open and pull the terror from his ribs like a trophy.

But I want him to give it to me.

“You still don’t understand,” I murmur, voice almost gentle, despite my hold tightening on his chin. “But you will. Soon.”

I let go of his chin and step back slowly, watching as Arvin exhales sharply, as if my touch held him together all this time and he only now realized it. His fists, however, still are clenched, wrists bound in delicate silk, his entire body rigged with tension and unreleased, angry energy.

“Rest now,” I command and point at the cage in the corner of my bedroom, lined with warm, soft feather blankets and a row of silk pillows. “Tomorrow, we begin.” I add the words as an afterthought as I slowly unbutton my shirt and slip it off my shoulders.

Arvin’s cheeks turn beautiful, light pink, while his eyes narrow at me dangerously. “Begin what?”

I don’t move from my spot, looking at him with what I believe has to be a warm smile while my hands grab my belt and slowly undo it.

His eyes narrow even more and my smile only widens, this time, the action is laced with the kind of promise that should terrify him. “Your education, my little human.”

He doesn’t ask what I mean, he really doesn’t need to, the flicker of raw fear in his eyes tells me he understands enough. The fear satisfies me enough, even more than his quiet retreat into the cage.

I turn around, slide off my pants and slowly get into the bed, pulling the covers over me. There are only a few things of my human self I haven’t gotten rid of and a comfortable bed is one of them. As I lay awake, casting occasional glances at my human, sleeping soundly, I can’t help but grin.

Even the strongest things break eventually. And when Arvin does, he will break beautifully.