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Chapter 8

Yornie walked towards me, kneeling down as he placed a hand on my shoulder. “I’m sure that the king will see reason. He has been known to show kindness in the past, so long as you show respect you should be fine.”

“Where are we?” I asked, hoping that there would be a window somewhere in this place, I wanted to see the sky one last time before I... before I died.

“We are under New York.”

“Wait...” I gasped. “Under as in?”

“We are underground. It is the safest city we own; no human knows it is here, not even the slaves know where they are.”

“Slaves?”

“Yes, each of us has a human or two to serve us, do not threat though, their life of everything before has been wiped. They know nothing of the surface; and they never will.”

“That’s cruel. How could you?” I snapped, furious with myself for thinking they were anything other than monsters.

“We are eternal. You are not. We have a right to you as the dominant species.” He snarled, his hand closing around my shoulder. “You don’t have to understand; you just have to accept it.”

“Is this where all the missing people disappear to?” I asked bravely, ignoring the pain that shot through my shoulder.

“Yes. As well as other cities we have around the world.”

“Are they all under the ground?”

“Yes.”

I opened my mouth to protest once more, yet; the words froze in my throat as a knock sounded at the door, a voice soon following. “Master? May I enter?”

Yornie rose to his feet, quickly gliding towards the door as I sat grounded to the spot, too terrified to move. Had the king made his decision? Would I be dead soon? I was too young to die, my seventeenth birthday was just around the corner, a few days away. Couldn’t they allow me a dying wish? Could I go back to bury my sister’s body? The vampire pulled open the door with a strength I had only seen from their kind, revealing a small woman, her hair the shade of amber, and her eyes a deep hazel. She peeked around him to get a glance at me, though when he snapped his fingers she jumped and lowered her eyes. Was she his slave? Did they treat them so cruelly?

I supposed it was none of my business, considering I could either become one of them, or be dead within the next hour, but I couldn't help the words that slipped from my lips. “Don’t snap your fingers at her! She is a person, not an animal like you.”

Yornie turned back to look at me as the small woman gasped, showing his true colours once more as he snarled; baring his razor-like fangs. “How dare you interfere! This is none of your concern!”

“Does she even know she had a life before this, that you took everything from her!” I screamed as loud as I could, watching as the girl's face dropped, her hazel eyes alight with horror.

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“They wiped your memory, to use you as a obedient slave. You had a life before this, a family who probably mourned your disappearance.” I explained hurriedly, not know how long I would have before Yornie stopped me.

“That is enough!” He yelled, snapping the girl's neck with one hand; her corpse crashing into the ground.

I gasped, my hands shooting towards my mouth as I bit back a scream, unable to grasp what had just happened. I stumbled back, crashing into the bed as tears spilled from my eyes. My heart beating in reckless motions within my chest. He had killed her, and now he was looking directly at me, his musky eyes raging with a fury I had never seen before seen. Not from anyone. What had I done? It was all my fault. I had caused him to kill that girl.

He stormed towards me as I cowered back, what was I thinking? I couldn’t fight him, I wasn’t nearly halfway as strong as a vampire, nor was anyone else that I knew. My sister had died by their hands, and now I would meet the same fate. What could I do? How could I stop him? I was no one, just a mere mortal with no strength.

“How dare you, I should kill you right now.” He growled deeply, ripping me from the ground by my throat.

I coughed, choking on my own breath as tears fell from my eyes, my legs dangling a foot from the ground. “Please...” I managed to say, my voice croaky and soft.

Yornie dropped me after what seemed like an eternity, my petite form crashing into the ground with a thud as I coughed and choked with each breath that I attempted to take. I crawled back on the ground, utterly terror-stricken. Was he taunting me? Would he wait until I let my guard down and then dispose of me as he did that innocent girl?

He growled again, though this time I could tell he was calmer. “Consider that a warning, I don’t take kindly to what you just did.”

“You killed her.” I whispered, unsure how I would cope with the guilt.

“Yes, because you told her she had a life beyond this. That would have ... complicated things.”

“I don’t understand, why kill her? Why couldn’t you just let her go?”

“She wouldn’t have coped in the outside world; she has been my slave since she was ten.”

“Where did you take her from?”

“That is none of your concern.”

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