The twins had underestimated her by a tenfold and their efforts to try and contain her were like wet paper before a breeze.
The gold chain snapped and the bedhead was ripped from the bed, thrown into the wall that spilled dirt and confused worms into the room.
All three doors that blocked her and the outside had been removed with little more effort than it took to blow out a candle and she was loose on the city.
Physically she had not changed much, her skin appearing smoother, the scars that had littered her body vanishing into perfection and her feline eyes appearing more cunning than ever before. Her long hair glistened though it had been lank mere hours before.
She moved like a panther prowling the castle grounds, naked and exquisite in the moonlight.
The men before her didn't so much as try to defend themselves, the sight of her approach and the purr of her voice enough to bring any man to his knees and when they knelt before her, she killed them.
Helmets were thrown, throats were ripped open and she fed on the warmth of them, drinking in their lives and their souls in a way she found addictive.
When the morning came, she found herself sitting on the parapet that ran around the castle, her bare legs swinging as she sang softly to herself and smiled when men came to her, leaning against the wall and telling her all the pleasures they would bring to her if only she would let them.
Wearing nothing but blood, she watched the men and her voice called to them, a siren song of womanly need that pulled them in and would have had them begging her for death.
She had been free for only three or four hours, but in that time she had massacred almost half the guards on the castle grounds, gorging herself on their blood and revelling in their lust and then their terror.
The sun would be rising soon and she waited, a morbid curiosity in her at what would happen if she were to meet it, and still she sang under her breath, the group below her coming to ten and then eleven defenceless souls.
The scent of him had her smiling, her eyes lowering to the group below her who looked rather confused when her singing stopped and they shuffled away, not understanding why they had come to be there and not looking up to see their death above them.
"If you want to sneak up on someone, you should be downwind," she murmured, watching as one man bumped into the corner of the wall before rounding the corner and vanishing from sight.
He stopped several feet back from her and she could smell the tension on him as he realised what he was seeing.
She hadn't left the bodies where they fell, rather she had collected them and made herself a pile.
Nineteen guards were stacked neatly behind her, two men to a level to leave one at the very top, looking somewhat lonely up there.
She knew he was looking at it, knew what he would be seeing and his head shook. She knew because she could hear his clothes rusting against his skin, his hair swishing and then the sound of him swallowing.
"Etani..." he breathed and she shivered. The vampire king had a voice like silk on her skin, whispering a kiss that had her breath catching and she knew then why he was the king. He lured her to him with the promise of pleasure and blood, sex and carnage at levels she could only dream of.
Her eyes found him and she saw his pupils dilating at the sight of her, her lips tilted up into the faintest hint of a smile. She wondered what he saw in her, but judging by the engorging at his groin, she thought she knew.
"Versalis, did the boys send you to collect me?" she said in a pouting lilt, delighting at the way her voice affected him. His skin tightened with gooseflesh, his breath freezing only to start up faster.
***
"Yes," he replied simply and she let out a gentle sigh. She didn't want to go back just yet.
"Come watch the sun with me," patting the spot beside her, she heard him taking two steps forward before stopping again.
"No, we have to go. We don't know what will happen when the sun rises," he had latched onto concern as a means of distracting himself and she gave him a disappointed frown.
"Don't you want to find out… together?" she drew out the last word, her voice lowering slightly and she laughed internally as his eyes widened, his body responding to her in ways she had never seen before.
"Not tonight," he said through gritted teeth, fighting his carnal instincts that she was twinging with every breath.
Finally she lifted her feet and stood, the movement fast enough to make her blur in the eyes of most, but he caught every microsecond of it, every muscle moving, and every brush of her hair against her exposed skin.
Turning to him, he watched her hips sway as she approached, swallowing hard before his eyes met hers and she lifted her hand to touch his cheek. He was no longer warm to her, they matched closely.
"Spoil sport," she breathed, her fingers trailing down his jaw and off his chin as she turned away from him and headed back towards the castle. He turned, his eyes hungry on her but then followed a few paces behind, leaving the pile of corpses to whoever would find them later.
The twins had prepared for her arrival and the sight of them made her pause, laughing. The sound of a breath sucking in behind her making her realise that even her laugh whispered of sexual fantasies to the vampire king.
The twins didn't fair all that much better, staring at her with huge eyes.
They had blocked their noses with a little clip, their ears stuffed with wool and they stood at the opposite side of the room, ready to lock themselves in a room if they had to.
If a vampire king responded so strongly to her, she had to wonder how they would respond.
"What's wrong Jaia? Aren't you satisfied with your creation?" she purred, her tongue snaking out to trace over her lips and the double set of canines in a way that had the man trembling.
He shook his head, horrified at his own reaction.
"It will settle," Versalis said, but his tone wasn't entirely sure and she turned her eyes on him.
Her attention caused him to swallow hard and he scooted across the room to join the twins.
Kai seemed to be unable to look away from her or move, his entire body locked up.
Stepping across the room, she lowered herself onto the couch and crossed her legs at the knee, her posture relaxed and they remained that way, all still and watching the other.
She counted two hours passing where they simply stared at each other, the men too scared to move and her revelling in the heavenly scent of their fear before her skin began to irritate her.
In an instant she was on her feet, the air seeming confused and not knowing where to go as she moved.
The three men jerked, but she ignored them, making her way into the bathroom.
"You two are going to have this entire world on your conscious once she is done with it," Versalis whispered as she turned on the water and stepped under the fountain, smiling.
***
She bathed thoroughly, marvelling at each drop of water she saw and the way it glittered on her skin, reflecting every speck of light she hadn't seen before. Only one candle lit the room and it was more than enough for her to see by.
Washing the blood from her hair and skin, she listened but they were talking so quietly she could only hear the hiss.
Finally done, she dried herself and pulled on a pair of tight black pants and a vest, her bare feet silent on the tile as she swept from the room and paused.
It would appear they hadn't heard, or had been ignoring, Epharis who was standing in the destruction that had once been the doorway.
"What the hell happen-" His voice cut off in a choke as his eyes fell on her and his already pale face went a delightful shade of first grey, then red.
"Epharis, how delightful," she said softly, trying to recall why she had been angry at him but the thought eluded her at that moment.
"What did you do?" Epharis said to the twins, but his eyes were still on her, raking her body slowly.
"They did something very bad, husband darling," she whispered and her voice had the desired effect. His breath hitched and he shivered, taking an involuntary step towards her before he caught himself.
"They made her into a Varling. A vampire, usually half human, hybrid," Versalis said and flinched when her eyes turned on him.
The word seemed to mean something to Epharis because he looked absolutely appalled.
"Isn't that forbidden?" he was intentionally not looking at her and she took to opportunity to creep closer to him.
"Yes, entirely. It's dangerous and reckless and turns innocent humans into sexual blood toys for a vampire's pleasure and feeding," Versalis was also avoiding looking directly at her, Kai however was unable to look away, hypnotised.
Epharis didn't notice when she came upon him, her hand trailing along his forearm and he jerked back violently, shocked to find her and then his eyelids dropped, hunger burning in them.
"Does it matter what they did?" she asked quietly, watching as his throat moved with his swallow.
His muscles quivered with the effort to stay still and even not to breathe around her.
"Varling are dangerous creatures when they are vampire and human, but vampire and Fae? There is no knowing what she is capable of," Versalis said in a tiny voice.
Reaching for Epharis again, she caught his arm and slid it around her waist, smiling as his muscles seemed so tense they might snap.
Leaning up onto the balls of her feet she grinned at Versalis before whispering in Epharis's ear.
"We should go back to your rooms. Safe, dark, alone…" she could feel him quivering against her and she exhaled a soft breath against his ear that broke him.
His arms tensed around her and drew her to him, tight as a vice.
Versalis coughed and Epharis shook his head violently, pushing her back but there was no hiding his arousal.
"You two… You two deserve to be thrown naked into the day," Epharis hissed, forcing himself back from her and she watched with disappointment as he worked to shut parts of himself down as not to be affected by her.
She pouted, her attention going to Versalis who swallowed hard. He didn't have the ability to force his body to behave like Epharis did.
"I can't even get my husband to love me," she said in a tragic voice and he stepped forward, grabbed by Kai and Jaia.
Frowning at the lot of them in frustration, she turned away and pouted, resenting their self-control.