Chapter 3

There was no saying no to the prince.

The only satisfaction Lily got from the entire situation was seeing the disturbed look on Zia’s face as she gathered her belongings and stepped into the sleek, black car the prince had sent for her. She hadn’t any idea what was so special about her blood—nor was she prepared to join the concubines in his palace, but she was grateful for the prince for one reason alone: he had proven everyone wrong.

She was not a weak, filthy Daywalker. She was the vampire the prince had chosen. She was the one who would be living in the palace from now on.

The ride was lonely without a soul to speak to, but all was forgotten when Lily caught a view of Silver City. The tall, bustling oasis in the distance, with iron gates and men in uniforms to allow residents in and out of the city. The driver held out a gloved hand and provided a sort of ID to the guard at the gate, who promptly ordered the tall iron walls open to allow them in.

Lily was fascinated by the city—the bright lights, the billboards, the clustered traffic, even so late at night. She saw women in tall heals—some clearly vampires, and some humans simply out to enjoy the evening. She wondered if her mother was among them.

"This is amicable land," the driver said over his shoulder. "You aren’t to harm humans within these walls. Blood is sold at every corner store and gas station in drink bags."

This wasn’t an issue to Lily, who—being half human—could still survive on cheap pizza and carbonated sodas. It was one of the only perks to being a Daywalker, besides her resistance to the sun. She could still enjoy the occasional cupcake without vomiting up a stomach full of blood the way Purebloods did.

"When we arrive, you’ll be taken directly inside for a medical evaluation. Then you’re to be bathed and dressed and sent promptly to the prince."

The driver did not turn back to look at her, but rather watched her in the rear-view mirror, behind the dark shades of his sunglasses.

When they arrived at the palace, she was stunned by the clear water mote that surrounded the ample stone castle in the distance. They crossed a second set of gates and the driver stopped beside a fleet of matching cars, nearly identical to his own. He exited his seat, rounded the car, and opened the door for Lily, who couldn’t tear her eyes away from the tall, beautiful lattices and the lush rose garden surrounding the building.

Inside, it was much more modern than she expected. The floors sheened in exuberance, the walls covered in flickering faux-candle sconces. Even the wallpaper was a lovely gilded shimmer of gold and silver.

She arrived at a room with the word "DOCTOR" on the plaque of the door, and the driver ushered her silently inside.

Within the room, an old man hunched over a set of blood vials, straightening out when he heard them enter. He removed a large set of glasses from his face and smiled. Lily noted that there wasn’t a single fang in his mouth. A human, she realized. There were simple humans living among the Bloodprince?

"Welcome," he told her. "I’m Doctor Al, Prince Sabien’s trusted practitioner. Have a seat, I’d like to take a sample of your blood."

Lily did as she was told, climbing atop the white table and holding out her arm for a shot, the same way she recalled as a child. The needle that slit into her veins felt icy, a slight burning as her blood was drawn. She didn’t mind it all that much. Doctor Al spent a long while gazing into her microscope, evaluating the sample he’d taken.

"Lovely," he said. "Oh, it’s lovely. Yes, you’ll do quite well."

"What?" asked Lily. "What will I do quite well?"

"You see, the prince needs a blood donor on hand, and you’re exactly the retainer we’d been looking for. You have a good cell count—everything is wonderful. I’m sure the prince will feast heartily tonight."

Lily felt her fingers go to ice. "What? You mean to say I’m acting as the prince’s blood supply?"

"No one told you?" said the doctor. His mustache danced as he smiled. "You see, you’re the perfect specimen. You can provide blood the same way a human would—but due to the half-vampire nature of you, you shouldn’t see any negative side-effects to the feedings like humans do. At the very most, you’ll find yourself lethargic now and then. And so long as he times his meals well enough, the prince can continue feeding on you to his heart’s content."

To his heart’s content? thought Lily. What about my heart?

The thought of it all made her ill, her heart beating much too rapidly in her chest. She wouldn’t. She couldn’t act as a blood bag for the prince. She had not trained for three years, day and night, breaking her body and mind just so she could live in the palace as the prince’s little milking cow.

But…her mother.

"Well, this is very exciting news!" said the doctor. "Exciting indeed. Gerald, take her in for her bathing session with the consorts, won’t you?"

Hesitantly, Lily left the room, following the driver to their next desired location—which happened to be a chamber with five beautiful woman who fluttered to her in awe, gawking at her hair and her nails and even touching her in places that made her jerk away uncomfortably. They were vampires, the lot of them—but some of the most stunning ones Lily had ever seen. Women who were surely chosen from schools just like hers, purely due to the beauty of them.

"She has nice nails."

"Her backside could be bigger."

"She smells a bit odd, doesn’t she?"

"Ladies," the driver interrupted their chatter. "She’s due with the prince any moment now. Please get her bathed and changed for feeding."

The girls circled her like wolves, touching and touching, tearing the clothes from her body, examining the skin beneath. They giggled as they moved around her, untying her hair and wiping the makeup from her face with a wet cloth.

"The prince doesn’t like makeup. He prefers natural beauty," explained one.

Another removed her bra, giggling as Lily crossed her arms over her chest with a gasp. "You are a little flat, but he won’t mind."

"Are you a virgin?" one whispered in her ear, her soft fingers running up Lily’s thigh.

"Enough!" Lily shouted, stumbling away from them, standing uncomfortably before them in the nude. "Yes, I am! What does it matter?"

They looked to one another and exploded in a fit of laughter. "We were all virgins too before he chose us."

"Virgins!" balked another. "We were all humans before he chose us."

"You were?" Lily asked. "But you’re all—you’re all so pretty."

The girls smiled to one another. "What exactly are you here for?" one of them asked.

"I—I don’t know," Lily admitted. "He said…he needs my blood?"

There was a sudden uprise of whispers among them. Then one of the women gently clasped Lily’s cheek in her hand. "There is something you must know about the prince," she said. Her long nails tickled lightly down the side of Lily’s neck, and in her ear, the woman whispered, "Once he sinks his teeth into you, you can’t resist him any longer."