The King hadn’t been kidding.

The staff at the castle, a rotating roster of slender humans and vampires with unblinking eyes, presented Rey with a feast made especially for him. He’d been shuttled to a grand dining area by one silent maid or another, fresh out of being coiffed within an inch of his life and stuffed into some comically gothic outfit of loose linen and leather.

“This is…all for me,” Rey said, voice just this side of manic.

“Yes, My Lord.” That was the Head Steward, Rey was fairly sure. He seemed more sure-footed than the others, and his eyes were…clearer, somehow. His salt and pepper hair was kept carefully gelled out of his face. Rey was almost certain he was a vampire — just a subtle one.

“Why make me so much?”

“His Majesty requested that you be superior sustenance. It will be important, if you are to recover between feedings.”

“I — ah.”

Rey blushed to the tips of his ears, keeping his eyes glued to the food on offer. Truth be told, it looked delicious. It was his first real meal in this world, if you didn’t count the light lunch he’d been served in his…chambers? Quarters?…after a long night of rest.

Rey watched with interest as one of the servants spooned out servings and servings of roasted meat, vegetables and something that appeared to be fingerling potatoes. It all seemed like the kind of food Rey was used to, which was a relief in its own right. He wasn’t sure he had it in him to figure out what was and wasn’t palatable on top of everything else.

He ate slowly, trying hard to avoid thinking about all of the eyes on him too much. 

Rey was antsy. It had been the better part of a decade since he’d been healthy enough to do more than a short walk and bland toast. Now, in full possession of a strong body — and a lot of thoughts he truly didn’t want to sit with — Rey desperately wanted to experience all of life all at once. He wanted to eat and move and live. 

But how did he accomplish that? Could he just…do it?

“You seem to have a question, My Lord,” the Head Steward said, voice politely disinterested in a way only the servants of nobility seem to have fully mastered. He’d never met someone in the modern world who could pull it off, but everyone here could do it effortlessly, down to the youngest chambermaid.

“I…ah — can I just go wherever I want?” Rey’s cheeks colored. “I mean, I don’t know what his Majesty expects, I’ve never been someone’s dedicated...blood source before, you know?”

The Steward seemed mildly baffled at his more modern manner of speaking, but blinked a few times and gave a curt nod. “The full staff has been instructed to do whatever you ask. That means up to and including any ventures you wish to make outside of the castle. You are not under any constraints, My Lord. As a matter of tradition the blood concubine of the King is treated as a high-ranking noble.”

“The what?”

The Head Steward — Rey desperately needed to learn his name — seemed nonplussed. “The blood concubine. It is the official name for the human who provides regular sustenance to the King. Given the nature of vampirism, your safety and health is a matter of our utmost concern. Your health assures the health of the King.”

Rey tried to keep the shock from his face. “I mean, there are other humans that can feed him.”

“Vampires perform their best with a dedicated blood partner.”

Rey took one deep, steady breath and stuffed and entire fingerling potato in his mouth before he could say something else stupid.

On the plus side, at least his loving parents would never need to know he’d become some brooding bat man’s monogamous blood guy.