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Lila
I SAT IN MY PRISON cell trembling, still trying to process what I’d witnessed only moments before. Prince Kade had actually killed one of his slaves, right in front of me, to prove some sort of point. Watching that girl’s face being drained of all her color as he drank until there was nothing left... well, it made me feel sick to my stomach.
Even worse was knowing that they were threatening to do the same thing to me.
“Are you okay?” Remy said from the cell next to me.
I glanced over at her. “I-I don’t know. How could anyone be okay after watching what just happened?”
“I know. I remember the first time I watched another slave be killed like that...” She trailed off and then shook her head, clearly trying to shake away the memory. “You get used to it after a while, though... once you see it happen so frequently.”
I was too afraid to ask how many times she’d witnessed slaves being killed by vampires. I feared the number was high, which was scary, considering she’d only been here for three months.
“Can I offer you some advice?” Remy asked.
“Okay,” I agreed.
“The whole reason you’re in here—the whole reason that girl just died—is because they don’t believe you’re really Lila DeHaven,” she began. “So... what if you told them you’re not?”
“But that would be a lie,” I insisted. “I really am Lila DeHaven.”
“And you and I both know that’s the truth, but who says they need to know that?” Remy gripped one of the bars that separated us as her gray eyes met mine with a serious look. “Lying to them might be the one thing that could potentially save your life, Lila.”
Slumping back against the cement wall, I considered this. What if she was right? What if I told them I’d been lying? If I confessed the “truth” and apologized for lying, then maybe there was a chance they would let me live. Maybe I would still be able to find a way out of this world, a way to somehow get back home. It seemed like it was worth a shot, at least.
“Okay.” I glanced back over at Remy. “I’m going to do this.”
“Good.” She grinned. “Now we need to come up with a name for you to use.”
“Oh, yeah.” I hadn’t even considered who I would pretend to be.
Remy stared at me for a moment and then said, “You look like a Julia. Julia Robbins.”
“Then Julia Robbins is who I’ll pretend to be.” I swallowed hard, wondering if I would be able to pull this thing off. I’d never been a very good liar. I couldn’t keep a straight face. But somehow I was going to have to. Telling the most believable lie was my lifeline.
At that moment, one of the guards began to walk in our direction. I watched as he moved past me and then unlocked Remy’s cell door.
“Your Master wishes to see you in the back room.” Then, pointedly, he added, “He’s thirsty.”
Remy glanced over at me with a sad smile. “I’ll see you later, I assume.”
“Bye,” I said, my voice merely a whisper as I watched her go. It made me sick to think that vampires could use their human slaves whenever they wanted.
After watching Prince Kade kill that slave girl right in front of me, I was even more determined not to become anyone’s slave. But I supposed that would have been the best possible scenario I could ask for. It was either become a slave until I figured out a way to escape, or one of the princes would kill me on the spot. Even if I had to temporarily be a slave, it was better than the latter.
I wasn’t going to crumble. I wasn’t going to let them have the upper hand. And somehow, I was going to find a way to get back home.
Not long after Remy had left, the guard opened my cell door. “Come on,” he said. “You’re coming with me.”
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“The prince has asked me to bring you to him.”
My stomach clenched. “Which prince?”
“Just a little tip. You’d do better not to ask questions around here,” the guard said, glancing over his shoulder at me. “Now, follow me.”
He led me up the dark stairwell, which brought us to the ground floor of the palace.
As we reached the gorgeous, red-carpeted staircase, I took a deep breath. I couldn’t believe how much my life had changed since the last time I’d stood in front of it. I’d gone from being a normal teenager to being a girl who risked being killed or enslaved by vampires, a girl who had already been taken prisoner.
For all I knew, the only reason the prince wanted to see me was because he wanted to kill me, to drain me of all my blood.
As I followed the guard up the stairs, I could feel my heart pounding against my chest.
Once we reached the landing, the guard knocked on the door to Sebastian’s office. “She’s right here, Your Highness.”
“Thanks, Trey. I’ll let you know once I’m finished with her.”
Once he’s finished drinking my body dry?
The guard moved out of the way, allowing me inside the office.
Sebastian was sitting in his desk chair, waiting for me. I breathed a slight sigh of relief. Even though being in his presence intimidated me, I didn’t feel nearly as nervous around him as I did around Kade.
He motioned to an armchair. “Please have a seat.”
As I sat down in the chair, I couldn’t help but feel slightly awkward in the skimpy silk nightgown I had on. I wished they’d at least given me panties to wear, but they hadn’t. I awkwardly crossed one leg over the other, but I wasn’t sure if that helped or hurt the situation.
Sebastian rose to his feet and moved toward me. Once he was standing within about a foot of me, he cleared his throat.
“So now that you’ve spent some time in the Chambers, I’d like to ask you again. Is your name really Lila DeHaven?”
“Actually...” I hesitated, a lump forming in my throat. “I have a confession to make. You were right about me.”
Sebastian’s lips remained in a flat line. “Please elaborate. How was I right about you?”
I darted my eyes away from him, figuring it would be easier to lie if I avoided his gaze. “My name isn’t Lila DeHaven. It’s actually Julia Robbins. I’m nothing more than an escaped slave who hoped for a chance to live inside the palace and to meet you, Your Highness.” I met his eyes again, trying not to seem unconfident.
He stared at me for a moment, his blue eyes piercing straight through mine as though he were trying to decide if he should trust me. I didn’t understand. Hadn’t he wanted me to confess that I wasn’t Lila DeHaven? It’d almost seemed like he hadn’t wanted to believe me.
Turning away from me, he walked back over to the windows. “You’ve wasted a lot of unnecessary time. And to be frank with you, you got my hopes up.” Glancing over his shoulder, he added, “I wanted you to be Lila DeHaven.”
Questions began to swirl through my mind. Did I come clean with him and let him know that I really was Lila DeHaven? Or was he trying to trick me into admitting I was Lila again, which would only result in him killing me?
I decided it was probably in my best interest not to tell him I’d lied about lying, because he’d made it clear how much he hated liars.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness,” I said quietly.
“You don’t know how sorry you’ll be. I need to decide what I want your punishment to be.” Sebastian turned to face me. “Do you realize that by lying to me, the prince who rules this entire kingdom, you’ve committed one of the highest crimes you could commit?”
“Yes,” I whispered, shifting in my chair uncomfortably. All I wondered was what he had planned for me.
“The way I see it is there are two things I could potentially do with you, Julia.” He moved closer until he was standing in front of me again. He leaned in so close to me that I could feel his cool breath against my neck. “I could devour you right here in this chair, the same way I’ve done to every other slave who claimed to be Lila DeHaven. That would be easy enough. You smell divine, so I can only imagine how delicious it would be to drain you of all your blood.”
The image of Kade’s slave being drained of all her blood until she was lifeless filled my mind. I tried to shake the thought away, but I knew it would haunt me
Grabbing onto my hair, he tilted my neck and ran his tongue over my skin, just as his hand dipped between my thighs.
I could feel my whole body tremble at his touch. I wished I could have said I was shaking only because I was afraid, but it was more than that.
I actually liked his touch.
What was wrong with me? I knew I should have been completely terrified, but at the same time, I was so full of lust and excitement.
Just as I was sure he was about to sink his fangs into my neck, he pulled away from me.
“However, why would I want to waste a pretty girl like you just for a quick drink? To be frank, I don’t care what your name is, Julia.” He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “In my three hundred years of life, I’ve seen thousands of human girls who have been brought to us to be our slaves. In those three hundred years, I have yet to see another girl as beautiful as you.” His blue eyes locked on mine, an intensity in them. “Your punishment isn’t going to be for you to die, Julia. It’s going to be for you to be my personal slave.”
Moving away from me, he called out, “Guards! Please escort her to the Slave Chambers.”
“Where I’ll be a prisoner again?” I asked out loud, anger rising to the surface. I didn’t want to go back into a prison cell again. If that was how it worked... well, then maybe I would have rather him killed me and gotten it over with.
Sebastian glanced over at me. “In some ways, yes, but living in the Slave Chambers is much better than being a prisoner in the Chambers. I promise you.”
No, it’s only better for you... now that I’ll be your blood donor, I thought bitterly.
Trey came back into the room to lead me away.
“I’ll see you soon,” Sebastian assured me.
I gave him a small nod as I followed after the guard.
As he led me down a long hall, I couldn’t help but wonder: was this all some sort of big misunderstanding, or was it possible that I really was the Lila DeHaven the prophecy was about?
The prophecy Remy had told me, which she’d heard from her slave owner, ran through my mind again for the hundredth time since she’d told me it.
“A girl by the name of Lila DeHaven will appear one day, and her existence will be essential to the vampire world. Her blood has the power to create the world’s strongest vampire, spark the first world war, and both destroy and fix everything.”