It wasn't the worst pain she'd ever been in, but when Elayn woke, her body was clamoring complaints that she had been wounded. Her neck in particular throbbed to the beat of her drumming heart. The room around her smelled familiar, safe enough, but there was one scent too close by that had her pushing the covers away so she could get free.

“Whoa, whoa.” And there cool hands were, pressing her back to the bed by her shoulders. “Easy, you lost a lot of blood.”

Had she? What had happened? She narrowed her eyes on her mistress-- Serana. “Did you bite me?” she asked, sleep making her voice rough.

“No!” Gold eyes went wide with shock and the vampire was standing, backing away. “No, I would not--” She shut her mouth with a snap of effort.

Then she went out of Elayn's range of sight, only to come back with a stone cup of water. “It was one of my father's minions,” she explained in a quiet voice that didn't quite hide the venom in her words. “Vingalmo-- I would avoid him in the future if you can.”

That explained that, but it seemed like there was more to it. Elayn said nothing, letting the silence between them grow.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“The politics in my father's court are… Messy.” She sat on the edge of the bed, playing with her hands. “It is likely you were attacked as a result of that. An indirect attack on my father, without the risk of directly provoking his ire.”

Politics. Elayn wanted to spit the word like a curse. She was no stranger to it either, and a small part of her felt sympathy for her mistress. Then it was gone.

“So it's your fault,” she concluded flatly. “And it's likely to happen again.”

What effect she meant to accomplish with her words, she did not know, but the hurt in Serana's eyes was enough. Good. She knew what it felt like.

“I actually had an idea,” she murmured, looking away. “But you won't be happy with it.”

When Elayn did not respond other than to continue to stare at her, Serana sighed and went to the other side of the room to a desk. What she brought back raised Elayn's hackles and brought a snarl to her lips.

It was a collar, a fine silvery thing that must have been made of steel since it didn't burn Elayn's nose. It burned her dignity instead, and she found herself growling wordlessly at Serana.

The vampire, to her credit, only smiled faintly, still not looking directly at her. “It would be a symbol that you are mine,” she said softly. “Not to be molested. It's the best I can do to keep you safe, other than to have you at my side at all times.”

A sharp smile crossed her face. “It isn't as though either of us want that very much, is it?”

In the end, all the objection Elayn had was simply her pride at work, and pride had no business in matters of survival. It was that attitude that had kept her alive for so long, it would work further. So she let the vampire sit and fix the damned collar around her throat with as little growling as she could manage.

“What now?” she asked, fighting the urge to shake her head at the slight weight of the collar.

Serana considered that a moment and rose from the bed. “Now, I might as well show you where I spend most of my nights.”