It took two more days before I could finally say I had my strength back. Just how much blood did I lose? No matter, every time I had woken up Eclis would tell me to rest and there was no fighting it. I knew vampires had mind control abilities in the book, but Julia was immune to them. For me that unfortunately was not the case. Eclis also wasn’t one to use it on her, only saving it for an extreme situation where she had decided to do something that risked her life. A lot have things about him seemed different because he hadn’t drunk uncontracted blood. I didn’t realize just how pivotal it would be for his story.

The bed was hard and inside the stuffing were things that poked at you if you shifted too much. The room was small with four wooden walls, no paint, and no furnishings aside from a small side table and the single sized bed tucked in the corner. Where am I? Eclis was no where to be found and a brief glance out the window told me it was still nighttime.

In the brief moments I was conscious we were always travelling but I never had the chance to ask, or even get a good look at him for that matter. My face flushed at the lingering memory of him carrying me.

Now’s a good time decide what to do now that I’m alone to think. I’m in someone else’s body, in the world of my favourite book, travelling with my favourite character. It was a pretty nice deal. The horrible beginning to my journey was short but terrible, and now I just had to decide where to go. If I stayed with Eclis he would likely follow the original story, heading back to Ganimede by boat where he’d find his castle still upkept by his loyal retainers, most of whom were also immortal or long lived. After he had somewhat established his presence there, he’d return to the capital to take his seat as Grand Duke again. Then Julia would arrive as a sacrifice candidate, He’d find himself drawn to her, they’d fall in love… And he’d die for her.

Was what I did enough to ensure that didn’t happen? No, what else could I do for him at this point? “Hahhh…” His fate wasn’t really mine to control and as much as I wanted him to be happy, I couldn’t see how my being there would help. I might even get in the way of his love story with Julia. It was also a setting among nobility and already, just by the manner of his speech, I understood that hierarchy and status were important in this world. Even the language here used different level pronouns to convey these things. Going to the capital was out of the question as I had no clue about etiquette or politics, and I couldn’t bring myself to want to care about those things.

“Can I still speak English?” The familiar words genuinely brought a tear to my eye and I choked back a sob. I really was lost in this world. After several shaky breaths I had decided what to do. At the same time the door opened and Eclis filled its frame.

In the book Eclis was described as six foot four inches, because of this he had to duck through the door to enter. His movements were graceful and poised, like a true noble. His alabaster skin was flawless paired with his ruby like eyes and black hair that fell into them framing his face like he were a painting. His long legs crossed the room in two strides and his finger plucked a tear off my cheek.

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“Don’t cry. I hate seeing women cry.” While he said words meant to comfort me, his eyes held no warmth. They were cold and calculating. He handed me a clean handkerchief to wipe my eyes with, and while I was busy doing that it almost looked like he had licked my tear off his finger. Nah, I didn’t see that.

He sat across from me on a chair I hadn’t noticed was there. “Now, back to our conversation earlier. May I have your name now Miss?” No fair, he hadn’t given me enough time to come up with one.

“It’s Jasmine… My friends call me Jazz.” I gave him my real name. Almost to late, I remembered that vampires can tell if their sacrifice lies to them. It wasn’t like I needed to hide my identity anyways, he wouldn’t have known the real name of this body either.

“May I call you Jazz then?” My heart fluttered.

“No.” I would literally die right here if you did.

He arched a brow but didn’t press the issue further. “Then miss Jasmine-“

“Just Jasmine is fine.”

He smiled, yet another hit to my poor heart. “Then Jasmine, how was it you were able to find me in that prison?” His voice sounded pristinely calm, like a conversation at a nice restaurant between two friends. Still, he made the hairs on the back of my neck stand.

“I read about there being two exits to that place in a book.” He arched a brow questioningly, “I… I didn’t want to become a slave just to escape so I looked for you instead.” Nothing I said was technically a lie.

“I see, and where did you learn the spell necessary to contract a vampire?” There was a sharp glint in his eyes, like a predator assessing its prey.

“I also read about it in a book.” I shrugged as nonchalantly as I could and looked out the window. My heart was pounding just looking at him from this distance. Dawn was finally here, so I moved to close the two shutters for him.

“You read about it in a book?” He sounded doubtful. Odd, it wasn’t technically a lie, so there shouldn’t be a reason he’d doubt my answer.

“Yeah, In a book.”

“What was this book called?”

“The Rose and its Thorns.” The book wouldn’t exist in this world right? There shouldn’t be a reason to lie… He’d know anyways if I did.

“Odd name for a book.”

“It was a good book though.” It really was. Returning to the bed I plopped myself back down across from him. He looked thoughtful and I got to happily drink in his beauty for a moment.

He smiled again, though it was chilling instead of warm. “It’s strange to hear that you could read that spell in a book.”

I felt caught in his gaze. My heart was already pounding but now for another reason. He was hot when he was scary. “Why is that?” My voice sounded pristinely calm, like I hadn’t just broken out into cold sweat.

“Because the elder language can’t be written.”

“I see.” My mind was sluggish, and no excuses were coming to me. Nothing at least that wouldn’t be immediately caught as a lie.

“Have you heard that there are people in this world that can resist the charming effects of vampires Jasmine?” He wasn’t hiding the edge in his voice anymore.

“Yes.” I kept my answers short for fear of misspeaking.

“Even ones who can lie to vampires undetected.” Ah, he really suspects me.

“I am not sitting on a bed right now.” I tilted my head. Did it work? It was a blatant lie compared to everything I’d said so far. He looked puzzled again, but after a moment, his eyes glowed capturing me in that familiar mesmerizing fog. The edges of my vision blurred until all I could see was him. Shit.