The mess didn't bother me. I try to soothe the child in my arms, and I could feel the burning stare on me from the prince.
The prince looks down at me with a curious tilt of his head. "The child won't live very much longer; you might as well throw him away. He's useless."
I raised my head with a furious gaze at him, and I held onto my tongue to keep from cursing at him. I bit my lower lip and responded as calmly as I could, "If he's fated to die, then I'll accompany him by his side."
Not if I have anything to do with it. I vowed.
The prince shakes his head like I was being unreasonable, and he turns away, his voice lingering in the air like smoke. "Bring him to my room."
The vampires began to crowd around me, but they didn't lunge for me like before, and I rose to my feet with the trembling child in my arms.
My breath emanated cold smoke from the chilly air, and I was led to a room in a beautiful hotel, bright lights shining like candles flickering above me. I was pushed into a room alone with the prince before other vampires left with smug looks in my direction, certain I was going to die.
I turned around, and the room itself made me uncomfortable. The room was oozing with opulence and extravagance. The bed itself was covered in scarlet silks, the walls painted in a light blue, and the carpet a soft sensation of fur under my toes.
I felt small and insignificant. None of that matters. I forced myself to think about the child in my arms. He needs a doctor badly.
I turned when I felt the burning stare of the prince, and his ardent gaze watched me with keen eyes. I felt my body burning from him, and I asked with a tinge of wariness, "My prince?"
The prince watches me with a sharp gaze akin to a hawk, and he says in a low voice, "Where are you from?"
I felt myself becoming tense from his questions. My hands around the child tightened slightly, and I wondered what he wanted from me. My mind spun wildly, and I forced myself to take a breath.
I didn't have much to hide, so I answered honestly, "I'm from a small village called Serenity Springs."
He lifted his brow with interest and asked, "Hmm. A simple village known for peace was destroyed by the feral vampires six years ago. I heard how many people died in the process, so how did you, as a young child, survive?"
My heart was heavy, and I didn't want to talk anymore. They carried painful memories for me, and I wanted to move on to another topic. But I had to answer the prince, so I said in a fake nonchalant tone, "My father was a simple warrior before he was retired. He used to fight for the throne and carries experiences about vampires, including feral ones."
I shake my head, and I explain, "I was only fourteen years old, so I don't know how he knew, but I remember him telling me to run and never look back."
My words felt raw from my heart, and I could feel myself tremble with rage clawing through me, and I wanted to hurt someone badly. Without warning, the child in my arms had whimpered, and I glanced down apologetically.
I rubbed his little back, and I hoped the little boy could see in my eyes that I was sorry.
My eyes turned cold, and I remembered the screams and the sounds of flesh being ripped apart by the feral vampires running for each person alive, and terror had gripped me in that moment, and it pushed me to run faster than I ever did in my entire life.
The prince looked at me with faint interest. But there was no empathy in it. More like a ruby gemstone. Cold and indifferent about my pain.
He said with a low voice, "You can sleep in the corner on the floor."
He threw a scarlet blanket to me, which fell on the floor, and he said in a low, deadly voice, "If you run, know I'll catch you."
He was giving me a warning. I almost felt like my plans were seen through. My heart skipped a beat like a guilty person. I nodded when I looked him in the eye.
I lay down on the hard, cold floor against the door. The night covered us like a blanket, and I looked in the prince's direction, and I saw his red glowing eyes in the night like wolves.
I found myself gripped by intrigue. Was he planning to sleep with the golden mask on? What lies behind his face?
I was startled when the prince turned to me with his red eyes, and he said with a faint, amused voice, "How long are you going to watch me?"
I almost felt ashamed, and I turned away, my back facing him, and I said with a moment of embarrassment, "I wasn't looking at you."
I closed my eyes, and my arms wrapped around the child, and I waited a long time. My chest beats a little more quickly, and I pray for the prince to fall asleep quickly.
I waited and waited until the darkness completely covered the room, and the bright moon shone through the windows. I turned to the prince and saw his golden mask, but his eyes were closed.
I carefully navigated to my feet with the child in my arms. I stared at the prince with wary eyes. If the child wasn't with me, I would use this moment to stab him. To kill him to take revenge.
My mind flashes back to the moment when I watched my best friend die before me.
I slowly crept to the door and turned the knob. I looked back, and the prince was sleeping like a mysterious fallen angel with a golden mask and silver hair. But I knew what lurks under his skin. A monster.
Then I took the moment to escape with my heart racing.
Unaware that the monster behind me had opened his red eyes, watching me.