He pushed the boy toward me. I grabbed him by the arms and stared at him. It took all the restraint I had to not immediately rip my teeth through his throat.
“Please! No!” he screamed.
“What are you waiting for?” the vampire asked, raising an eyebrow at me.
What am I waiting for?
I gripped the back of his head and pushed the boy onto the floor, crushing my body against him to stop his violent wriggling. I lowered my head to his neck, breathing in his delicious scent. And then I drank. And drank. With each gulp I took, energy rushed through me.
Once I’d finished, I stood up and the vampire picked up the corpse from the floor.
“Satisfied?” the vampire asked me.
I nodded.
“Well. Now that you’ve finished your meal, I have matters to attend to. I trust you know your way back to your room.”
I nodded again, although I had no intention of returning to my room now. I waited until he’d disappeared before taking off in the opposite direction. I decided to head outside first and walk around the building—see if there were any other buildings attached to it that could possibly belong to the witches—as well as to gain a better perspective of the size and area of the castle.
But just before I reached the door, I stopped short. I’d just caught sight of myself in a tall mirror that hung near the entrance. Reaching a hand to my face, I squinted and moved closer to the mirror to check that I hadn’t imagined it.
I hadn’t.
Blood-red eyes gazed back at me.
My headache has vanished.
My eyes are back to red.
What is this place?
Chapter 6: Mona
“Who’s this?”
The young girl sat on a four-poster bed with a wooden board on her lap, her purple eyes gazing at me suspiciously as soon as I entered her chamber. She had the same elegant features as her mother, but the first thing about her that caught my attention was a bruise on the side of her cheek.
Mogda pushed me further into the chamber.
“This is your new servant, my lady.”
The girl frowned and pushed herself off the end of the bed, padding across the floor toward me. Mogda gripped my shoulder and pushed me down on my knees as soon as the girl approached.
“Show some respect,” Mogda hissed.
The girl reached out her hand and brushed my face with her thin fingers. Then she withdrew it and took a step back. She returned to the bed, sat down, and turned her back on me, apparently having lost interest in me already.
I looked back at Mogda for any direction as to what I should do next. She offered me no guidance, instead sitting herself down on a stool in the corner and watching me with beady eyes. I stood awkwardly, watching the little girl.
I cleared my throat.
“My name’s Mona,” I said.
She didn’t respond. She continued drawing on her board with charcoal. I dared walk round to her side of the bed and steal a look at what she was working on. It was a depiction of a large black mountain.
“Where’s your brother?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest and trying to act casually.
The little girl shrugged, not even bothering to look up from her drawing.
I looked over at Mogda again. She scowled, but still kept her lips sealed.
“What am I supposed to do?” I asked, walking over to the ogress. “Lady Elyse said that you were supposed to guide me.”
Mogda sighed. “Your job here is not to talk to the children. Your job is to stay here and take orders. If they need something, they will ask it of you. Your job is to fulfill their request, no matter what it is. Don’t ask questions. It’s not required of you. Speak only when you are spoken to. And don’t interfere with what goes on in here, whatever they get up to. No matter what you see.” She looked at me sternly. “Trust me, you’ll be better off that way.”
Her words had only made me feel more nervous, but I looked back at the ogress and nodded.
“I’m going to leave now,” Mogda said. “I have duties to attend to.”
Mogda left the room and gently closed the door behind her. I stared at the door until the sound of her plodding footsteps had disappeared.
Then I turned back to look at the girl. Since she remained seated on the bed, I went and sat in Mogda’s stool.
An hour passed in complete silence. The warmth of the room began to weigh heavily on my eyelids. I hadn’t slept properly for days. Once I rested my head on the windowsill, it didn’t take long for me to doze off.
* * *
I woke to the door crashing open. A boy sped in and ran over to the bed. I jolted upright, cursing myself beneath my breath for falling asleep on duty. The boy hadn’t noticed me at first, but when he did, he stopped short and stared at me.
“You’re our new servant?” He raised a brow as he looked at me. He looked no older than thirteen, though he was taller than me. I found his presence intimidating for such a young age.