She could do it in a day. She could do it with a simple fire pit and a pinch of herbs. In fact, she literally just needed sage and a live mouse and that would be it. She could make it happen within a few hours if she wanted.
No fucking way, Vladira thought. She hadn't felt this way in centuries—
since…
She was mentally transported back countless centuries to what had previously been the darkest night of her life. The only other mortal she'd ever dared to love died in her arms.
Elisabeth Kostova—her precious, beautiful wife and her greatest friend. So much potential, gone before it had a chance to blossom.
Vladira had arrived on the scene after inspecting her armies, returning to her bedchambers on the night of her wedding only to find an assassin sent by the Bloodbane Order leaping out the window.
Elisabeth, her first love, her first wife, was executed for the sin of loving her. They hadn't even been able to consummate their vows before her bride was taken from her.
The Countess had long since accepted that she would never feel that kind of passion again. But she was wrong. Alaric brought
new feelings out of her, stronger than ever before.
Even before the bloodbond took root, she felt it. She could admit that to herself now—she already adored him then. There was a lust here that she'd never known, that had seeped its way into her very core since the moment this man penetrated her castle—and it had swollen to profane degrees since their arrival in this time and place.
"My long, lost Elisabeth," she muttered sadly. "I ask your blessing to pursue this one chance at reclaiming what you and I very nearly had."
She would not let him go that easily. A month. That's all she needed. One month to seduce him. One month to make him hers. He would succumb—
he was just a mortal, even if his blessed bloodline made him hard to dominate.
No matter—it would make their ultimate union all the sweeter.
Vladira Noctyra sighed suspiciously loudly as she fantasized about kissing his neck and letting her fangs rake down the side of it.
Imagining his hard, scarred hands gripping her by the waist, lifting her up only to slam his body against hers as she rode him like the mustang he was—she shuddered at the thought of it.
The Countess felt her insides grow warm and slick, her skin go from cool to hot as her lust built at the thought. She was blushing
again. He could probably see.
For centuries, Vladira ravaged the world, flooding the hills and valleys with the blood of peasants and nobles alike. She got her revenge as often and as violently as she could, committing sin after sin in the name of her long lost love.
Her Castle—the symbol of her ultimate defiance in the face of the false God of the farcical Bloodbane Order—was the pinnacle of her achievements. From there, she was master and commander of a legion of
monsters who tore the world asunder on her behalf.
All in Elisabeth's name.
But—what if she moved on at last? What if, as her lover's last words wished, she found someone else? Would her vengeance be…necessary any longer?
Vladira shook her head, casting out the thought. She covered her cheeks in shame—afraid to let the monster slayer see her blush. There was no blood in her veins, but somehow, she could blush.
It was an odd quirk ofhers that came up from time to time, and since she met this man, it seemed bound to come up more often than ever before.
"Why are you holding your hands over your cheeks?" ALARIC asked, cocking a brow at her as he lazily pressed his head against the pillow of his bed. Their bed.
She shook her head yet again, taking a big, technically unnecessary breath and returned her palms to her sides. "I—I need a coffin."
"So you cover your cheeks?" he asked.
"No, you fool," she muttered, turning to face him again. "We have necessities, each of us. Hygiene. Sustenance. Clothing. Shelter is taken care of for the moment, so we should shift our focus onto more prudent matters.
During the day, I can't go out. And these shutters aren't dark enough for me to rest on the bed safely. I need a coffin. I sleep best in them."
He nodded and stroked the shadow of stubble that started to appear on his
face.
"We need money before we can buy a coffin."
Vladira crossed her arms. "We will steal one, then. I need it by morning. And we need some clothes." She gestured at her bathrobe with a smirk.
To her dismay, the oaf in front of her already seemed to cast aside the memory of her nudity, as he didn't react except to slightly nod in thought.
"I prefer not to steal," he remarked after a moment. "Could you ask for an advance from the woman you enchanted ?Charlotte?"
Vladira 's eyes slitted, and her claws came out on their own. "Say that name again. Say it."
"Hmm? Charlotte?"
"I don't like the way you say it," she growled. "Do you find her attractive?"
"What are you talking about?" he muttered in plain confusion. "Have you gone mad, woman?"
She twitched, and her fangs shot out. "Maybe," she admitted. "I don't want you to talk to her again. It's important. Just to make sure you—you—"
She paused—then forced herself to calm down, searching for an excuse. Her eyes lit up as she thought of something.
"If you approach her and speak too candidly, you may compromise my spell over her. That's all."
The monster slayer's hand gripped the whip on his hip, but he nodded slowly. "Very well. I have no particular interest in talking to her."
The Countess let out a sigh of relief, her claws and fangs receding.
"Good."
"Are you—alright to go out tonight?" he asked.
She smiled, grinning impishly. "Never better," she cooed. "Let's run some errands, Darling."
"Don't call me that."
"I shall, and you can't stop me."