“That so?” I asked dryly. I reached a hand up and shoved my fingers into my temple wound, forcing it to bleed more. Slowly, I brought my hand down and rubbed my fingers, making the blood coat more and more of my skin.
The vampire let out a hiss and gripped the back of my neck. She then punched me in the throat. Involuntarily, I coughed, and she used that second to shove food into my mouth. She slammed my mouth shut and put her hand over it, her other hand on my nose.
“Chew and swallow,” she dictated. “Or just swallow, you, big, fat cow. Chew and—That’s it.”
She released my nose, and I inhaled deeply, frantic and desperate for air, but she was already force-feeding me another bite, and another, and soon I hardly felt like myself anymore.
Once she forced me to eat every bit of the two slices of bread, she smirked and stepped away from me and the filth that remained on the floor.
“There.” She brushed her hands together. “How did that taste? Did you enjoy it? The poison was a nice touch, wasn’t it?”
11
The vampire laughed and laughed as she left.
The poison? She was lying, wasn’t she? I hadn’t really been able to taste the bread. The stench proved too strong and powerful for me to be able to taste anything at all. It overwhelmed me.
I didn’t feel anything as I wrapped my arms around myself, hugging myself in an attempt to slow my racing heartbeat. The last thing I needed to do was panic.
Had all of the food been poisoned or just this last bit?
What symptoms would the poison take on?
Why bother to poison me at all? They could just lie about it and spread the word to—
Maxwell.
Was this their ploy to finally get him to spring into action?
Or maybe… Maybe Maxwell had been trying to locate me all along. If Viktor was as wealthy as he was made out to be, then he conceivably owned many places. The thought of him having three, four, or even more palaces, each with their own dungeons made my stomach churn.
Hmm….
Although it was disgusting, I forced my fingers down my throat until I was sick. Who knew if that would lessen the poison’s effects any, but I was already starting to feel woozy. Was that from the poison? Or maybe I was being a hypochondriac. I couldn’t tell.
Just then, I could hear the guard shouting. Just what he was saying, I didn't know. The vampire was a smart one. I'd give her that. She had been certain to bend the metal bars back into place, but the metal that had been bent twice already would be a lot weaker than the metal that had been solid and pure and true.
Still, I was just a human without the great power and strength of a vampire, so it took a lot of grunting, cursing, and tears for me to be able to get the one bar to budge a tiny bit. At this rate, it would take forever for me to get out of here.
And then, something flew across the hallway outside the cell. The stench of blood was high, and I glanced over to the right to see a huddled mass.
The guard? Was he dead? Who…
“Maxwell,” I murmured.
“You called?”
He stood before me. The bars separated us, but only for a second. I wanted to throw my arms around him, to kiss him, but I had just… Yeah. A kiss would have to wait.
If he even wanted one.
This was it. Our trap had been sprung. Now, it was time to locate Viktor and end this once and for all.
Maxwell hardly had to use any effort to bend the bars and free me.
“Are you all right?” he murmured.
"I am, but they said they poisoned the food they force-fed me. I vomited—"
Maxwell shifted, and I furrowed my brows. “Final Embrace.”
“What’s that?”
“The name of the poison.”
I swallowed hard. “Does that mean…”
He grinned. “My blood is the kind that can cure any ill a human has. Not all vampire’s blood can do that, but…”
Maxwell bit his wrist and held it out. I stared at the pinpricks of blood long enough that his wound closed, healed.
“You have to drink,” he said, urgency creeping into his tone. “We don’t have a lot of time.”
“But…”
“Drink.”
He bit himself again, and this time, I licked his blood. It tasted like nothing I ever had before. It wasn’t tangy or bitter but sweet. Could a drink be sexy? Because if so, this was. It was the most delicious thing I had ever drunk, and I licked and sucked until the wounds healed.
Maxwell chuckled. “Are you better now?”
“I… I didn’t feel much before,” I admitted. “I wasn’t even sure if the vampire hadn’t lied to me.”
“Which vampire?”
“I don’t know her name, but she claimed to be Magnus’ lover.”
“Angelika,” Maxwell growled, uttering the name like a curse. “If she’s here and I have to face them both by myself…”
“Didn’t you bring backup?” I asked.
Maxwell flared his nostrils. “I only had to hunt down and check out fifty-three of his buildings to find you.”
My eyes widened. “You didn’t think…”
“About that before? I had. Before, I could always sense you.” He caressed the side of my face. “I always knew where you were. It’s as if there was…”
“An invisible bond,” I murmured.
His eyebrows lifted. “You felt it too?”
“I… I didn’t think you did.” I narrowed my eyes. “You abandoned me even though we’re tethered together somehow!”
“I am here for you now, aren’t I?” he asked with a snort.
“How can you joke around at a time like this?”
“Ah, cuore mio, you will learn all there is to learn about me in due time. Once Viktor has been dealt with.” He turned to go.
I grabbed his arm. “What does that mean?”
“What does what mean?”
“Cuo…”
He chuckled. “Don’t attempt Italian. I’ll teach you later. Without a tutor, you will fail.”
“A person can fail at a lot
