Chapter 20

Rhea pov

It’s strange, seeing the vampire king so docile, almost kind, it isn’t like him, not at all. Why the sudden change of heart? Something must have happened whilst I was unconscious, or perhaps it started before I was attacked. I can’t be sure. But as much as I pretend otherwise, something is calling me to him, something beyond my realm of understanding.

I don’t know what this new feeling means, I don’t even know what to call it, all I know is that I’m not entirely sure that I hate him anymore. I want to, by the moon goddess's wrath, I really fucking want to. But I don’t.

Rayan looks almost torn when he looks back at me from the doorway, he wants to say something else to Gabriel, but he doesn’t. He leaves to carry out the task he was ordered to without a single glance at me. He hates me. It doesn’t take a genius to realise that.

But will he act upon that hatred? I can’t be sure. Vampires are tricky creatures, I never know what they are thinking. Though perhaps that is a good thing.

“Rhea.” Gabriel says, his brows drawn together, “are you ok? I’ve been calling your name.”

I give my head a quick shake, “I’m not sure.” I answer honestly, “I suddenly feel like everyone here is my enemy.”

Gabriel’s eyes harden, “the people here know better than to harm what is mine.” He growls.

I bite my tongue, wanting to scream that I belong to no one, especially not him. But I don’t.

That’s a dangerous game that I have better sense than to play alone, I have seen what happens when I defy him, and I don’t want to go back to that dark cell.

I don’t have much in the way of freedom. But anything in better than being chained in a damp cell for the rest of my life.

And besides, with a little time perhaps I could gain the kings trust and gain more freedom to roam around as I wish.

I’ll never be free, not in the way that I once dreamed, but that doesn’t mean it has to be all bad. Right? I can work to find my own happiness here. It’ll just take time.

“I’m not worried about being attacked, not really.” I murmur, staring down at my plate, “but I worry that when they do, I won’t be able to defend myself efficiently.”

“What do you suggest?” He asks, watching me carefully.

“Perhaps you could get another shifter to train me?” I ask, almost hopeful, “I waited my whole life for my wolf to come, and now I don’t know how to use her. Not properly.”

He rubs his chin, thinking, and after a moment, a very tense moment, he nods. “I think I can arrange something like that for you.” He finally says, “but I want something in return.”

My heart sinks right down into my stomach, “what?” I ask.

“I want you to give us a chance, a real chance, just like you would a mate.” He looks at me and I see something in his eyes, something I know very well.

Hope.

Does he really want it to work between us? Why?

Perhaps one day he will give me an honest answer to all of my questions but today is not that day.

He is extending an olive branch. I should accept. I want to.

But my heart beats so hard it may explode from my chest, could I really make that promise?

Can I give the devil a chance to win my heart?

I bite my lip as I nod, “alright then, I think I can do that.”

It’s not a lie, not really. Not when I want to try so badly, not just for him, but for my own sanity.

He smiles, and for a single second, my breath catches, he really is something else when he smiles. He looks almost normal; someone I would have happily swooned over back home.

But Gabriel isn’t a shifter, he’s a vampire, and my life is but a brief glance at eternity whilst his will live on long after I have gone.

I will grow old, he will not.

I will lose my beauty, he will stay the same.

What sort of future do we really have?

Gabriel glances down at my plate, “are you finished?” He asks softly.

I stare at the food, I know I should eat more, but every bite turns to ash on my tongue. I just don’t have the appetite for it.

I nod, forcing a small smile, “sorry, I’m full.”

“I would like you to eat more.” He admits slowly, “but I understand why you aren’t, and it’s ok. You can try again later.”

I almost thank him for his understanding, almost.

“How about a walk in the garden? Do you feel up for it?” He asks when I’m silent for a long time, his eyes gleaming with the same hope I saw before.

How could I say no when he looks at me like that?

“Alright.” I nod, carefully hiding the pain I feel under my skin, “but I’ll need to change, I can’t go out in the snow in just a night dress.”

Fresh air will do me some good, I can’t remember the last time I saw the open sky.

“I’ll carry you back to your room, so that you can change.” He says, rising from his chair and carefully lifting me into his arms, “you’ll like the gardens, they’re beautiful at this time of year.”

Wouldn’t they be more beautiful in the spring? Everything back home was so colourful once the snow had gone.

Perhaps it is different here, I should give it a chance.

I always hated the cold, but Gabriel lives on the top of a mountain, it’ll always be cold. Will I grow used to it? Will I become as cold and silent as the stone walls around me?

“Do you have a phone?” I ask as he walks back through the castle. “I’d like to phone my brothers.”

Gabriel glances down at me, “I have one, but I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to use it.” He says coldly, “not until I know that I can trust you.”

Of course, I should have known better not the ask.

I’m a prisoner after all, not a guest.

I will never be his equal.