Chapter 10: Vampire
The first thing Alden noticed when he woke up was the stiffness in his shoulders.
The second thing was the sound.
Clink!
He tested his wrists. Metal behind the chair. It was tight enough that shifting gave him nothing.
He looked up.
Seris sat across from him with a teacup in one hand.
Alden exhaled through his nose.
"Mind telling me why you kidnapped me?"
Seris set the teacup down on its saucer with a soft clink. She rose from her seat and crossed the room toward him.
She stopped in front of him.
"Straight to business." Her crimson eyes looked down at him with mild disapproval. "Not even a greeting first? I was expecting at least a hel—"
"Hello," Alden said. "Why did you kidnap me?"
Most students at Astral Academy, when faced with Seris at close range, had a specific response pattern. Flustered. Staring. Unable to maintain a thought. She’d catalogued the variations over the months she’d been here.
Alden was looking at her completely differently. He was normal. It was like nothing was affecting him at all. He just looked at her with calm eyes.
She leaned down until the distance between them was no longer comfortable by any normal measure.
Her fingers brushed lightly across his cheek, then traced along his jaw before tilting his chin up with one finger.
"Most people spend the first few moments trying to impress me." Her voice dropped, unhurried and precise. "You asked about the kidnapping."
When she pulled his chin up, he noticed a golden shine on her finger. A ring was on her finger. He smiled.
"Well, well... I doubt the Crown Prince would appreciate seeing his fiancée standing this close to another man."
"Mm... Answering something completely unrelated to my question." She studied him from that distance, head tilted slightly. "Should I take that as confidence or foolishness?"
Alden laughed.
Not a nervous laugh. A genuine chuckle that came like this was actually funny.
Seris blinked. That was new.
"Did I accidentally say something amusing?" One brow rose a fraction. "Or are you simply a strange person?"
The laugh settled into a grin. He looked up at her with complete calm.
"Neither," he said. "I was just wondering how long you planned to keep up the performance, Lady Vampire."
The room went quiet.
Her hand left his chin. The amusement didn’t disappear, but something shifted beneath it, something that paid more attention.
"...Vampire." She repeated it without inflection. "That’s a bold word to say to someone holding all the cards in this room."
"You stopped holding my chin," Alden said. "So we’re making progress."
She looked at him for a long moment.
Then she stepped back, walking a slow circuit around his chair.
"You know what I am," she said. Not a question.
"I know what you are. I know why the Ravenveil family sent you here." He watched her move without turning his head.
"You are an Observer. You chose to gather information before the next secret war planned by vampires. You were positioned inside Astral Academy. Your job is to study humanity’s future strongest fighters before they become a problem."
The heels stopped.
She came around to face him again and the expression she wore was no longer the one she used for ordinary people.
"My." Her voice had gone quieter. "You are full of surprises."
She settled one hand against the armrest of his chair, leaning slightly, looking down at him with the composed authority.
"Let’s be clear about something." Her tone stayed warm. She just became more precise.
"You are tied to a chair in the dark. No one knows where you are. No one is coming to save you." A brief pause. "I could drain every drop of blood from your body right now and leave you somewhere in the forest. Given your current reputation at this academy, I doubt they’d investigate seriously. They’d assume you finally ran away."
Alden looked up at her.
"But you won’t."
"Oh? And why are you so certain?"
"If you wanted me dead, I would have died before I woke up." He tilted his head as much as the restraints allowed. "You kidnapped me. You tied me up. You’ve been talking to me instead of drinking my blood. Which means keeping me alive has a purpose."
A quiet fell over the room.
Then Seris laughed.
"You talk like you know me very well."
’Because I created you,’ Alden thought.
She moved closer, one knee coming to rest against the chair between his legs, her forearm bracing lightly against the back of it. Her white hair fell forward slightly. She leaned close enough that he had nowhere to look but into her crimson eyes. The distance between them collapsed entirely.
"Too calm," A finger lifted his chin again. "You’ve caught my interest, Alden."
She held his gaze without releasing it.
"I won’t kill you. Not because I can’t. Because you’re worth far more to me alive." The finger withdrew. "From today, you’re going to do things for me."
"I’m not doing anything," Alden said pleasantly.
"So stubborn." She didn’t sound offended. "I like that."
She stepped back, moving away from the chair unhurried and picked her teacup back up.
"Who said I expected anything for free?"
Alden raised an eyebrow.
"Every arrangement should benefit both sides." She looked at him over the rim of the cup. "You help me, I help you. Simple."
"Very generous," he said, "from someone who currently has me in chains."
Her lips curved.
"Pardon my bad manners."
She set the cup down and walked back over. She reached behind the chair and the chains came loose with a quiet click.
Alden rolled his wrists slowly. The circulation came back in small needles across his palms.
Seris moved to stand in front of him, a few steps back this time, arms folded loosely beneath her chest, looking down at him.
"So." She tilted her head as her white hair fell from her shoulder. "Tell me what you want."