A Dawn So Dark (Blood Bound #1)

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Aurora Artorias

A rden swept into the room, the embodiment of hell's gatekeeper. His large frame towered above the stacks of books, his striking features set in a frown as he stared me down with an annoyed intensity. It made the burn in my chest return in a white hot blaze. I wished to prove that I was more than the Princess he thought me to be. When he laid eyes on me he stopped and gestured towards the door angrily, wasting no time on formalities, “Do not make me drag you out of here, little human.” At least he used the pet name he had so graciously assigned me. I closed the book, sitting up slowly. I was still in a respectable amount of pain, everything was sore and felt like one wrong move would tear me open again. “How can I help you, General?” I asked dryly, trying to keep my tone neutral to hide how my heart hammered in my chest. I stood and moved back to the shelf, placing the book back where it belonged. “The King wants you at dinner. It is now apparently my job to fetch you when you misbehave .” The way he said the last word sent a bolt of heat down my spine and right to my core.

I shoot a glare over my shoulder, not caring for his attitude towards me. I was a burden they were choosing to keep on. While I was a political prisoner and being treated as a member of their staff, I knew the reality of the situation. I was very much being held captive. And I was not going to make it easy to confine me . “I am glad you interpreted it as such. From my point of view, you were an ass and I excused myself from the table.” Arden scoffs in amusement, marching towards me with annoyed determination, his immense size eating the space between us at a rapid pace. I braced myself as he walked me backwards into a shelf, a hand braced on the frame by the sides of my head. Heat pooled in my cheeks as he leaned close, his warm breath fanning my face, his scent invading my senses. Steel and leather. Two things I never would have dreamed would make me blush. “No. You fucked with me. Then you picked a fight with Daemon and ran off to hide.” I wanted to chuck a book at his head as he looked down at me. White hair tousled as he glared at me with a fiery heat. I was unsure as to why I had even felt the need to flirt in the first place. Though, I did enjoy his reaction. “Why does he care so much about what I do? I did not pick a fight. He was the one being absurd.”

“Just come to dinner. Please do not make me force you.” Arden moved a hand from one side of my head and slowly moved it to my throat, his coarse fingers kneading the tender flesh, earning a gasp of surprise from me. “And for the record, yes, you did pick a fight. You do not bring up a strange man's cock like that unless you want another man to react. You spoke about a stranger's cock, Daemon gave you a reaction. If you are going to play with us , mean it or you will not like the way we play.” I pressed a hand to his chest and pushed him back, or attempted to at least. He did not budge.

“Are you calling yourself the strange man or are we talking about that prick in the cavern? Is that the game we are playing?” I sneer, now trying to remove his hand from my throat. “I don't think you want me to play this particular game, Princess.” His grip tightens, pushing me completely flush to the shelves. I swallowed hard against his hold, my pulse quickening beneath his fingertips. Arden leaned, nearing my lips as if he were going to kiss me. I felt my heart hammer in my chest. I had never been kissed by anyone. He averted from the path to my lips and pressed his warm cheek to mine, his lips brushing my ear instead. His breath was warm against my skin, the heat of his hand on my throat moving upwards until it met the nape of my neck. My breath hitched as he gripped my jaw, tilting my head to expose me to him. I couldn't move. I was lost in his touch, his presence . “Oh Little Human …” he growled, a smirk growing on his lips as they brushed my bare skin. “Does the King know that you raised your skirts for me?” My skin should have melted off by now, I was utterly flushed. I swallowed hard as his thumb traced the column of my throat. He wasn't being forceful or trying to harm me. This was different. His touch moved across my skin like a delicate shadow, leaving fire in its wake. A fire that ignited in the pit of my stomach. “I-I was trying to escape. Not play . It’s not my fault you almost fell for it.” His gaze heated, leaving a trail from my collarbone as it swept up my neck to my lips. Our chests were a breath apart, one small moment and I would be pressed flush against him. “You are going to be so much fun to ruin, Princess.”

Ardens presence vanished from mine, suddenly rematerializing near the door where he entered. With an arrogant air about him, he gestured to the door “Time for dinner, Princess.”

My knees wobbled as I moved away from the shelf with a glare, taking a shaky breath in an attempt to regulate my erratic heartbeat. “Not hungry.” Lies, I was starved , but I could not get through a dinner with both him and the King, I would likely burst into flames . “It seems the King already has company for dinner.” I did not want to sit through a dinner with Daemon and that statuesque beauty from earlier.

“Oh?” He quirked a brow at me, the corner of his lip tugging up in amusement at my blatant lie.“Who?” Arden hummed. He was annoyed that I was not in agreement with him. I gave him a hard look, he knew I was going to go kicking and screaming. I would put up a fight and he knew it. Part of me wished he would pick me up and carry me. “Tall, dark hair, quite fond of the King…?”

Ardens smirk broke into deep, guttural laughter. Head tossed back, he nearly howled “Oh sweet, angry little Princess. Rage looks so pretty on you.” My cheeks flushed, ears burning in embarrassment as Arden continued to laugh. Evading my burning question all the while. He calmed enough to gesture to the door “Now that we have discovered your raging jealous tendencies, may I escort you to dinner?”

There was no way I was going to dinner now. I would be teased the entirety of the evening for feigning jealousy. I crossed my arms, tilting my head questioningly at him. Sighing, he nodded his head towards the door “I will escort you to your chambers.” I was surprised he gave in. We walked back to my room in silence, the cool tiles biting into my bare feet as we went, leaving me wishing I had grabbed my slippers when fighting with Daemon. After watching him split a table I worried that Arden might face an outburst from the King when I did not arrive for dinner. “Is it often that your King breaks tables?” I asked, breaking the silence between us. Arden chuckled dryly, a wry smile overtaking his handsome features. He appeared to be in his late twenties, but his eyes held age far beyond his looks, a pain resided there. A familiar look met me in the mirror each morning. I wondered if he had fought in the war against my father.

“I have not seen him break furniture since the last war. I imagine it is because your family tends to drive him to madness. You have a maddening presence.” Arden chuckled, but his tone felt far off, not the teasing I had heard since I arrived. “Though, you drive him mad in a far different way than Arthur did.” I fiddled with my fingers, picking at a scab on my knuckle. “I am not like him, you know.” He needed to know I was different. I wanted him to know. Especially him . “Daemon?” I shook my head, knowing I was in no way similar to his King. As we reached my door I looked up at him with a firm determination to express my seriousness on the matter. “I am nothing like Arthur. If anyone were ever to draw that comparison, I would hope someone kills me before it roots.” With that, I entered my chambers and closed the door, my heart hammering in my chest .

The next morning, Noa brought me to meetings with her. Meetings regarding their members of court, disputes between businesses, everything human kingdoms dealt with. I sat silently, absorbing their culture, their customs. I had quickly learned that I was not the only human that dwelled in the castle. In fact, Darkspire had a wealth of humans living here. It seemed that those who had not supported my father during the war had fled here and Daemon had offered them safe haven twenty years ago. Another lie Merlin had told. He claimed that Vampires were too feral to be in the presence of a human without ripping them to ribbons.

It also seemed that Daemon had been avoiding me. I saw Arden on occasion, though it was typically in passing with a flirtatious wink or a sultry innuendo as we passed in the hall.

Noa had shown me the inner workings of the castle and humans' place in their society after I had badgered her over the span of three breakfasts on the placement of the cushioned chaise in the nook. “Vampires feed from humans to survive. Your blood fuels our immortality. The goddesses blessed human blood to sustain us. That is where we differ from the Strays you encountered. They could not control their hunger and they let it control them, therefore losing that part of us that makes us kin to humans, the part of us that exists beyond that primal hunger, the desire to feed until we no longer can. That chaise is where breakfast is usually served, typically one of the maids or ladies of court will take care of Arden and Daemons needs. I prefer a chilled glass of blood in the morning while the men prefer it… fresh. I imagine they have not done it around you so as not to give you a fright.” Noa leafed through papers, signing several with a flourish as if she had not just shared something I could barely comprehend. I set down my tea, looking to the wineglass sitting aside her breakfast plate in interest. Indeed, it was not wine. It was thicker, darker, Blood . Had either of them wanted to… drink from me? What did it look like? What did it feel like? I assumed they had fangs similar to that of which I had seen on the Strays. Did it hurt when they… bit? My cheeks flushed when Noa chuckled, gathering what my thoughts were. “It is a rather …. Intimate experience… ”

Intimate ? I swallowed, heat flushing my cheeks as I tried to ignore the thoughts of how Arden or Daemon would… feed from me and changed the subject. “Do you usually handle all of this for the King?” Noa nods, rifling through more papers “Yes. Most of these are trading agreements or correspondence from our mountain or oceanside cities. Just you wait, I will have you well versed in all of this. Arden tried to get me to do his inventory reports but I burned them.” I chuckled, finding her disapproval for nonsense amusing.

“Do you think I could have a permanent place here?” I asked, absentmindedly stirring my tea as I looked out the window at the vast city below. People bustled about, joyful, busy, with purpose. My heart felt as if someone had squeezed it too tightly. The people of Camelot suffered while the members of court thrived. I lived just as they did, I knew how my father neglected his people. What Darkspire had… the connection between its people and their King, it made me ache. Camelot deserved that. And I prayed that I would one day kill my father and take his throne to attempt to give them that. “While they have been pussies all week and hi ding from you in an attempt to let you adjust while not pissing you off, they like you. They would never say it, but they both do.” An emotion I could not decipher crossed her features for a brief moment before she regained her composure.

I flushed yet again, clearing my throat before changing the subject and asking about the mountain city that I had heard the guards discuss.