"You are basically keeping me in a cage…" Lilian's voice trailed off, her throat tight with a rising sob. Her eyes already welled up with tears, making her vision blurred.
Adrian knelt before her, his voice still calm and gentle. "We are keeping you alive. The vampire world is dangerous. There are rules, politics, and power struggle you don't understand yet. That rogue who attacked you is just one of many who would see you as prey. As their food. To them, you're just a snack with a heartbeat."
"Now you rest," Adrian said as he stood up slowly. "When you're ready, one of us will explain everything about our world, about what that bite means. Also, about your options."
"Do I even have options?" Lilian asked, the light in her eyes came back a little.
"Of course you do. But for now, eat something, please. Your body needs strength. The food isn't drugged or poisoned, I promise. We don't need tricks like that to keep you here," he said with a smile.
She looked at the tray he had set down. The scrambled eggs, toast cut into triangles, and fresh fruit arranged in color. There was a coffee in delicate porcelain as well.
Then her stomach growled traitorously, and she hated it. She was terrified of the man before her and everything happening to her, but her body was still demanding to be fed.
"I'll check on you in a few hours," Adrian said, moving toward the door. "If you need anything before then, just call out. One of us will hear you. Vampire hearing is quite good."
Then he was gone with a soft click when the door closed, leaving Lilian alone with her fear and tray of food she had no appetite for, despite her hunger. She felt like a bird trapped in a gilded cage, with those vampires as her owner.
She stayed sitting on the floor for a long time, staring at the closed door, her thoughts looping through the impossibilities of her new life. Becoming a vampire. Being hunted by an army of them. Locked inside a mansion with three vampire princes who claimed they were protecting her.
This could not be how her life was supposed to go. None of this felt like it was actually happening, but as she touched the bandage on her neck, it reminded her that all of these were real.
Lilian forced herself to stand up, her gaze locked on to the door Adrian had left through. She remembered hearing the clock of it closing, but her mind replayed the sound over and over and realized no sound of a lock turning.
Either they were being stupid, or they didn't think she was brave enough to run away.
Slowly, Lilian walked to the door and placed her hand on the handle. She turned it, and it moved easily.
Her heart started beating fast. This was her chance, maybe the only one she had ever got.
She opened the door just a little bit to peer outside into the hallway. The space was empty in both directions, lined with paintings and furniture. No guards were there, also those vampires were nowhere to be seen.
They really didn't think she would try to escape. Idiots.
Lilian slipped into the hallway, moving as quietly as possible in her bare feet. The marble floor was cold beneath her feet, but she didn't care. She chose a direction without thinking and moved quickly, staying close to the wall so she wouldn't be seen if someone turned a corner.
Every door she passed was closed, and every corridor looked almost the same. The mansion felt endless, like a maza of luxury items built to confuse and trap.
But she had to find the way out. She had to leave before they noticed she was gone.
Then the hallway opened into the big grand foyer with giant front doors right across the room. Finally.
Lilian broke into a run across the floor, her bare feet making loud slapping sounds on the stone. She grabbed the door handle and pulled with all her strength, but it wouldn't open.
She tried again, yanking harder. Then harder again. The door didn't budge an inch.
"It has an automatic lock," a voice said calmly behind her. "Did you really think we'd leave the front door open? That's a total joke."
Lilian spun around instantly with her back against the door, to find the red-haired vampire standing in the bottom of the grand staircase with his arms crossed. He looked bored, as if her attempt to escape was a minor annoyance.
"The windows are reinforced too, in case you were thinking about breaking it next," he said in a casual and mocking way. "And the whole ground is monitored. Even if you somehow got outside, you wouldn't get past the trees before we caught you."
"Just let me go," Lilan said sharply, even though her voice trembled.
"No," he answered flatly.
"I'd rather die out there than turn into a monster here!" she cried, her anger finally overcoming her terror for a split second.
"Then you'll get your wish," another voice said.
The black-haired man she remembered being called Dante last night appeared from a side hallway. He looked really like he truly was with his unnatural pale skin. A vampire.
"You will die if you leave this estate," he said while his dark eyes stared at her intently. "Within hours, maybe less. The rogue vampires are hunting you right now, and your scent is basically a beacon to them."
"I don't believe a word you say," Lilian said, backing away from both of them until her back hit the locked door. "You just want to keep me here until I turn, then you'll have another vampire to control or~ or feed on~or ~whatever sick plan you have!!"
The red-haired face turned angry. "We don't need sick plans. If we wanted you dead or turned, we would have left you in that alley and let the rogue finish the job. We saved your life. You could at least show some damn gratitude!"
"Gratitude?" Lilian's voice rose. "You're keeping me prisoner! Telling me I'm turning into a monster. How exactly am I supposed to be grateful for that?!!"
"Lucien," Dante called sharply, and the red-haired one seemed to hold back his anger.
Dante looked at Lilian, speaking more softly and persuasively low. "You're not a prisoner. You are being protected. There is a big difference."
"That's the same thing to me!"
Dante walked closer very slowly, stopping a few feet away when he saw her get tense. "I know you're terrified. I know this feels like a nightmare. But running away will only end one way. You'll either die… or be fully turned by a rogue who won't teach you control."
He narrowed his eyes slightly. "You'll wake up as a newborn and slaughter everyone you love before we can even stop you."
The image of his words made Lilian feel physically sick.
She looked down at her body, feeling utterly helpless. "How long?" she asked, her voice sounding much smaller now as the fight draining out of her. "How long until the transformation starts?"
"It varies for everyone," Dante answered patiently. "Usually three to five days after the first bite. You might experience fever first, as your body fights the venom. Then the real change begins, the dying and rebuilding part."
She had maybe four days left as a human, and to find a way out of this nightmare.
"I want proof," Lilian said suddenly in a new resolve. "Proof that you're not lying. Show me that vampires are really hunting me. Show me something that proves you're not just lying to keep me locked up here."
Lucien and Dante exchanged glances for a short time.
"Fine," Dante said finally. "Come with us."