“Agree to be your slaves in other ways you mean?”
He shrugged again, without thinking he reached out to take hold of her hand. He heard her breath freeze as he tried to soothe the tight pressure within her fists. Her head tilted slightly to the side, those wide innocent eyes were surprisingly earnest as she watched him. “It is the law of the world that the strongest will prevail.”
“And you are the strongest?” she demanded.
“Of course.”
Her eyes narrowed, her gaze was intense and questioning. Finally, she nodded slowly, biting nervously on her bottom lip as she turned away from him. She shook her head slightly, her head bowed as she fidgeted with the sleeves of her sweater again.
“You do not agree?” he asked.
“You did succeed in driving us out of our homes, forcing us to run and hide. You do feed off of us, so yes I suppose that makes you stronger. In your own minds at least. It does not give you a right to do what you have done to us though.”
“Most people returned to their homes when the war was over. Most people picked up the lives that they had left behind. It is only The Resistance that has remained hiding and fighting and dying within the woods for the past hundred years.”
She turned slowly back toward him, her defiance melted away as fury blazed forth. “Is that what you believe? That they simply picked their lives back up? That they returned to something good? That they have been thriving since the war ended!? Even within the woods, with no walls and no homes, we have more than the ones that returned to their lives. They are starving, with little clothing and no money. There were no jobs to return to that did not involve being some sort of servant to your kind. That does not involve being beneath you! There was nothing for most of them as your kind took over the better jobs, and forced us into menial roles that would keep us stupid and weak while building your people and your world to ever higher levels.
“I have heard that there was a time when there were schools, when we were taught things, and educated. They do not exist anymore; they are things of legend, whispered about in awe, as so many other things are. Things that we used to have, and used to enjoy, but will never again know as long as your kind has anything to do with it! There is survival of the fittest, and then there is cruelty. I may be paying the price now for my role in the resistance, but I would not change a thing. I stood up for what I believe in, I have pride in what I believe in, and no matter what you do to me, you cannot take that fact away!”
There was true rage in her voice by the time she was done speaking. Her hand was trembling within his, but she had unknowingly seized hold of his hand with both of hers. The fervor in her voice, the true conviction with which she spoke, was almost enough to make him want to understand her plea, her cause. But he knew the way of the world, and the way of the world was that only the strong survived. He found it unfortunate that her people had been relegated to such roles, but it had been necessary in order to insure that the humans did not attempt to rise up against his kind.
Vampires had spent far too much time hiding and slinking within the shadows, fearful of the mob mentality of humans. It was where the myth had come from that vampires could not walk about in the day. It was completely wrong, they could move about in the day, they had simply preferred to hunt at night when there were less people around and the people at night were usually easier prey. But as their numbers had grown, so had their desire to be free of the shadows. He had helped his father lead the attack, taking them all into battle and securing the world for their own means. The war had been long and brutal, but in the end they had come out the victors and Braith had every intention of making sure it stayed that way. He was not going back to the shadows, and he was not going to let the inferior humans regulate him to such a role again. No matter how much she believed in her words.
Although, most humans had little fight in them anymore. They were too weakened, too frightened and beat down to offer much resistance to the vampire rule anymore. Except for a small number of humans that hid within the woods, plotting against them, and causing more death and trouble to his kind than Braith would have liked. A small number that this girl was a part of.
A kernel of anger curled through him as he studied her. She represented everything that he had been fighting against, everything that he hated so much, and yet he was holding the hands clinging so tightly to him. She seemed to realize her grasp upon him as a look of shame crossed her face moments before she released his hand completely.
“I see.” She did not speak again, but simply turned away, her head bowing down. “I will show you to your room.”
Her eyes darted rapidly around the room, he sensed her desire to flee, but they both knew that there was nowhere for her to go. “My room?” she croaked.
“Unless you would prefer to spend the night in my room.”
Her mouth dropped in horror, her gaze flew wildly back to his. He could hear the frantic beat of her heart pounding crazily in her chest as she made a small sound of terror. “No!”
Braith found himself slightly insulted by her vehement cry. He quirked an eyebrow, wondering why this frail slip of a girl aggravated, intrigued, and caused such a strange reaction within him. She was nothing special; she most certainly was not the kind of woman he preferred, the curvy, graceful, beautiful, and eager kind. No this girl was hard, pointy, skinny, average, and anything but willing as she gazed at him in horror.
“I didn’t think so,” he told her.
He rose swiftly, ignoring her as he moved across the room. He only turned back at the doorway of the side apartment. She had risen, but remained unmoving by the sofa, her hands folded before her. He was surprised to realize that with the light filtering in from the windows, her hair was the color of a dark flame burning brightly within the room. The light was soft on her hard angles, making her appear gentler and prettier. He froze as he gazed at her, soaking the sight of her in. She may not be beautiful, but she was the most wonderful thing he had seen in years.
Chapter 4
“It’s a shower.”
Arianna jumped in surprise, spinning at the sound of the soft voice. The prince was leaning casually in the doorway of the bathroom. Though his customary glasses were in place, she could feel it as his eyes scanned rapidly over her. She took a small step back, her bare heel coming in contact with the cool bottom of the contraption that he had just labeled a shower.
He strode slowly toward her, his large body powerful and graceful. Aria tilted her head back, her mouth parting slightly as she gazed at him in silent wonder. She had not seen him since last night, but she had not imagined his size, his aura of power, or his hard masculine beauty. In fact, it seemed even stronger and more overbearing today than it had yesterday.