The man had shocked her to no end, for she didn't know it was possible for there to be a vampire king, only a queen, unless the queen was dead and then her title went to…
"You killed a queen?" she whispered, horrified by the thought.
The vampires would have been in turmoil, the loss of their queen a devastating blow and it left them powerless until another could be found, unless she was killed by one of her own kind. Then the power moved to the nearest eligible vampire. But it was supposed to be women only, never a man.
"I did… accidentally," he said and when she looked doubtful, he went on. "She was going to kill me- I didn't think I had the strength to kill her… then she was dead."
It wasn't much of an explanation, but she accepted it for the time being.
Looking him over, he didn't look much like a king, but he was exceptionally attractive in a dark way, his face chiselled and sharp with a lithe body dressed in black.
"Why do vampires always wear black?" she asked, deciding to focus on one thing instead of the millions of other questions littering her mind.
"It absorbs and holds light and heat, keeping our bodies warm."
She blinked at the simple explanation and then nodded. "Very well, I'll teach you."
***
The next day she found him waiting outside her room and she hadn't expected him to be so eager but she shrugged and led the vampire out into the courtyard.
It was still so weird to see him in sunlight, but she ignored it as much as possible.
"Self-defence first," she said, knowing it was the most important part. "If you wouldn't mind, please aim at any part except my middle," she said and his eyes instantly dropped to the almost unnoticeable bump there.
"Are you sure you should be doing this in your condition?" he asked, dropping his guard. She took advantage, landing her fist on his jaw and sending him sprawling.
"Never drop your guard, no matter what your attacker says," she said, waiting for him to get back up.
His eyes had lit up red like a candle, but he contained himself and started back towards her, his face set.
She grinned and the fight began.
He wasn't skilled but he was obscenely fast, able to counter her blows like it was nothing. Yet he was reluctant to strike back, at least before she kneed him in the stomach and he lost his cool.
Slamming his palm into her chest, she was thrown back and landed hard on the ground, winded but using the roll to flick herself up onto her feet. Then she bent forward, her hands on her knees and wheezing.
He hurried after her, catching her arms and lifting her upright. "Oh, I'm sorry… I didn't hurt you did I?" he sounded desperate.
Focusing on herself, she felt down but that light was still happily glowing away.
"We're… both fine…" she said between gasps for air. Straightening up fully, she knew she would have a spectacular bruise.
"Good shot, that was fantastic," she said as she led him back into the arena.
"Thank you, I didn't mean to though, I lost my temper."
"You need to control and use that strength even when you are calm," she said and turned to face him.
"Sit down," she said and he dropped obediently. Folding herself down before him, she took his hand in hers and placed it against her chest, right over her heart.
"Feel how calm it is? We can fight all day and still I am calm. I can tap into my rage and hatred and remain calm."
The man was staring at his hand, feeling the steady, abnormally slow thumping of her heart and she frowned as he licked his lips.
Releasing his hand before he had the chance to get worked up, she pushed herself to her feet and helped him up.
"How about we go to work on some fun elixirs for the rest of the day?" she offered and smiled as she reached up into her hair, carefully unknotting and unwinding the strands.
He looked dumbstruck as she handed him the vial and she laughed.
"Your hair is a very effective and often overlooked place to hide defensive objects. You can keep that one. If you throw it at the ground, it will shatter and let off a large amount of smoke, good for escapes. I'll show you how to tie these into your hair, yours is thick enough to work."
He was looking down at the vial, then up at her in bewilderment but she only smiled.
***
Leading him back up to her room, he followed her into the spare room a servant usually used, but she had turned into her own private laboratory.
"I make all sorts of things, experiment a bit, try and invent new things but it's not easy work," she said and she bent down to study a small tube that she had left the day she had gone to Weorene. It would have been perfect had she been gone a week, but the mixture had dried to nothing.
"So, what are you hoping to learn?" she asked as she straightened, catching him turning his attention quickly away from the region of her backside.
"Anything that can be effective against vampires."
She bit gently on her lower lip and his eyes focused on that tiny, razor sharp fang. His own were almost twice the length of hers.
She leant back against the table as she thought, her eyes lighting up and she turned to a cupboard and picked down an assortment of things that would be useful and lining them up neatly on the bench, starting from the easiest and ending at the ones she still couldn't make without Epharis monitoring her.
Picking up the first vial once she had set them all out, she turned to him and offered it.
He accepted the vial and gave it a gentle shake.
"This is a corrosive agent, fairly common item. It burns the skin and is very effective if thrown into the eyes. All of my bottles can be opened with the thumb, so snap it off and dash it."
He took the bottle and nodded calmly.
"You can get it in most general stores," she said as she wrote down the ingredients on a piece of parchment, adding its name and where to buy it.
"Next is this one," she lifted the bottle, quill in hand and giving the red powder a little shake. Her eyes still on her work. "Works on just about every species in this world and a lot in Faerie. Inhaled, swallowed or in the eyes and they will drop like a brick. Be careful though, as it's easy to inhale it yourself. Taking a nap with your attacker might be nice, but he might wake up first."
He moved up beside her, taking the vial and watching her careful writing.
Looking up, her hair fell in her face and she brushed it away.
"There is a spare pouch under the sink, you're welcome to it. It holds ten vials." Collecting a handful of spare bottles, she placed them out on the bench, preparing for his attempt at making it. "These are for you, it's not that hard but you will need gloves and a mask to make it."
He nodded, seemingly only half paying attention as the sun began to warm the room. He had been standing still too long and she looked at him curiously, seeing his eyes had begun to glow.
"Are you alright?" she asked, unsure of him.
He was staring at her, seeming to be battling something inside himself and a low growl started up in his chest. She knew immediately that she had to leave the room quickly, but not trigger his instinct to chase her down.