Phoenix
[There is too much important information in this chapter to be called a side story—don’t skip it!]
He let the door gently close behind him with a soft click. Phoenix’s body was controlled, but his mind seethed, barely able to keep his anger in check. The boy knew how to stay composed. In this life, it was never wise to show the real emotions lying deep inside.
Isaac had dismissed him and forbade him from seeking him out in the future. This was going to be a problem…
“—oof”
Turning around to walk off quickly, Phoenix collided into a body. He stumbled back, but hands steadied him on his shoulders.
“Careful there.” It was Ian.
“I’m sorry, sir.” Phoenix lowered his eyes and slightly bowed his head in respect. The boy didn’t think much of Ian, but he was still a vampire, even if he wasn’t a noble.
Ian was exceptionally handsome—beautiful even, like all vampires, but he wasn’t much taller than Phoenix himself, maybe just an inch or so. He also didn’t exude the same kind of power that other vampires did. Simply being pretty shouldn’t have been enough to be chosen—maybe that’s why the secretary annoyed him. In his eyes, Ian didn’t seem to possess much merit, but he supposed the man was efficient at his job.
After the obligatory apology and bow of respect, Phoenix simply walked on, and Ian resumed his path as well. It seemed they both wanted little to do with each other.
There was still some time before the sun would rise, and Phoenix wasn’t tired yet. Most thralls slept during the day, as duty often occupied the night.
He decided to make his way to the thrall’s common area, where a constant supply of delicious foods provided nourishment at any hour of the day. Hunger pricked at the boy, the usual side effect after being fed from (even if his master had only taken a dismal amount).
The place should be quiet and empty, with the others busy, and Phoenix preferred it that way. People were just too tiresome to deal with, and he had much to think about.
As he walked through the circuitous halls, his mind wandered to the other thralls Prince Isaac had had, the two that overlapped with his own time in the palace. The first was a woman that had been a thrall for five years before Phoenix’s arrival, and the second was a boy that only managed to last seven months—he’d been almost fun to play with, shattered too easily…
They were like all the other high-end slaves—beautiful with good quality blood, and to Prince Isaac’s taste, with eyes of blue. They’d also been mindlessly servile and completely uninteresting. The vampire prince had become bored of them and coldly released them.
Phoenix shuttered at the thought. The anti-venom was known amongst thralls, and feared. Uniquely formulated, using the master vampire’s blood, its injection essentially disintegrated the venom within the thrall’s body. An agonizing experience, taking days to recover from.
When the process ended, the thrall would be an ordinary human slave, with no chance to become a thrall again. It was strictly taboo to have another vampire’s thrall, even a discarded one.
Phoenix was determined to avoid such a fate, by any means necessary.
He had worked hard for his stay thus far, keeping his master’s interest by being brazen and unexpected and utilizing his life’s training to the fullest extent.
He refused to allow an uncouth farm boy with no pedigree to ruin this.
Phoenix grew up in the Capital’s finest breeding facility. His mother had been a pet to a noble, and his father was once a popular courtesan. The boy was crafted for aesthetics and taste.* He couldn’t be compared to some accidental find who, by some fluke, nature bestowed rare blood and blue eyes.
The inconceivable circumstances would be utterly laughable if the whole situation didn’t pose such a threat to him.
He opened the double doors to the thralls’ lounge. It was a spacious room stuffed with decadent comforts and opulent decor. A table of the choicest foods ranging from hearty meals to light snacks and sweet desserts filled one corner of the room. Couches and plush cushions were scattered around, beckoning the thralls to laze about and relax.
Phoenix made his way to the food. He chose a few things that would be easy on his stomach, grabbed a blanket to wrap himself in, and then proceeded to the glass doors that led out to the terrace. The fresh air would help clear his head.
The moment he walked outside, he realized he wasn’t alone. Mateo and Emil were sitting together and cuddling, as usual. The two thralls of Prince Cormac were hardly ever not touching each other.
Of all the thralls to be there, it had to be those two. As quickly as he saw them, he turned right back around to leave the way he came.
“Wait a minute, Nix!” He’d always hated the nickname Mateo took upon himself to bestow him.
Phoenix let out a sigh and went to find a comfortable place to sit and eat. Now unavoidable, the pair would pester him until they finally got the information they wanted.
“What are you two doing here? Shouldn’t you be busy with your prince?”
They looked at each other before answering. Mateo was slight of frame and had delicate features for a man. He had thick dark hair cut short, warm brown eyes, and tawny skin. Though he appeared fragile, everyone in the palace knew of his temper and fiery nature. Phoenix found him exceedingly annoying.
Emil was the opposite, quiet and contemplative. He was handsome, tall, and broad with short black hair and serious, forest green eyes. Phoenix believed he would have made an impressive vampire himself, had it not been for his drinkable blood.
Prince Cormac’s thralls were inseparable.
“He’s been in meetings with the General and other military higher-ups. Seems something might be going on… not that we get to know anything about it,” Mateo pouted.
Emil squeezed the boy closer to his side. Phoenix had always had an aversion to their affection—he would never understand it.
“Nix! Tell us about the new boy! Is it true that he’s blind? I can’t believe His Highness just found someone like that, and with rare blood!”
Phoenix really didn’t want to have this conversation. Mateo and Emil were sure to be fascinated by the youth. He didn’t want to watch idiots fawn over the country boy.
“Yes, he’s blind. He should have been disposed of at birth. Bad genes need to be weeded out.”
Mateo and Emil looked at him, shock written on their faces.
“Woah! That’s terrible! How could you say that about another human?” Of course, the words fired up Mateo.
Phoenix shrugged. The new boy wouldn’t be a problem if he didn’t exist.
“He won’t be here long. He’s completely untrained. Prince Isaac will take his innocence and then get bored of him… maybe he’ll keep him locked away, just for his rare blood.” The idea sparked a wicked gleam in his eyes.
His mind mulled over the possibilities. Yes, with blood too good to let go, maybe his master would store him away instead… only bringing him out for his blood—or for sharing. The boy would make for a useful gift, lent out to other high-ranking vampires…
Used. Over and over, again and again.
How long would it take for those bright, innocent eyes to dim? —for him to become dead inside…
“I’ll never stop being amazed at how heartless you really are.” Emil finally spoke, snapping him from his alluringly dark thoughts. Emil’s stern voice oozed disdain.
Oh, if he only really knew, but they wouldn’t be able to understand. Cormac was committed to them; they had already been with him for so long. Phoenix had to worry about keeping Isaac’s favor. He could so easily be thrown away on a whim.
He got up, done with the conversation. Leaving his uneaten food for the lower slaves to clean up, Phoenix made his way to the door. He didn’t feel the need to say goodbye or even spare his fellow thralls a glance.
As he made his way through the palace to his room, his mood began to feel lighter. Yes, inevitably, Isaac would lose interest in the novelty of his rare find. Juniper could never be his replacement.
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