The Vampire's Moonlit Throne

Elara's heart sank as her gaze locked onto Ravenor. His cold, unreadable eyes held her in place, and for a moment, just for a moment the room seemed to close in around her. The shadows twisted and coiled in the corners of her vision, taunting her. Until, the raw fury was back.

"Where is it?" she demanded, her voice shaky as she took a step toward him.

She wasn't afraid of him at the moment.

There was something inside her that wanted so badly to rip that twisted smile off of his stupid face.

Ravenor raised an eyebrow, his smile widening. "Where is what, exactly?"

"My necklace," Elara growled, her anger started melting into desperation. She could feel herself unraveling, her sanity slipping through her fingers. "You took it, didn't you?"

Ravenor chuckled, low and dark. "Ah, the necklace. Such a small thing to lose your mind over." His hand moved to his pocket, where the necklace was hidden, but he didn't take it out. Instead, he stepped closer to her, his presence as overwhelming as ever.

"You should calm down," he said, his voice smooth as silk but carrying a hidden edge. "You're becoming reckless. It doesn't suit you."

"I want it back!" Elara's voice rose, her hands balling into fists. She was shaking, her mind spiraling with frantic thoughts. She lunged at him, her body acting on instinct, but before she could even touch him, Ravenor's hand shot out, grabbing her wrist with an almost cruel precision.

"Enough," he hissed, his grip tightening, and Elara froze, her pulse hammering in her ears.

He leaned in, his lips close to her ear, his voice dropping to a chilling whisper. "You really should be more careful, little one. After all, I'd hate to see you destroy yourself over something so trivial."

Elara's heart pounded, but the defiance still burned in her eyes. "It's not trivial to me," she gritted her teeth.

Ravenor's smile sharpened. "No, I suppose it's not. But you'll find, in time, that nothing in this world is ever truly yours."

With that, he released her wrist, his gaze lingering on her for a moment longer before he turned to Seraphine. "Teach her some manners of this castle," he commanded, his tone cold once again. "Make sure she doesn't…do anything reckless."

"You can't take away what's mine! I will get it back and I will not learn the manners of your place because I will never stay here as your prisoner." Elara shouted behind him as he turned away. She was breathing loudly through her nose as her whole body shook.

He began to walk away, ignoring what she said but as he reached the door, he paused, glancing over his shoulder at Elara. His eyes gleamed with a dangerous amusement. "Trust me, you'll learn to behave."

"Trust me, you underestimate my madness." She spat back just as eagerly.

Lady Seraphine glanced back and forth between these two, her hands shaking slightly. No one has ever dared talk back to Ravenor like that let alone challenge him. This silly, silly girl had no idea who she was talking to otherwise she would surely have measured her words well before throwing them at him so easily. As bad as she wanted to stop her, she couldn't dare intervene until he was there.

Ravenor was surprisingly calm with her but only Seraphine knew what kind of storm could be brewing under that calm facade.

Ravenor chuckled, a hollow one. There was an unmistakable mockery in that chuckle.

With that he left and the door slammed so loud behind him that both Elara and Lady Seraphine jumped in their skins.

"You dug your grave very, very deep." Lady Seraphine hissed before leaving her alone.

Elara almost fell on the bed as her legs gave out below her, clutching the fabric of her shirt as she took deep breaths.

She had been broken and weak with grief but if he thought he could establish dominance over her by twisting her vulnerability just so easily, he was so wrong.

She was going to prove him wrong!

Little did she know, he wasn't the only one going to be proven wrong…