Chapter 4 Blood and Steel 2
Something flickered in his eyes. Might have been anger. Might have been something else. "We are not having this argument again. You want to hate me? Fine. Hate me. But you are bound to me now, whether you like it or not, and there are more important things to deal with."
"Like what?"
"Like the fact that every noble in this palace wants you dead. Like the fact that Cassian is already spreading rumors that you have cursed me with dark magic. Like the fact that you are weak and untrained and would die in seconds if someone actually managed to get past me to kill you."
I crossed my arms. "Then let them. You said it yourself. I am an abomination. Why keep me alive?"
"Because this bond is the only thing keeping me alive right now."
I instinctively retreated as he got closer. He continued to approach until my back struck the wall. At this point, he was so near that I could smell the winter and blood emanating from him. "I spent seventy years dying slowly because of a curse I could not break.
Your blood is the first thing that has fed me properly in decades. So like it or not, little half-blood, you are valuable. Which means I need you to stop being useless."
"Useless?"
"Can you fight?"
"What?"
"Fight. With your hands. With weapons. Can you defend yourself if someone tries to kill you?" His eyes bored into mine. "Because they will try. Probably today. Definitely this week. And I cannot be everywhere at once."
"I am a servant. Why would I know how to fight?"
"You are half vampire now. Or have you not noticed your body changing? The strength. The speed. The healing." He grabbed my wrist, and I felt calluses rough against my skin. "You have potential. Raw ability buried under years of pretending to be weak. I am going to drag it out of you."
"Why do you care?"
"I do not. But I care about not dying. Which means keeping you alive long enough for this bond to stabilize." He released my wrist and stepped back. "Get dressed. Something you can move into. We start training now."
"I am dressed."
"That is a court gown. You need training clothes." He gestured at the wardrobe. "There are riding pants and shirts in there. Find them."
"You planned this. All of this. The clothes. The rooms. You knew—"
"I knew nothing," he interrupted me. However, I am not a moron. I understood the significance of the bond as soon as it formed. So last night, while you were unconscious, I had Lyra get clothes and rooms ready. Think of yourself as lucky. The majority of prisoners do not receive outfits.
He made his way to the door. stopped. looked back at me with those blank, blood-red eyes.
"You have five minutes. Then I come back in here and drag you out in whatever you are wearing."
He left.
I stood there breathing hard, hands clenched into fists. Every instinct I had said to refuse. To fight. To make this as difficult as possible for the king who murdered my family and now expected me to just accept being his blood source.
But he was right about one thing.
People would try to kill me. Probably soon. And I had spent twelve years surviving by being invisible. That would not work anymore. Everyone had seen what I was. Seen the bond form. Seen the king claim me as his.
Whether I wanted to or not, I was suddenly visible.
I discovered what he mentioned when I went to the closet. Soft leather pants. a front-laced shirt. boots that fit better than they ought to. When he returned, I had quickly changed, tightly braided my hair, and stood by the door.
He gave me a long look. His expression changed in a way that was almost approving.
"Come."
I didn't need the bond to pull me along when he walked this time.
He guided me down steps that extended farther into the palace than I was aware existed and through hallways I had never seen. When the guards noticed us, they became rigid.
Passed nobles who whispered behind their hands. Passed servants who looked at me with fear and hatred in equal measure.
Let them look. Let them whisper. I was already damned.
We ended up in a courtyard open to the sky. Training grounds.
I could smell blood soaked into the stones from years of combat. Could see weapons racked along one wall.
Swords. Daggers. Things I did not have names for. There was a man waiting. enormous. scarred. Amber eyes followed me as if I were prey.
"This is Theron," Kael introduced himself. "My commander. He will put your abilities to the test."
Theron gave me a thorough examination.
"She is tiny."
"She is half vampire. Do not underestimate her." Kael moved to lean against the wall, arms crossed. "Sera. Attack him."
I stared. "What?"
"You heard me. Attack him. Use whatever comes naturally."
"I don't know how to—" "You'll pick things up quickly.
Theron. Do not kill her. Everything else is allowed."
Theron smiled. It was not a nice smile.
He moved.
Fast.
Quicker than the speed of any human. I instinctively raised my arms as his fist struck my face. My feet skidded on stone as the impact propelled me back. My forearms erupted in pain.
"Again," Kael said.
Theron came at me again. This time I tried to dodge. Almost made it. His fist caught my shoulder instead of my head, and I went down hard on the stones.
"Get up."
I got up. My shoulder already felt better. The pain is fading.
Healing.
Theron attacked again. And again. And again. Each time, I got a little faster. Each time my body remembered something my mind did not know. Old instincts waking up. Vampire reflexes trying to surface through years of learned helplessness.
I blocked a punch. Ducked under another. My hand shot out, and I actually landed a hit on his ribs.
It felt like hitting a brick wall, but I did it.
"Better," Kael said. "Again."
We went for what felt like hours. Theron is beating the mercy out of me. Kael was watching with those cold red eyes. Me getting knocked down and getting back up until my body screamed and my vision blurred.
But I kept getting back up.
Because I had spent twelve years being invisible. Being weak. Being prey.
I was done with that.
Finally, Kael raised a hand. "Enough."
Theron stepped back. I collapsed to my knees, breathing hard. Everything hurt. My body was covered in bruises that were already starting to fade.
Kael walked over and looked down at me. "You have potential. Raw and untrained, but it is there. We will do this every day until you can actually defend yourself."
"Why?" The word came out gasping. "Why train me? Why not just lock me in your rooms and only let me out to feed you?"
He crouched down so we were eye level. "Because I do not keep pets. You are my bond, whether I wanted one or not. That makes you valuable. It also makes you a target. So you will learn to fight. You will learn to survive. And you will stop looking at me like a victim waiting to be saved."
"I am not—"
"Yes. You are." He stood. "But you will not be for long."
He walked away. Theron followed him.
I stayed on my knees in the courtyard, bleeding and bruised and more alive than I had felt in twelve years.
The bond hummed in my chest. Warm. Satisfied.
Like it approved.
I hated that I could feel it. Hated that part of me agreed.
The door to the courtyard opened again. I looked up, expecting Kael or Theron.
Rather, a lady entered. Gorgeous. chilly. Ice-blue eyes and silver-blonde hair. She looked at me as if I were something she discovered on the bottom of her shoe, and she was wearing a gown that cost more than I would earn in 10 years.
"So you are the half-blood." She had a sophisticated voice. bored. "I expected something more impressive."
"Who are you?"