Winter
We ride up to the castle and toward another large metal gate, which opens to a stone courtyard with a long, grey stone path leading to another level of the castle. The tall walls of the lower part of the castle surround it, and it’s quiet. Very quiet and empty. I don’t know if I expected to see lots of vampires with coffins, but this wasn’t what I saw. Other than the stone walls looking aged from the snow, the place looks well kept. There are three tunnels going off the courtyard, and I can see some tables inside one. Another looks onto a big, open grassy field that’s covered in snow. I can’t see the other one from where we are.
Getting off the horse wasn’t a problem because Wyatt got off first like a pro and then picked me up from off the horse. Drake’s sister jumps off her horse and brushes her long, black hair over her shoulder as her hood falls. She walks up to Alex and Drake like it’s nothing. I honestly can’t say that I’m not jealous of her right now. Wyatt and Drake give the reins of the horses to the two vampire guards before they come back to us. The first few steps are a little uncomfortable for my thighs as we walk up the stone path and through the middle of the large, empty, stone courtyard towards to two large, old, wooden doors. I glance back at Alex who seems to be having the same trouble as she’s holding onto Drake, and she winks at me. I hope there aren’t any more horse rides in the future.
Wyatt holds my hand tightly in his as we wait for the large doors to be opened. I glance behind me at Alex who nods at me; her worried face mimics mine. Who would have thought we would be here now when we were packing our bags for university only a year ago? We were happy about all the freedom we would finally have. Apparently, our freedom comes at a high price. I glance over at Drake’s sister, and I see the determined look on her face, and I force myself to look as strong as she does.
The door swings open, and the first thing I see is two middle-aged men. They both have black eyes and are standing with their arms behind their backs. They’re wearing all black, with a red crown stitched over their hearts. The older one with slightly grey hair steps forward and places his closed fist over his heart as he bows.
“Prince Wyatt. We welcome you and your new mate home,” he says, a thick accent coming out that sounds kind of French, but it’s different than I’ve heard in the movies. I’ve never been to France before, I’m taking a wild guess we won’t be going to see the Eiffel Tower anytime soon.
“We don’t need to be this formal do we, Harold?” Wyatt asks as the man straightens up.
“Always breaking the rules, my Prince,” he chuckles slightly. Harold looks me over, and my heart must be beating a million miles a minute that he will see through Atti’s spell. The necklace feels warm against my chest like it wants to remind me that it’s there.
“Always. This is Winter Masters. Winter, this is Harold Livingstone, part of my father’s council of four,” he says.
“It’s lovely to meet you,” I say.
Harold bows toward me like he did Wyatt. “The pleasure is mine, Princess,” he replies smoothly.
I automatically correct him before I think about it, “I’m not a princess,” I blurt out.
“Yes, you are, my mate. I’m sorry, Winter is very new the supernatural world,” Wyatt explains, and his thumb rubs circles on my hand in comfort.
“Understood. Your father is busy this evening and will meet you all in the morning,” Harold replies, looking at me again. The man doesn’t seem bad, but I have to remember he isn’t human. While he looks in his forties, he’s likely decades older than that.
“Fine,” Wyatt replies and looks down at me. I can’t read his expression, and it’s gone too fast for me to figure it out.
“My son, Easton, will take you all to your rooms.” Harold waves a hand towards the man who hasn’t said a word. Easton has short, blond hair, slightly shorter than Wyatt and a younger looking face. He seems okay.
“Thank you, Harold,” Wyatt says and Harold bows once more before leaving. I watch him move through the doors, and I see a girl about my age walking down the steps, on the side of the courtyard, from the corner of my eye. She looks like a zombie as she walks into the castle past us all. I was so busy watching her, I don’t notice that Drake has been talking to Wyatt.
“Leigha is staying in the room next to yours, and I will take the other side with Alex,” he says.
“That’s best,” Wyatt says quietly as he watches me. His gaze goes to the girl just before she turns around the corner, and he looks back at me. His expression is neutral, and yet I feel he wants to say something to me. I look away and notice that Leigha is staring at me. She is stunning now that we are closer. Her hair is pitch-black, and it suits her toned, dark-gold skin. She has her hair braided in the top half, and the rest is down. She has the dark vampire eyes, a light row of freckles over her nose, and big, pouty lips. She looks a little like a doll, but her expression tells me she’s not friendly. I can see the similarities to Drake; they both have the dark hair, but Drake has a lighter skin colour.
“Winter, let me show you around my home,” Wyatt says and Harold’s son, Easton, comes running over.
“My prince, I was told to take you to your room first.”
“You don’t need to. You will follow Drake to whatever place he wants and then tell anyone that asks that you did your job. Understood?” Wyatt asks. The power surrounding his words is almost too much for me to bear. I remember feeling the pressure in my head before when he used his powers. It’s just the same now.
I feel like a bug being squashed, and he isn’t even using it on me. I wonder what it’s like for humans to have it used on them. I remember when we first met, he tried to get me to dance with him. If I were human, I would have.
“Yes, my prince,” Easton replies robotically and turns to Drake. It looks like he will wait forever for whatever Drake asks him to do. Wyatt’s power is scary.
“Do you use your power a lot on humans?” I ask him.
“No. Only when I feel they’re scared of me and need to relax. Most humans can sense there’s something dangerous about me.”
“Is that why you tried to get me to dance when we first met?” I ask. Everyone is listening to our conversation other than Drake, who is talking to Easton.
“Yes, you looked like a little mouse about to get eaten. I wanted you to talk to me, and the way you were watching the dancers,” he shrugs as I look at him. “I thought you liked dancing,” he says and kisses my hand.
“I don’t, I have two left feet,” I say, making him smile slightly at me.
“Come with me Winter, time for me to show you my home,” Wyatt says as he holds his hand in front of him, and I walk ahead. Wyatt moves an arm around my waist, and we walk into the vampire castle. The last place I want to be.