Alone in his room, Cass paced across the floor, back and forth in front of the large windows. Passing between shadows as he listened to the mansion buzz with activity, loathing boiled in his stomach. Looking down, Cass could see servants hurrying across the manicured lawn.

His heart dropped as he saw the first of the black bags leave, hauled out by two pale servants with terrified expressions. Cass stopped in front of the windows, fingers pressed to the glass, frozen as he watched the bodies carried from the mansion. Consumed by the agony and searing heat of the rituals Emrys forced him through, the sacrifices had blended together. 

He could count them, now, as their corpses were taken away to be buried at the edge of the mansion’s sprawling grounds. Five lives had been destroyed to prolong his own. Five people with families who would miss them, loved ones who would wonder what they had done to deserve death at the hands of their vampire lord- Cass’s stomach twisted, bile burning the back of his throat as he closed his eyes against the sight.

Though he was horrified, part of him was relieved that there had not been more. He was brimming with vitality, a life that was not his own, carrying their unspent years inside him. Cass pressed his feverish forehead to the window; it was icy, a welcome relief from the dizzying heat. Looking down at his hands, he saw soft blue veins throbbing beneath pale skin. He could feel every beat of his heart like a drum in his head, the stolen lifeforce overwhelming as he closed his eyes and pressed his head harder against the glass.

He had tried to relieve the burden before- to spill the blood which he had fought in vain to pull away from while chained to the altar. Cass had quickly learned those attempts only cost more lives; it had been a brutal lesson he dared not repeat, shuddering as he remembered Emrys’s cold fury upon realizing what he had tried to do. The vampire lord would not so easily release Cass from his servitude.

Sensitive from the ritual, Cass could hear the quiet sound of the lock turning in the door; it made him flinch, stepping away from the cool glass to face his visitor. It was no surprise to see his master stride through the door, locking them behind him before tucking the key in a breast pocket of his tailored jacket.

Emrys paused at the edge of the lush rug which covered the hardwood floor, his sharp eyes glancing around Cass’s room. He lived in unusual luxury for a human; a set of plush wingback chairs arranged before a low ebony table, across the room from an expansive bed with fine black bedding. Everything bathed by silver moonlight from the large windows, shadows of the protective bars cast across rugs and tapestries on the walls all embroidered with hints of shimmering gold. It was a beautiful, gilded cage- its inhabitant trembling like a bird, his chest moving in fluttering breaths as Emrys stepped forward.

“Have you had enough time to consider the consequences of your actions?” Emrys asked, cool disapproval in his tone as he paced across the floor.

Cass was frozen as he watched Emrys perch on his bed, not bothering to remove his expensive leather shoes before resting his slender legs on the soft bedding. Emrys’s gaze narrowed, and Cass immediately dropped to his knees. His heart hammering in his chest as he bowed his head, nearly pressed to the floor beside his fist. “I apologize for any inconvenience I have caused you,” he said, his voice weak and trembling- still raw and hoarse from screaming in anguish.

The vampire stared at him for several long, tense moments before sighing. “Be sure to tell Syrus that when he is released from quarantine.”

Guilt and fear lanced through Cass at the reminder, his chest tight as he realized he had forgotten his partner in the mind-numbing heat. He looked up, though he hadn’t been released, his words desperate as he asked, “How is he? Has he shown any symptoms yet? It was only a single drop of blood-”

Emrys’s glare silenced him immediately. Frowning, Emrys cast a thoughtful gaze to the sparkling chandelier at the center of the ceiling before he looked at Cass again. “Come here,” he said, beckoning with delicate fingers.

Cass stiffened, his racing pulse making his head spin. He knew it was more order than invitation, but he knew what would come of joining his master, and every rational thought fled at the memory of tearing pain. “Master, I…”

“You desire release from the overflow by now, don’t you?” The vampire’s smirk was sly, noting Cass’s flinch and the tightening of his jaw as he couldn’t deny it. Emrys only came for him after the rituals, when he was healthy- overflowing with life and untainted by the traces of death caused by the use of his power. The vampire would claim it was for Cass’s sake; but he knew the vampire enjoyed feeding from Cass when his blood rushed with the strength of many lives. “Come to me. You will hear no news of Syrus until I’ve been satisfied.”

Swallowing, Cass slowly pushed himself to his feet. His footsteps seemed loud, Emrys watching in quiet, cruel anticipation as the human crawled up from the foot of his bed. When Cass hesitated, his hands grasped Cass’s waist, pulling him into his lap. The vampire’s laugh was a low rumble in his throat as Cass cringed from the touch of the vampire’s cold fingers- like ice against his overheated skin. Straddling his master’s hips, Cass slowly dropped his head back, baring his throat to the vampire as he held the human in place.

Closing his eyes, Cass braced himself- but nothing could ever prepare him for the sharp pain of fangs tearing through his flesh. Ripping into the hollow of his throat as Emrys’s fingers dug into his waist, restraining the human in his instinctual struggle to get away from the pain. His agonized whimpers were soft compared to the ringing screams beneath the manor- choked and muffled as he pressed the back of his hand over his mouth to quiet the noise.

As Emrys sucked at his neck, Cass felt it like a physical drag through his veins, an agonizing pull that scraped through him. The fire under Cass’s skin dimmed- only a small amount, but enough to still his restlessness, if only for a moment. His fingers bit into his palm as he clenched his hand; trembling in Emrys’s hold as he bore through the vampire’s painful violation.

When Emrys released him, drawing his mouth away from Cass’s flesh with a low moan of satisfaction, Cass quickly looked away from the sight of his own blood glistening on the vampire’s lips. Emrys gave a soft sound, a purr of contentment, as he pushed Cass out of his lap. Sitting on his bed, his throat throbbing and warmth oozing over his skin, Cass watched his master stand; licking his lips clean as he adjusted his rumpled clothing.

Looking down at Cass, there was a hint of disdain in his dark gaze as the human waited with wide, glistening eyes for his answer. “Your partner is being held for the full quarantine… but he has shown no signs of the Blight yet. Pray he remains that way, or I will put him out of his misery myself,” Emrys said coldly.

Cass blanched, but a thread of relief ran through him; the Blight usually showed itself quickly, and if Syrus remained healthy, there was a strong chance he had escaped infection in that alley. He held tightly to that hope as Emrys walked away from him- the lock clicking home again as Cass was left alone in a cold, empty cage of luxuries he had no desire for. 

Looking toward the window, the moon low in the sky as dawn approached,  Cass let his breath out on a shuddering sigh. And he allowed himself, for once, to feel the bitter edge of loneliness as he prayed his partner would survive the night.