Chapter 1

Blood slave.

The word was enough to send a cold chill of terror down Arianna’s spine. She shuddered, swallowing heavily, and repeatedly, as she tried to wet her suddenly very parched throat. Her lips hurt, they were chapped and cracking. She’d had nothing to drink in hours; the fire that had consumed parts of the forest had burned into her throat. The smell of smoke clung to her; she could taste the ash upon her tongue. She would have given anything for some water, but she was fairly certain that her misery and discomfort would soon be coming to an end anyway.

The dead did not require water after all.

Surprisingly the thought of being dead aroused even less fear in her than the alternative did. And that alternative was becoming a blood slave. The thought of being kept, of being trapped and used for the most disgusting means known to man, was enough to make her want to rip out her hair and run screaming in horror.

She did neither however, simply because she could not move enough to carry out either action. She was trapped, surrounded, penned in by the bodies crammed tightly against her. The raid on the woods had been successful. The homes of many had been ripped apart, destroyed, set ablaze. Their lives had been irrevocably destroyed; they would never see their loved ones again.

The fortunate ones, the ones that weren’t chosen to be blood slaves, would be bled outright. Their blood would be drained unwillingly, and painfully, from their bodies. A hundred separate needles would pierce their skin before they were finally killed. The blood would be bottled and saved for later use. The unfortunate ones, the blood slaves, would be used over and over and over again before their owner became tired of them and either sold them off, or bled them dry.

Arianna prayed fervently that she would be bled dry at once. She would rather feel the sting of a thousand needles than be repeatedly used for months, or years. However, she had a feeling that if the vampires found out who she was, they would never allow her such a compassionate death. They would never grant her the merciful death she fervently hoped for.

She glanced at the people surrounding her. She knew they would all willingly die before they revealed her identity, she also knew that she had been a fool, a complete idiot for allowing herself to be captured in the first place. If these monsters ever found out who she was, they would have strong leverage over the cause, over the rebellion. They would try to use her against the rebels that lived within the woods, hiding, moving, and fighting against the vampires that hunted them relentlessly. The vampires that had taken their world and twisted it into a cruel mockery of what it had once been.

At least that was what she had been told they’d done.

She did not remember a world without fear, and hunger, and hiding. She did not recall a world where food had been purchased in stores, and homes had been heated and cooled. She knew a world of woods and concealment and hunting and struggling for her meals. She knew a world that was brutally hot or deathly cold. She knew a world where there had never been a consistent roof over her head. A world where her father was the leader of the rebel movement, her mother was dead, and her two brothers were being relentlessly trained to take over her father’s position one day.

She had never experienced a life of safety and security, never experienced a life where she wasn’t fighting and running on a daily basis. But she had been told stories of the world before the vampires, and though she was certain that some of the tales had to be off, or wrong, she still thought that world sounded simply wonderful. As a child she had foolishly longed for that world, as an adult she had thrown aside childish dreams in favor of learning how to fight and how to hunt. In favor of learning how to survive.

In her world, love was not freely given, hugs were not exchanged, and the only praise she had ever received was for her far superior skills with a bow and arrow. However, though love was not freely given, she knew that it was there. Her brothers would want to risk everything to get her back; her father would want to do the same. But her father would also know that it could not be done. Her father could not risk the lives of so many, for one. Even if that one was her. It would kill him to lose her, but he would make the sacrifice, just as he had sacrificed so much in his life.

No, Arianna had no grand plans of rescue, no dreams that her brother William would charge recklessly in, yelling like a banshee, just as he charged so wildly into everything. She did not have these dreams because her father, and ever sensible Daniel, would never allow William to do so. In fact, they would probably have to tie him up because it would be the only way to keep him away from here.

It would be the only way to keep him alive.

A twinge of regret and pain filled her at the thought of her brother, her twin. Her other half. They had always been so close, inseparable since creation. He would not get over this, just as she never would have gotten over his loss, if their roles had been reversed.

She never should have allowed herself to be captured. But then, she hadn’t had a choice. The child…

Arianna’s gaze slid slowly to Mary Beckins. Mary stood proudly, her shoulders thrust back, her chin jutting out as she stared unblinkingly across the sea of heads before her. If it weren’t for the tears streaking silently down Mary’s dirt and soot smeared cheeks, Arianna would have thought her fearless. But even with those tears she still looked proud, defiant; unbreakable.

Seeming to sense Arianna’s stare, Mary’s eyes slid slowly toward her. It was Mary’s child, John, Arianna had saved. It was John’s place that she had taken in this cramped hell of nearly certain death and terror. Arianna had forfeited her life for young John’s, and she would do it again if she had the choice. She just wouldn’t have been so reckless about it. She wouldn’t have plunged carelessly in again, and she would have thought out a way to ensure that she and Mary were not ensnared also.

But, like her twin, she rarely thought out her actions and often charged thoughtlessly forward, heedless of the consequences. But these were by far the direst consequences she had ever faced. They would also be her last. Or so she hoped.

Mary held her gaze for a long moment, gratitude brimming in her wide, brown eyes. She briefly nodded her thanks, and managed a tremulous smile that Arianna returned.

The vampire’s did not know who Arianna was, who her father was, and she was certain that no one that knew her would tell them. The people had always respected and admired her father, but today, with her actions, they had also come to admire and respect her too. They would all die before they handed her over, even if handing her over would mean a pardon on their own lives. Even if it meant a chance at freedom for them.

“Fear not girl.”

She wanted to turn to see who had spoken to her, but she could not move against the crush of bodies pressing against her. She could smell the dirt, the sweat, the terror, and smoke that clung to all of them. Life in the woods did not allow for regular bathing, she was accustomed to the smells of people, but this was far more intense, far harsher than anything she had ever experienced before. She did not know if it was because they were all so confined, when they were used to wandering free, or if it was the certain end of their lives that made it exceptionally acute. Either way, the stench was nearly overwhelming. She wanted to gag from it, to cover her nose and attempt to block it out. She wanted to cry, but she merely stood unmoving and frozen within the paralysis of horror that clung to her.

Sudden movement drew her attention back to the stage set up before them. A stage for crying out loud. It wasn’t humiliating enough to be packed in like this, but they were also going to be paraded forward, separately examined, and chosen from the specimens presented. Arianna shuddered again, trying hard to keep her composure in this swiftly unraveling world.

“Be brave Aria, be brave.” She swallowed heavily, managing a small nod as the man behind her whispered in her ear again. “Take strength from those around you.”

Aria fought back the hot wash of tears that suddenly flooded her eyes. She straightened her shoulders, refusing to show weakness, refusing to break in front of the monsters now lining up before them. As long as she was chosen for death, she could remain strong through this. She could, she would, be as brave as her father and brothers would be in this situation. She would never give them the satisfaction of seeing her break; she would die with her pride firmly intact.

There was a slow ripple of movement. Arianna realized that the gate had been opened; they were starting to pull people out. She watched in horror as they removed the first person and led them up the stairs to the stage. She did not recognize the young woman, who was sobbing openly as she was paraded before the line of monsters eagerly eyeing her. Behind the stage, other monsters had gathered on the street that led through the heart of the town. The monsters were crammed in between the two and three story buildings that lined the street.

The vampires were watching the proceedings with an air of indifference that left Aria fuming. It was bad enough that they had been caught, that they were considered no more than food, but did they have to be treated as if they were worth less than an animal? Her hands fisted at her sides, her jaw clenched tight as she fought to keep control of her volatile temper.

Aria swallowed as the woman was led to the side. The woman bowed her head; her shoulders shook with the force of the tears that streaked her face. Her clothes were little more than rags. Though Aria knew her own clothes were not much better, neither was her hair, or her appearance. In fact, due to the hunting party she had been on before being captured, she had gone even longer than normal without bathing. The lingering scent of blood, body odor and death clung to her, mixing with the other awful scents encompassing her. She found herself hoping that her dismal appearance and scent would be enough to earn her the much coveted sentence of death.

A young boy was brought forth next, then a young shirtless man that was well muscled from hunting and working within the forest. The man was not led over to the boy and woman, but escorted over to a vampire. It was a young woman, (or at least she appeared young, there was no way to know her real age) she was tall and thin, with a hawkish face that was both brutal and strangely beautiful. The vampire woman eagerly eyed the young man; the look in her eyes caused Aria’s legs to shake. It was more than apparent what that woman was going to do to him, and she wasn’t going to wait long either as she swiftly led the man off the stage and through the crowd gathered upon the street. The crowd was grinning, leering after them as they disappeared swiftly from view.

Arianna swallowed heavily, trying to keep her composure, but she wasn’t sure she would make it through this. She understood now that the woman and boy still on the stage were both destined for death, a fact the boy seemed to also realize as he began to weep openly. His sobs were heartbreaking and it took all Arianna had not to cry in response.

The soft sound of sniffles began to make their way through the rest of the crowd. The majority of people remained strong, but it would only be a matter of time before they were also broken beneath the heel of the monsters that now held their fate. Arianna watched unseeingly as more people were brought forth. The crush of bodies began to ease, if it weren’t for the tight pressure in her chest, she might have actually been able to inhale easily again. Instead, she could barely breathe through the terror threatening to crush her.

Though most people were slotted for death, it was the ones that were chosen to be blood slaves that were the saddest, and openly wept the loudest. Aria was gasping for breath when someone stepped beside her. A hand slipped into hers, squeezing it tightly.

She turned slowly toward the person beside her, shock rolling through her as she caught sight of him. “Max,” she breathed.

He managed a wan smile for her, his clear blue eyes sad and resigned, yet still resonating with the strength and confidence she was so used to. Sadness engulfed her; the sight of him here was nearly her undoing. A sob rose up, caught and strangled within her throat. Max and her brother Daniel had been best friends for as long as she could remember. They had always been together; nearly as inseparable as she and William. He had been like another big brother to her, teasing her, taunting her, teaching her things, and protecting her.

He had also been her first crush as a young girl, before she’d come to understand that there would never be a place for love in her life. She had realized long ago that she would not live long, and she would never have a peaceful life. There was no way that she would ever bring a child into this world of brutality, fear, and humiliation. But for one brief year, when she had still been a young, silly girl, she had entertained thoughts of a home and a family. Max had been the center of most of those fantasies as the man that would help her with that home and children.

And now he was here, with her. “Max,” she whispered again, her heart shattering into a thousand pieces. She had not thought that things could get any worse, she had been greatly mistaken. Her own death was fine, she could handle it, but to know that Max might die too, or even worse survive, was more than she could tolerate. Max was always so good to her, always so patient and gentle with her. Though she had given up her fantasies of one day being with him, she still loved him dearly, and deeply. She could not handle this too, not bravely, not stoically. Not anymore.