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My hands grip the edge of the ship tightly as the floor beneath my feet sways with the motion of the sea. The movement makes me feel queasy because I’m not used to it. I’d never even been on a boat before but Paul said the ship was the only form of travel we could use to get to these islands.

Planes attracted too much human attention and I suppose an island full of vampires wouldn’t like that.

The English coast was a speck in the distance now, reminding me how far I was from home. Already I missed my bed, our comfy sofas and the library that made all my problems disappear. We’d only left this morning and already I was dying to go back home.

I hope this trip doesn’t last longer than a few days.

Ivan, Paul and Felix are below deck now that the sun's rising. It's funny to think how I'd never realised their strange quirks were because they were vampires until now. Like the way, they'd wear those ridiculous sunglasses even in winter. Or how they'd layer up even if it was heatwave season.

Paul told me this morning that though the sun doesn't kill them, it blisters their skin and weakens them. I stored that information away for future reference now that I was going to a place completely filled with them.

The salty air mixed with the rocking of the ship wasn't doing any good for my stomach so I headed back inside the ship. I stopped at my brother's level and spotted them at a dingy table playing a card game.

Felix looked up and spotted me right away. Before I would have assumed that was because he was really aware of his surroundings but now I think it's more to do with his vampiric capabilities. "Hey, Rose, had enough of the salty air?"

"Yeah. What are you guys playing?" I take a seat in the spare chair.

"Poker and Ivan's being a sore loser," Felix chuckles looking over at Ivan who is trying his best to keep a blank face.

"I am not!" Ivan retorts.

Paul hasn't said a word since I've come down so I ask him, "How long until we arrive?"

"Three hours. Why don't you get some sleep?" He insists, shuffling his cards.

"I'm not tired. I want to know what's going to happen once we arrive. Will I be in danger?" I persist, fiddling with a loose thread on my leggings.

Every muscle in Paul's body went rigid. It was a few seconds before he placed his cards face down on the table and looked at me. "Yes," He said, honestly. "You will be in danger from the moment we step foot in Xakas until the second we leave. Where we're going humans have no rights unless they are favoured by a very high-ranking vampire, including the king."

"Are you hoping I'll win his favour?" I don't know how I'd even go about achieving that but if that's going to be my role here I need to know.

"We're hoping that he'll see you're not a threat and let us take you home. Having a vampire's favour isn't always a good thing."

Paul is about to pick up his cards again and then freezes when I ask, "Why?" He tenses again, shaking his head to shut the question down. "Paul I need to know everything. Isn't it more dangerous keeping me in the dark?"

"Tell her," Ivan interjects, agreeing with me.

I wait silently and thankfully Paul answers me. "Having a vampire's favour is normally sexual, Rose. And it's usually brutal for the human who participates. Yes, they're given more freedom and are untouchable to other vampires but it's not worth the pain they go through."

My body shudders with disgust at the thought. "And what about the humans who don't have a favour from a vampire?"

Paul is getting too tense for this conversation so Felix takes the lead with this one. "They're fair game to all vampires. They can be fed on, beaten, used for pleasure and there are worse things. They have an owner but their owners don't care about their wellbeing, they're just pets to them."

I gasp, covering my mouth. "That's disgusting. Is that what this king is going to think? That I'm your pet?"

"Yes, we have a collar packed for you upstairs—"

"I am not wearing such a thing!"

"You will wear what we tell you, Rosalyn. This is your life on the line and we are trying to do everything we can to keep you safe! Do you understand?" Paul snaps and I'm in shock because he's never shouted at me like this before.

"Y-yes." I can feel tears pricking my eyes but I refuse to let them fall.

"Good." Paul relaxes and I'm pretty sure I can hear the guilt in his voice but I don't look at him to confirm it. "Now get some sleep. We know you didn't sleep last night and believe me you're going to need it. We're not due to meet the king until tonight so when we reach land, we will teach you what will be expected of you, okay?"

"Yes." I stand and walk away whilst furiously wiping an escaped tear from my cheek.

As I'm walking away, I hear Ivan hiss, "She's fucking terrified man. You need to go easy on her."

Paul growls lowly at him, "Easy isn't going to keep her safe."

After I turn the corner I can no longer hear them.

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"Rose..."

Groggily I open my eyes and then roll over because all I want to do is sleep.

Then my door flies open aggressively and Felix is pulling off my sheets.

"Hey!" I yell at him, tugging the sheets back but of course, it's no use. He's too fucking strong!

"You need to wake up and prepare for tonight," He says, impatiently before grabbing my arm to make me sit up.

I rub my eyes again, still sleepy but now I'm also annoyed. "It's hours away. Why can't I have one more hour?"

Felix doesn't look happy with me but I'm too tired to care. "Because there's a lot to go through and if this doesn't go right, you will be killed, Rose! Or does that mean nothing to you?"

I wince at his tone, mostly because he's talking too loud but I'm not fond of the thought of being killed either. "Okay, I'm getting up. let me get dressed and I'll meet you in the living room."

"You're wearing this tonight." He places a cardboard box on my bed. "It's not our first choice for you but when it comes to humans there are certain dress codes that need to be upheld so..." He trails off, growing uncomfortable.

"It's fine. Now go so I can change."

When Felix leaves and closes the door, I lift the lid of the box and startle at the short black dress inside. Beside it is a pair of black hills and a black, metal studded collar. My heart races at the thought of wearing this. My brothers would never let me leave the house dressed like this but now they were the ones giving it to me to wear.

I guess the human dress code was more scandalous here than it was back home.

I reluctantly changed into the dress and the ridiculously uncomfortable heels and then I stared at the collar like if I looked at it long enough it would combust into flames. Unfortunately, for me it didn't so I picked up the damn thing and buckled it around my neck.

The weight of the collar was heavy as I walked into the living space. Inside, Paul had his elbows on his knees with his head in his hands. Felix was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and Ivan was in the adjacent kitchen cooking us some breakfast.

My stomach rumbled at the smell of pancakes and that's when all three pairs of chocolate-brown eyes looked at me.

Paul instantly scowled at the clothes I was wearing. "Fuck, I hate this."

"Yeah, well it was that or something worse," Felix said but even he looked uncomfortable with the dress.

"What's worse than this?" I retorted and then I moved my hands up to adjust the collar. It was rubbing my neck too much and I was afraid it'd give me blisters by the end of the day.

"Some humans are forced to wear nothing but undergarments and on special occasions, they wear nothing but their collars," Ivan answered, proving me wrong.

My nose twitched with disgust. "Are vampires just assholes for their own enjoyment?"

"Yes," They all said in unison.

Oh.

I took a seat at the dingy table and Ivan made me smile a little when he placed a plate of stacked pancakes in front of me covered in syrup. "Thank you," I said before digging in. At least the guys gave me the privilege of finishing my breakfast before they started telling me what would be expected of me.

"Rule number one. You're not allowed to speak unless spoken to." Paul told me, "If you speak, they won't think twice about punishing you."

"Great," I said sarcastically, hating these blood suckers already.

"Rule number two. Don't look them in the eye unless they're speaking to you directly. You have to keep your head down at all times to show them your obedience."

Jeeze, this was just getting worse.

"And rule number three. If they ask you to do something, you do it. No, if's, buts or maybes."

"Anything else or is that all?" Now that we're only a few hours from meeting King Matthias and his high council I'm beginning to feel nervous. What if they just choose to kill me anyway? Even after all this effort we're going through for that not to happen.

"That's all for now," Paul answers, looking at his watch. "We still have a few hours but we better get a move on. King Matthias' estate is right on the other edge of Xaxas."

We get ready to leave and then I follow them outside. I instantly squint at the bright light from the sun so I can only imagine how they feel even with their sunglasses and the extra layers of clothing. I enjoy the warmth the sun brings though and it only highlights the beautiful city before me.

The streets are pretty quiet as we step onto the cobblestone pathway. "Where is everyone?"

"In this heat, you'll rarely see anyone but come nightfall the streets will be full of life," Ivan tells me as he takes one of my bags to the black SUV waiting for us.

"Come on, Rose," Paul calls over from the driver's seat. "Let's get going."

Please let everything go smoothly, I pray silently before walking to the car.