Bound By Blood

+Three+

Aleksander's POV:

I made no effort to hide the dark circles beneath my eyes. A king didn't need to make himself look presentable for other people.

As I strode through the corridor leading to the dining hall, I noticed servants whispering, glancing at me before quickly returning to work. I didn't care. There were far worse things they could be whispering about - such as the big family secret that Eva's very presence in the Central Kingdom threatened to reveal.

I had stayed up all night trying to figure out what had motivated her to return home, but to no avail. The deal we had made when the war ended was binding - an oath sealed in our own blood. Eva's morals were too strong to break such a promise... weren't they? It had been so long... there was a high chance that the young girl from my memories - the girl with a heart of gold - was gone.

When I entered the dining hall, all eyes turned to me, vampire and human alike. I scanned the room - full of nobles who lived in the castle and their human pets - and finally found her. Eva sat next to another young woman, who I presumed was her fiance, Bianca Le Rouge of the East. Eva had her head in her hands and looked like she was getting the full force of a hangover. I smiled faintly, remembering that my troublemaking sister never had taken it easy on the blood, even in our younger years.

I went to join them, as they were seated at the royals table and that was where I usually sat anyway. I chose a chair directly opposite Eva. She didn't look up at me, so I gently tapped her on the head.

"Hey," I said.

"Alex," she replied, raising her head and smiling.

"A bit too much to drink last night huh?"

"Maybe a little too much," she admitted. The woman next to her extended a hand towards me.

"Bianca Le Rouge," she said, confirming what I'd already pretty much known. "I'm honoured to meet you, Your Highness."

"And I am honoured to meet you. Anyone who's captured my little sister's heart deserves my congratulations - she can be quite picky sometimes," I replied smoothly, accepting the handshake.

"Seven minutes!" Eva grumbled. "I'm only younger by seven minutes!"

I grinned at her. "That was seven minutes of heaven before you were born."

She scowled at me and I laughed, surprising myself and everyone in earshot. I hadn't truly laughed since... well, since Eva left. My laughter died immediately, however, when my problems came rushing back into my mind. I cleared my throat.

"Uh... Eva?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are you back? I thought you and Bianca were going to stay East. You said the wedding was going to take place there."

"It was, but we decided it would be better to have it here, overseen by King Aleksander himself," she explained, saying the last part in a teasingly mocking way.

"I suggested we send word ahead of time, but Eva wanted to surprise you," Bianca added. "It really would be good to have it here, where it could be publicly seen that you approve. Some aren't very... accepting," she continued, her expression darkening. "The blessing of the king of the world might help with that, though."

"Right, of course," I said. A movement to the left of Bianca caught my eye. Three humans stood there, connected to their mistress's wrist by chains. One was the boy I'd seen with Eva the previous night, but the other two were unfamiliar. I felt hatred boiling up inside me but kept my face neutral.

"You have pets?" I asked, turning to Bianca.

"Oh, yes. We had Peter before-" she gestured to the boy. "-But I got the girls yesterday. That's Elle and that's Olivia." She pointed at each in turn.

I had a brief memory of yesterday, a woman breaking away from the group and choosing a pet, some sort of incident with another one talking back. I had watched with vague interest, but it had slipped my mind, like events in the cells always did after an hour or so. In the dark, I hadn't seen enough of Bianca to recognise her when we met, but I suppose I could see the resemblance now.

"I see," I said, and I silently scolded myself for how rough my voice had sounded. "They are..." I searched for something to say.

"Alex hates humans," Eva cut in. Great.

"Don't we all?" Bianca said.

"Yes, but like, he really hates them. With everything he has. If he could snap his fingers and brutally murder every one, he would do it without a second thought. The only thing that stopped him from doing it himself when the war was over was my voice of reason."

Bianca shot me a look I couldn't interpret. I folded my arms, refusing to show any emotion other than indifference.

A servant arrived with a tall glass of blood and I accepted it gratefully. I downed half of it in one gulp and sighed in contentment. It was A-negative, finally a blood type worthy of my status.

"Actually, I could use a drink too," Bianca said. She grabbed the arm of one of the human girls - I think it was the one she'd called Olivia - and pulled her up onto her knee like a child. The girl was so small in comparison to a vampire that she might as well have been, though her actual age must have been at least fifteen. Bianca swiftly brushed Olivia's hair aside and sank her fangs into the exposed skin on the human's neck. Olivia's eyes went wide and she let out a small shriek of pain. I smiled slightly, finding it enjoyable to watch. The human twisted, trying to free herself but Bianca held her tight.

The vampire extracted her fangs from the human and wiped a finger across her lips. It came away red. She released Olivia, who jumped away immediately, sobbing. She ran to the other girl, who embraced her tightly, whispering something soothing in Olivia's ear.

Pathetic creatures, I thought, watching them in distaste.

"A-negative," Bianca said, eyes shining. I raised my eyebrows.

"Nice," I said.

"She was squirming so much," Eva said, and maybe I imagined it, but I thought there was a hint of pity in her eyes. "You'd have thought she'd never been bitten before."

"She probably hasn't. Most humans we sell have never had owners," I said. Eva didn't reply.

"Well, in that case" Bianca said, standing up. "I think I'll have breakfast delivered to my room. I have to explain a few things to my new pets."

She kissed Eva's cheek and strode from the room. Eva was staring into space, thoughts elsewhere.

"Eva," I said, my voice low. She looked at me.

"What's with the serious tone?"

"You remember our deal, right?" I whispered. Something flickered in her eyes. Annoyance?

"Of course," she said coolly. I sensed that she had just ended the topic there.

Fine, I thought. Keep putting it off. But we'll have to discuss it eventually, because if we don't, I guess I just can't trust you.