Filed to story: Tangled in Moonlight Unshifted Novel by Lenaleia
Her eyes grow unfocused, and the strange men return, tidying up the dishes and taking them away in silence.
I watch them curiously as they move. Their faces are. blank, and they’re unmistakably human, despite the odd sheen of their skin.
Thralls, Selene murmurs. Bonded servants.
Bondedto Sister Miriam?
Yes. What you risked when the vampire bit you.
My stomach twists, threatening to let go of the contents I’d just downed with little grace.
Sister Miriam’s long fingers tap against the table in a thoughtful rhythm. “One cannot speak an untruth with Fae food in their belly.”
I glance at the table in front of me, but the dishes are gone, and her thrall servants with them.
“Fae food?” I ask, my heart dropping at how easily I was convinced to eat my way into a trap.
“It won’t harm you, child.”
It isn’t for human consumption because of its strong side effects. Selene mutters. Damn it. I should have known, but I cannot sense Fae magic.
Sister Miriam sighs. “Stop looking so worried. Today’s food is only to see if I can trust you. It turns out that you’re but a babe in the world of supernaturals. Eating the food in front of you is a great way to get yourself killed.”
A chill races through me at her ominous words, but she doesn’t seem to have any ill will toward me yet.
“I wish I could help you, child, but the one who has hist sights set on you is someone even I cannot cross.””
My heart skips a beat. I lean forward, hands gripping the edge of the table. “That means you know who it is.”
Sister Miriam nods, a faint and unnerving smile playing at the corners of her lips. “It isn’t good news.”
I don’t care. I need to know. “Tell me.”
She studies me for a long moment, her dark eyes seeming to pierce through to my very soul. “With no price?”
“I can agree to anything, if it means I can save Lisa.”
The strange vampire presses against the bridge of her nose with a long sigh. “Child. You must learn how to survive in this world. Serving yourself up to a vampire is tantamount to suicide. Very well. As a gesture of my goodwill, I will give you what you seek, without price. The one who seeks you is known as the Mad Prince.”
“Mad Prince?” It’s the kind of name I’d expect to see in a fantasy story.
“He is a vampire of immense power and influence. No one knows his age, but everyone knows this: His sanity is gone, lost in time.” Sister Miriam’s voice drops to a whisper. “And he has taken a keen interest in you, Ava Grey.
My mind reels. A vampire? But why me? “What does he want with mo2”
“I think you know. But also understand, the Mad Prince stops at nothing if he wishes to possess something.”
Possess them. The words echo in my head, making my stomach churn. “And you think he has Lisa?”
“I know so.”
I slump back in my chair, feeling suddenly drained. “What am I supposed to do? How can I save Lisa if even you can’t stand against this Mad Prince?”
“That is not for me to find out. That is your job.” She leans forward, her red eyes almost glowing with the intensity of her stare. “Tell me, little wolf. Are you able to access your power yet?”
Selene’s ears flick as she stares at the vampire, but her mental voice is quiet.
I hesitate to answer, and Sister Miriam continues, “Do you wish to learn?”
A dhampir cannot teach a magician, Selene snaps, and Sister Miriam’s eyes move lazily over to meet hers.
“Perhaps the dhampir you know,” she purrs, and I stiffen.
LISA
When moonlight fades and the sun rises, I can see my cell with more clarity.
Rust clings to my wrists and ankles, the metal biting into my skin with every trembling movement. Chains rattle against stone, a sound that mocks my rising panic. No matter how I strain and yank, they hold fast, ignoring the blood that streams down my arms when my skin breaks under the pressure.
This cell, this prison, is a nightmare made manifest. Cold, damp air seeps into my bones, and the stench of decay fills my nostrils. No comfort of a bed greets me, only the unforgiving hardness of the floor beneath my body.
A single, rotting bucket sits in the far corner, a cruel taunt of basic needs denied.
My eyes dart around, desperate for some sign of escape, but the walls offer no salvation. Rough hewn stone and brick, marred by the telltale stains of suffering, mock my desperation. Those dark splatters, rustbrown and eerie in the dim light filtering through the tiny window above, speak of horrors I can’t begin to imagine.
But I don’t need to imagine, do I? I’m living it now.
Why? The question pounds in my head. Why me? What does my captor want?
I grasp at my memories, trying to make sense of the jumbled pieces. The party, the laughter, the punch that made my head swim. Bren. The vampire.
But nothing else.
Tears sting my eyes, hot and bitter as they slip down. my cheeks.
I want to scream, to yell until my voice gives out, but some instinct warns me against it. Don’t let them know you’re awake. Don’t give them a reason to come.
It’s been peaceful so far, but that can’t last forever.
But oh, how I want to scream.
I did, all night, and no one came to save me.
Though no one came to shut me up, either.
The tears come harder now, my body shaking with silent sobs. I curl in on myself as much as the chains. allow, trying to make myself small, trying to disappear. But there’s nowhere to hide, nowhere to go but the confines of my own mind.
And in my mind, the questions swirl, dark and insidious. What do they want with me? Why go through the trouble of taking me, of keeping me alive? The possible answers terrify me, each more gruesome than the last. Ransom, torture, some sick game… I shudder, bile rising in my throat.
Scraping sounds and whispers pierce the silence, dragging me from my thoughts.
I tense, straining to hear more, to understand what’s happening beyond my cell. It’s only then that I realize the odd dripping sound, the one that had been my constant companion, disappeared while I was lost in fitful sleep.
Fear has my gut tightening into a cramping pain as the scraping grows louder, closer. It’s a grating, unnatural noise that sets my teeth on edge and causes my head to ache. The whispers, too, become more distinct, though I can’t make out the words. The voices are low, urgent, and filled with a malevolence that makes me
?
want to curl up and hide.
But there’s nowhere to go, nowhere to run, because I’m chained to the floor.
The scraping stops, and for a moment, there’s only silence. Heavy, oppressive, making it hard to breathe.
And then, a grinding sound, like stone against stone. My eyes widen as part of the wall slides into itself, revealing a dark passageway. A figure steps through, tall and imposing, and my heart nearly stops.
It’s him. The vampire from the party.
He looks just as I remember, all pale skin and dark hair, with eyes that gleam with a predatory light. His lips curve into a smile, but there’s no warmth in it. Only a cruel amusement that makes my blood run cold.
“Hello, kitten,” he purrs, his voice like silk over steel.
I shrink back as far as my chains allow, despite the pain in my wrists, bleeding and swollen from many attempts to get out of these manacles.
“What do you want?” My voice is tremulous, despite my efforts to keep it steady.
He laughs, a sound that echoes off the walls and makes me flinch. “Oh, we’ll get to that,” he says, taking a step closer. “But first, let’s have a little chat, shall we?”
His movements are almost hypnotic, his steps slow and measured as he approaches. I can’t look away, can’t move, can’t breathe. It’s like I’m frozen, trapped by the sheer force of his presence.
He crouches down in front of me, close enough that I can feel the chill emanating from his skin. Close enough that I can see the hunger in his eyes, the way they seem to darken as they roam over my face, my neck, my body.
“You’re a pretty little thing, aren’t you?” he murmurs, reaching out to brush a strand of hair from my face. His touch is like ice, and I jerk my face away. “And feisty, too. I like that.”