Trigger warnings: Non-consent, abduction, public humiliation, death, blood and blood drinking (I mean...they're vampires), degradation, and sexual harassment (including not between MCs)

Note: This story, including all names and people, is entirely fictional and not based on any real life experiences or events.

If you like this story and want to read more, you can find a list of all my stories here!💜 You can also find a list of the parts of this story whenever they are published.🥰

---

Naturally, the restarted discussions don’t go very well, and I think I know why.

It’s me.

Ian and Max don’t want to leave without me in tow, and Sebastian doesn’t want to let me go no matter what they suggest. It’s clear they haven’t been given much to offer the vampires, either. You’d think my own mother would send hundreds of chests of gold in exchange for my safe return, but apparently not.

And so the negotiations break down. Ian, the calmer of the two, suddenly blurts out a horrific insult against Sebastian. In a flurry of shouts and drawn swords, and still with Sebastian inside me, a fight nearly breaks out, but Derrick manages to calm everyone down.

The diplomats are about to leave, but just as they do, Max makes a big show of walking up the dais to bow. Everyone watches him wearily, me most of all, since, you know, I’m still sitting on Sebastian’s hard length.

“We most sincerely apologise for our rude behaviour,” Max says, bowed at the waist. He’s so close to me I can feel his breath fanning my face. “If you permit it, Your Majesty, we wish to resume negotiations tomorrow.”

I frown, but just as Sebastian begins speaking, Max opens his mouth again. Only this time, he whispers only loud enough for me to hear it. “Meet us in the courtyard in the east wing.”

No one but me notices, and a cold sweat breaks out across my skin. I have no idea where the courtyard is, but if Max wants me to meet them there, then I have to find it.

I must.

“You may return to your mistress,” Sebastian finishes behind me. “Tell her we’re keeping her daughter, and that if she wants to avoid war, she’ll send some better diplomats next time.”

Max stands, eyeing me before he nods to Sebastian. The strangeness of his sudden respect for the king isn’t lost on anyone, and so they all look at him like he’s grown a second head as he begins backing away.

“Go now,” Morrigan says, shooing them away with her hand.

Two guards follow them, escorting them out of the room, and I’m finally hoisted off of Sebastian’s lap, cringing as I feel his come running down my thighs.

But I can barely focus on that. I instead look at the large doors where Max and Ian left through. Adam, if he’s to be trusted, is going to help me escape, but who knows when that’ll be?

No, if I want to escape, then I know it has to be with two men I can wholeheartedly trust. And gods know I might never have a chance like this again.

Now I just have to find that courtyard.

---

When we get back to Sebastian’s room, he doesn’t stay long. He hurriedly grabs a few papers strewn about on his desk, kisses me deeply like a lover about to go to war, then quickly leaves the room.

I don’t waste any time. Well, I first make sure to throw on some underwear, but then I begin looking for a way out of here. I have no idea where this courtyard is supposed to be, but I figure a good place to start is to get out of this damn room.

I glance outside the window, stomach dropping at the sheer distance between me and the ground below. The castle is gigantic, and I can barely see the tiny-looking people wandering about below. I guess Sebastian and his friends don’t mind the size, considering they can just fly whenever they need to.

I discard the thought and look for a way to open the window regardless. It pops open with minimal effort, surprising me, and I lean outside to formulate some form of plan.

I’m surprised when I see a tiny balcony a little off to the right. It’s so close I’m sure I can make it there with some effort, and a long enough coil of rope, which I incidentally don’t have.

I mean…I guess I have some bedsheets?

I must be stupid, or just really, really desperate, because I immediately rush to the bed and begin ripping the bedsheets off. I tie them together, turning them into a long rope, then hurry into the bathroom to grab towels. I spend a few minutes looking for anything else that can be tied to the rope to lengthen it, and finally, I think I have enough to make it down.

I doubt I’ll make it down to the balcony without getting spotted, but if I am, I’ll just have to hope I can make it to Ian and Max before I get caught. I imagine the courtyard will be partially hidden, considering that’s where they want to meet with me, so I hurry up to give myself enough time to find it, tying the rope to one of the legs of the large bed.

Heaving the makeshift rope over my shoulder, I make my way to the window. I’m just about to toss it over when the door suddenly swings open.

My heart drops, but when I turn around, I find Adam hurrying inside, shutting the door behind him. “Adam?” I ask, surprised.

“Shh!” he hisses. “We don’t have much time. Sebastian is finishing up some business with Morgan, then he’ll be on his way here. Come on.” He waves for me to come to him next to the bedroom door.

“I was just—”

My heart does a little flip when he smiles at me. “Were you about to jump out the window like a princess trapped in a tower?” He laughs, but his face quickly fades back into a serious expression. “Come on. You spoke with Ian and Max, I presume?” I nod. “So did I. I know where to go, now follow me, and keep your head down.”

I look at him, eyes widening as his words register. “You found them?” I ask. “But I thought you said you had a plan.”

“I did. Things changed once they arrived. Now for the last time, we don’t have a lot of time, princess.” He reaches a hand out to me again, and I get my act together and hurry out the door after him once he opens it.

“Stay close,” he mutters, placing a soft hand at the small of my back. There are guards everywhere, lining the walls and wandering the halls, so I do as I’m told and stay close to Adam’s side.

The guards eye me wearily, especially when we get to the top of the staircase leading downstairs. There’re two guards standing on either side of the entrance, confusion etching a line between their brows.

“What’s this?” one of them asks, eyeing me.

Adam doesn’t miss a beat. “His Majesty asked that the princess be brought to him.”

“He did?” the other asks. He looks between me and Adam, and I squirm a little under his gaze. But let’s be honest, me being terrified is probably helping convince the guards that this isn’t a ruse.

“Indeed,” Adam continues. “Wouldn’t say why, but I’m not about to question our king.” The unspoken threat doesn’t go unnoticed by either guard.

“Very well.” He finally lets us pass, and I breathe a small sigh of relief.

“Where are we going?” I ask once we make it downstairs and to a more isolated hallway.

Adam doesn’t even look over his shoulder to answer as he hurriedly pulls me along. “To an old, sealed up passageway. It leads to the courtyard, and there we’ll meet up with Ian and Max. They have horses that we can ride to the nearest town, and we’ll regroup and recuperate there before we begin moving south.”

“Gods,” I mutter. “You’ve really thought this through.”

This time he does look over his shoulder at me, smirking. “You don’t deserve to be a prisoner here, Anastasia,” he says, rounding a corner. “No one does, and I promise to do my best to help others the same way I’m helping you.”

Tears well in my eyes at his kindness. After weeks of mistreatment and being surrounded by terrifying vampires, simply having one who seems to care just for the sake of it is enough to make me want to burst into tears.

“Adam…” I say, voice quivering. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it, Ana. Just get out of here.”

When we round another corner, Adam suddenly halts in front of me. I run into his back, letting out a small “Oof”, but I quickly realise why Adam stopped so suddenly when I look over his shoulder.

Owen.

And it’s just him, wandering the halls alone. He stands in front of us, hands clasped behind his back and a small, imperceptible grin on his face. “And what have we here?” he asks, nodding towards us.

Adam stutters for a second before he manages to push out, “His Majesty asked to see her.” After a pause he amends, “Princess Anastasia, I mean. Sir.”

“Is that so?” Owen drawls, eyes narrowing, though not with suspicion. It almost looks like he’s…pleased?

“Yes, Sir.”

“Well, it’s lucky I ran into the king on his way back from his meeting with Morgan. He’s on his way back to his chambers right now, so may as well turn around.”

My heart drops, and I don’t even know how Adam manages to keep his calm demeanour. “Very well, Sir. We’ll continue along here and find our way back. Thank you.”

Owen grins, like he’s in on a joke we’re not. “Good.” He begins walking past us, but before he passes us completely, he stops me in my tracks. He grips my elbow tight, pulling me close to him so he can whisper something in my ear. “I most sincerely hope you’re successful in your task, princess. That’s a threat, in case your feeble mind didn’t catch it.”

I yelp as his nails dig into my skin, and only then does he let me go, his warning making my steps falter. It can only mean one thing, and that’s…

I don’t dare think about it anymore as I hurry to keep up with Adam. “What’d he say?” he asks.

“Nothing,” I reply, and we continue walking through the dark hallways.

---

We eventually make it to a hallway that looks old and decrepit. The sort of hallway that matches the image I had of Thaerin Castle before I came here. We hurry through it, finding an old, wooden door at the end of the hall which Adam pushes me through.

“It’s dark,” I say once Adam begins walking. I can barely see a foot in front of me, yet Adam seems to have no problems.

“Right. I forgot about human vision being worse,” he says. “I don’t have any light sources with me, I’m sorry. Just hold onto my hand. It’s not long, I promise.”

After a nod from me and another minute of walking, Adam surprises me by suddenly blurting, “I used to be human, you know.”

My heart stutters. “What do you mean?”

I can tell he’s looking at me in the darkness, even though I can’t see him. “I used to be human. I’m…I’m turned.”

I suck in a sharp breath. I don’t know much about turned vampires. Only what little I’ve been told as a child, mostly to warn me from wandering too far or staying up late at night.

Turned vampires are vampires who were once human but were infected by a vampire and thus became one themselves. To humans, they’re a terrifying warning of what vampires are capable of doing to us. As far as we know, there’s no cure. Their only options are to live as a vampire, or die. I can only imagine how Adam was turned, and what it’s done to him…

“Gods, Adam…I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s over now. It happened centuries ago.”

Centuries? I keep forgetting just old these vampires are, in contrast to their young appearances. Adam looks like he could be my age, honestly, and Sebastian…

“How old is the king?” I suddenly blurt, surprising even myself.

Adam must’ve been expecting the question, since he immediately answers, “He turns four hundred and twenty-three years old next month.”

I stumble as Adam keeps dragging me down the dark, musty hallway, his words taking several seconds to truly register in my head.

He’s over four hundred years older than me. He’s been alive to see so much, including several wars between the different nations surrounding Thaerin. He…he was almost four hundred years old by the time of the last war between the vampires and the humans.

And I’m a twenty-one-year-old girl.

He was born at the same time as my most distant ancestors, their names likely too old for any breathing person to remember. And here he is, walking around and behaving like he’s still young enough to not have a care in the world.

“You alright, Ana?” Adam asks, startling me.

“Yes,” I rush out. “Yes, sorry. I got lost in thought.”

He smiles at me, and it’s only now I realise we’ve emerged from the castle and into what definitely looks like a courtyard. It’s small, with a large, unguarded gate leading to rolling fields in the distance.

Freedom is so close I can taste it. But first, we make our way to two figures idling by three horses next to the gate. It’s still dark out, so I can’t make them out, but I assume it’s Ian and Max by the way Adam, with his superior sight, doesn’t slow his walk towards them.

“We good?” he asks the two men, who both nod.

“It’ll take several hours to ride to the nearest town,” one of them says, and I recognise him as Ian. “We need to move now if we’re to make it before sunrise.”

Nodding, Adam begins helping me onto one of the horses, but I pause before I can kick myself over the saddle. “Where’s your horse?”

He nods towards the one I’ve paused on top of. “I’ll be riding with you. I’ll sit behind you.”

“We don’t have time for this,” Max snarls. “Hurry up, vampire!”

“He’s right, Ana. Come on.”

I’m about to tell him I can ride myself, but with the time pressure, I keep my mouth shut. Instead, I make myself comfortable on the saddle, scooting forward just enough to allow Adam to get up behind me.

We’re about to begin riding when suddenly, a noise I’d believed was the wind becomes louder and louder, and within moments it becomes impossible to deny what the sound is.

Wings.

And it must be several sets of them, too, and before anyone can even react, I see Morgan touching down right in front of Ian’s horse, scaring the hell out of it. It neighs with terror, standing up on its hind legs so high that Ian can’t hold on. He rolls backwards, falling onto the ground with a painful sounding thud and a loud wince.

Max reacts quickly, pulling hard on his reins in an attempt to steer around Morgan and her large wings. But instead, he runs right into Derrick, who yanks him off his horse, placing his boot on the man’s chest to keep him on the ground.

“Fuck!” Adam cries out, terrified, as he hurriedly tries to steer our horse away from the two vampires. My own heart is beating so hard I worry it will pop out of my chest, and when I spot Sebastian himself gliding down into the courtyard, I almost faint, my face turning white.

Adam pushes the horse into a gallop, but we don’t make it far before I feel him literally yanked away from me. He cries out, and I look behind me in terror, watching as Sebastian throws the man to the ground like he weighs nothing. The horse continues forward, and I take the reins, but within moments, I feel large, muscled arms wrapping around my waist, yanking me off the horse.

Sebastian flies with me in his arms, only a few feet off the ground. I shut my eyes tight, too frozen with fear to fight back until he gently places me on the ground. I fall to my knees, but before I can even think about getting up again, Sebastian wraps my hair in a tight fist, holding me against his leg, knees in the dirt and eyes darting around at the carnage before me.

More guards are piling into the courtyard. Two of the horses have been seized by the guards, while a group of three try to calm down the third. Ian lies flat on the ground, motionless and likely dead, while both Adam and Max are held tightly against Morgan and Derrick respectively, daggers at their throats.

It's only now that my terror is allowed to transform into dread. We failed, and now Ian is dead and I will never have a chance like this again. And Adam and Max, whose only crimes were to help a captive escape her captors, will be punished for this. They might be killed for this. For me.

“And here I thought you were here to negotiate in good faith,” Sebastian suddenly bellows, his voice echoing off the walls of the courtyard. His eyes are locked with Max, the latter’s face contorted into pure, furious hatred. “We allow you into our home, serve you our food and drink. And yet you steal from us.”

It takes me a moment of confusion to realise he’s talking about me, that Max and Ian were attempting to steal me, like I’m no better than an ornament in Sebastian’s possession.

“Max, you may leave with your life,” Sebastian continues, though Max doesn’t look at all happy about it. “Tell your queen that there will be no further negotiations, and that she’s lucky we don’t go to war over this provocation.”

Derrick slowly lowers his dagger, but still keeps a tight grip on Max. After a moment, Max shakes himself free, angrily walking towards Sebastian.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” Sebastian says. He lets me go, walking over to Max, but before I can even let out a breath, Derrick places a hand on my head, keeping me still.

Sebastian stares down at the human, and in a flash, grips one of Max’s hands. He holds it up, and before I can even gasp in surprise, he grabs a dagger and cuts off two of Max’s fingers.

He screams in pain, trying to yank his hand away, but Sebastian’s strong grip keeps him in place. “That’s for trying to take away what belongs to me,” he growls, so low I barely hear him. “Get the fuck out of my kingdom.”

With a shove, Max is guided out of the gate, propped on a horse, and sent away. Gods know what he will say about his time here when he gets back to my mother, but it can’t be anything good.

I’d almost forgotten about Adam, but now, Sebastian’s ire is directed entirely towards him. “Who are you, soldier?” he asks, surprising me.

“Adam.”

A pained wince escapes him when Morgan punches him hard in his ribs. “Show some fucking respect for your king.”

“Adam…” he breathes, spitting blood. “…Your Majesty.”

“Adam,” Sebastian repeats. “And for what reason did you think you could take my princess away from me?”

I hate the way my abdomen tingles, just a little, over the king’s endearing nickname for me. I can’t stand it, yet here I am, blushing over it.

Adam spits again, but this time, it’s aimed at Sebastian’s feet. “She doesn’t fucking belong to you.”

Morgan is about to punch him again, but Sebastian stops her with a raised hand. “And you think she belongs to you, Adam?”

“Of course not,” Adam says, still breathing heavily. “She belongs with her family. Not with you, not with any of you fucking monsters!”

Sebastian just shakes his head. “You’re mistaken, boy. She’s belonged to me from the second she entered Thaerini territory, and you know it.” Adam tries to say something else, but in a flash, Morgan slits his throat.

I cry out as I watch his blood pooling in his throat, pouring down the length of his body. He chokes as Morgan lets him go, allowing him to crumble to the ground. He grabs his throat, desperately trying to stop his bleeding, but he’s too late, and within moments, he stops moving.

Adam is dead, because of me.

More tears roll down my cheeks as Sebastian approaches me, his wings still out. He grabs my elbow, yanking me up to my feet before he wraps two arms around my waist, holding my back tight to his front.  

He kisses my cheek from behind. “They were lucky, princess,” he mutters into my ear. “You won’t be as lucky.”

My heart plummets to the floor, but before I can even open my mouth to protest, I hear Sebastian’s wings extending and moving.

A moment later, we’re soaring into the sky.

---

I hope you all had a good holidays🥰 I've been traveling a lot, and been really busy, so I'm sorry this one took so long! I'll hopefully be back to more regular updates now that it's the new year💜