CHAPTER 61

CHAPTER 61
SOPHIA

“Sophia, you’re going to do everything I command.”
I feel the blood drain from my face. Part of me wants to answer, to scream “no.” But my words come out in a choked whisper:
“Yes… Your Majesty.”
I hold back the tears threatening to escape, swallowing the pain and terror suffocating me from within.
I look at Adam again.
His eyes are a mix of anger, worry, and something that destroys me inside: helplessness.
Before I can finish taking off my dress, the king steps closer and rips the fabric away.
The material slides off my body and falls to the floor, pooling in shimmering blue and silver over the cold stone.
I look down at my body, now covered only by a thin nightgown.
I face the king, waiting for his next orders, my chest heaving rapidly. He stares at me as if I’m nothing but a broken toy.
“Touch her…” he commands in a low voice, thick with cruelty.
My eyes turn toward the human girl who’s still bleeding and lying on the bed.
Her neck is marked by the king’s bites, and tears stream down her face, though I glimpse something strange in her gaze, as if she’s… enjoying it.
I step closer slowly and reach out, lightly touching the girl’s hair. My fingers barely graze the blood-matted strands when his voice slices through the air like a blade:
“Not like that, Sophia. Do it the way I taught you.”
The knot in my throat becomes unbearable.
I try to speak, but my voice fails before leaving my lips. So I lift tearful eyes to him.
“Please, Your Majesty… I don’t want to do this.”
His smile vanishes in an instant. His eyes darken, nearly black, gleaming with fury. He growls low:
“I’m the one who tells you when to stop… and I didn’t say stop, Sophia.”
Before I can react, he grabs me by the throat and shoves me onto the bed.
The mattress sinks beneath my naked body, and he’s so close I can smell fresh blood on his breath.
He leans his face toward mine, his mouth inches from my lips. His voice comes out low and sharp:
“Is that it? Do you find more pleasure with another man?”
My eyes widen, confused, choking, but I can’t reply.
The king suddenly turns his head and looks toward Adam, who’s still standing in the hallway, pale as marble.
“I’m sure I can fix that.”
He rises abruptly and starts striding toward the door. My heart races, pounding so hard I feel it might explode in my chest.
“Your Majesty, no! Please!” I plead, my voice breaking.
He stops in the doorway without even looking at me and calls out:
“Guards!”
Another guard enters the room, tall, eyes cold. My legs start to tremble. The king gives the order, emotionless:
“Bring another one.”
My vision blurs with tears.
I won’t be able to endure this. I know that if he brings another man… I won’t be able to fake it, I won’t be able to do what he wants.
“There’s no need, Your Majesty. I… I want only you.”
My voice comes out shaky but firm enough to make the king pause and look back at me. He raises an eyebrow, surprised.
“Really, Sophia?” He gives a mocking half-smile. “Then prove it.”
I draw in as much air as I can, choking down my fear, and lean toward him. Before I lose my nerve, I press my lips to his in a desperate, urgent kiss.
He goes rigid for a second, but quickly smiles against my mouth, enjoying it.
While he kisses me, his hands slide down my waist, over my hips, moving toward the inside of my thigh.
I open my eyes briefly, searching for Adam.
He watches me, pale, shaking his head almost imperceptibly, as if begging me not to go through with this now.
But when the king’s hand starts moving up my leg, I know I have no other choice.
I keep kissing him, feigning passion, and slip one of my hands toward the inside of my thigh, where the special dagger is hidden, strapped beneath the nightgown still clinging partially to my body.
The cold metal of the dagger presses against my skin, jolting me back to reality.
I think of Adam’s instructions: his heart… that’s where I have to strike. But if I miss, he’ll kill me.
The king pulls back slightly to look into my eyes. He licks the blood staining the corner of his own mouth.
“You’re more obedient today, Sophia…” he murmurs in a soft tone. “But is it just fear… or are you starting to enjoy me?”
“It’s only you I want, Your Majesty.”
I lie. Every word tastes like poison on my tongue. He smiles, satisfied. He lowers his head to kiss my neck, his warm breath making me shiver. It’s my chance.
Damn it.
Tears soak my face, and I can’t hold back all the rage boiling inside me.
In a single motion, I grab the dagger and plunge it hard into his chest, exactly where Adam taught me.
His scream echoes through the room.
He stares at me wide-eyed, shocked, then slaps me so hard across the face that I crash to the floor, tasting blood in my mouth.
I look up at him, panting, and realize the dagger hasn’t gone in deep enough. Damn it. I didn’t reach his heart.
The king grips the hilt of the blade embedded in his chest and lets out a low, guttural roar.
His eyes blaze a fiery red as he begins to change. His muscles swell, his skin takes on an almost scaly texture, and his fangs grow even longer.
He glares at me with pure hatred. His voice comes out deeper, almost monstrous:
“You’re going to regret this, Sophia.”
Terror consumes me, my whole body turning ice-cold. Adam is rushing toward me, sword in hand, but the king spins to face me, fully transformed, ready to kill.
And all I can think is that maybe today is the day I die.