The twins were wary of her freedom, but when she didn't try and jump them, they were more relaxed.
She got tense when they came near her though, the smell of their blood singing to her the same way she had sung to the men. She had self-control however and she resisted.
It had become a game to her, seeing how close she could get only to resist and pull back.
Epharis had visited again, finding her sitting on the couch with her legs crossed, the three men sitting across from her with hypnotic fascination as she raged at Kai who had beaten her again at the game she had learnt to hate since she couldn't win. Throwing the red and black board to send little disks flying, she glared at the vampire who consistently outsmarted her. Jaia could do it too, but he let her win sometimes, Kai did not.
Clearing his throat, he jerked slightly as she whipped around faster than he could see, all eyes on him.
"Good evening," Epharis said, eyes on her with that same desperate want that he had shown the first day.
"Epharis, what brings you down to our lair?" Jaia asked a little desperately.
"I am the messenger to bring you all an invitation to dine with King Alaric this evening," he said in a sarcastic tone.
Four men tensed at her feral, gleeful smile.
"We shouldn't keep the king waiting," she purred.
Protests were immediate and violent, but she ignored them and wandered off into Jaia's bedroom to get changed.
She was going and there was nothing any of them could do to stop her. Well there was, but she was ignoring that fact.
When she was clad in a long black dress that left her back, shoulders and a fair amount of her chest bare, she walked back out and straight past the lot of them.
It wasn't until she reached the door that they even stopped arguing enough to realise she was there.
"Etani!" Jaia gasped, but she was gone before they had even gotten out of their seats.
The faces that turned to her showed first shock and then awe as she swept through the halls of the castle, the men behind her rushing to keep up with her and trying to get her to stop, but she wasn't having any of that rubbish. She wasn't going to stop, it didn't matter what they said and when she found the room, the door opened with such force that it slammed against the wall.
Alaric jumped along with the servants and his eyes went huge as they found her.
Her eyes locked onto him as if they were glued there and she stalked forward, the man sitting in his chair dumbfounded.
She reached him and her fingers curled in the front of his shirt. Yanking him down to her level, her nose was a mere inch from his.
"Alaric, dear precious Alaric…" she whispered in a lethal voice. "I'm going to rip out your spleen and feed it to you for what you did to me… I'm going to bathe in your blood and bring your precious kingdom to its knees," her voice was breathy, her grin manic and her eyes on his. He couldn't look away from her, frozen with his grip tight on the arms of his chair, bent forward.
"I'm going to make you wish you were never born for letting that man touch me. You will die begging me for mercy but I won't give it to you. To your last breath you will be screaming in agony. To your last breath you will die a broken, worthless sack of meat."
Three sets of hands found her and she was dragged back from the king, her grip ripping a hole in his shirt.
She didn't fight them, didn't so much as put up a mild shrug to try and escape, she was staring at Alaric, teeth bared and wanting nothing more than to scream for his blood.
But she would wait, they had her now.
Epharis stepped away and left her to the three vampires who had detained her, her hands behind her back in one strong grip, a set of hands on each shoulder and upper arm.
"Well brother, let's have dinner shall we?" Epharis said dryly, his hands linked behind his back.
Alaric took a good three minutes to come back down from whatever high state of panic she had put him in, finally he was starting to turn red, angry and fuming but he didn't so much as glance her way.
With so few of them eating food, the silence was stony and the king ate with only Epharis for company.
Etani hadn't taken her eyes off him the whole time and he was pretending not to notice.
***
Halfway through the meal the door flung open and a drow walked in, silver eyes sweeping the room for Alaric, finding him and then realising he had company.
Dark skin turned darker at his flush and his eyes slid sideways, landing on Etani.
She had frozen in place, blinding terror filling her at the sight of the drow though it wasn't the one she had come to fear.
Izziah was staring at her with his mouth slightly open, disbelief in his eyes.
Epharis had stood, thinking the same as her but when it turned out to be the wrong drow, he looked only slightly less like he would enjoy setting the man on fire.
A hand had found her arm and she knew it belonged to Versalis, he was sitting to her left with Jaia to her right, guarding her and guarding others against her.
"What… What happened?" Izziah asked in a whisper.
"Izziah, come join us won't you?" Alaric said, desperate for an ally.
"I was looking for my brother."
The words struck her like a blow and her attention swung lightning fast to Alaric.
"He's still in the city?" she hissed.
A new hand landed on her, this time on her right as they sensed her tension.
"Of course he is, why wouldn't he be?" Izziah looked confused, his eyes lingering on the hands that held her and then back up to her face, baffled and anxious.
Shoving herself to her feet, she swatted the hands off her and Izziah jerked, stunned by the movement he had barely been able to track.
"Where is he?" she snarled.
Jaia had stood a second after she had, his hand finding her upper arm.
"Calm," he whispered but she was beyond his words.
The chair crashed into the wall several feet behind her and she swept around the table, heading straight for Izziah but the movement behind him caught her attention.
Epharis had seen it too and his eyes went huge
"Stop her!" he yelled but it was too late.
She was on the drow in a breath, the force of her colliding with him throwing them both through the window across from the door to the dining room.
They crashed to the ground and Drizdan had kneed her in the ribcage, knocking her off him but she had spun, on her feet before he could blink and he took in the changes in her, his lips pulling up into a smile.
"Why Etani how you've changed," he purred. "I guess I didn't beat you hard enough last time, I'll have to try again."
His smile vanished when she took two steps and drove her foot into his gut as though he were a ball and he was sent flying.
Versalis had landed several feet away, the twins unable to help until the sun fully set and she was gleefully spiteful that the sun did nothing to her.
A second, third and then fourth set of boots landed with a thud but she ignored them, already running after the drow as he launched himself to his feet, blood dripping from his mouth.
He had turned, ready for her as she ran for him, three sets of feet going after her but she had a good head start on them and he grinned as he ran to meet her.
They hit hard, her knee going up into his side as his fist landed on her jaw, both staggering back and going again, and then again before the three were on them.
Versalis caught her around the middle, dragging her away while Izziah grabbed Drizdan. Epharis had moved between them, ready to defend her and then changed his mind, punching Drizdan in the face.
She screamed her joy at the sight of the drow's head whipping back, but Epharis had turned and was helping Versalis to drag her backwards.
"I'll kill you!" she screamed at Drizdan, his eyes hot on her and he licked his lips, that stupid stud glittering in the dying light.
"Come and try, princess and we'll go for round two! I miss the sound of your screams!"
Epharis nearly turned back but decided it was better to get her away and finally she was free, turning to see the king standing only two paces away.
Taking her chance, she closed those two steps and drove her foot into his chest.
He flew back, hitting the wall hard enough to knock the stone loose and she was tackled by Versalis.
She didn't care, she was only glad to see Alaric on his back.
Drizdan had started laughing when she kicked Alaric, his vicious grin on her with renewed desire. She knew he would try and get to her again, but this time she was ready.