Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Feast of Blood

The first thing Karina noticed when she awoke was the silence. It was a strange kind of quiet—an unsettling stillness that hummed in the air, thick like the pause before a storm. She blinked, her vision swimming as she tried to adjust to the dim lighting. Her head felt heavy, and her limbs—too heavy. Her body was stiff, the soreness creeping in from every angle.

She was no longer in *The Velvet Throne*.

The room around her was cold and sterile, its walls adorned with strange, archaic symbols that seemed to pulse faintly in the shadows. She was lying on something soft, a plush velvet chaise lounge. The floor was made of polished stone, and the air smelled faintly of incense—rich, smoky, and foreign. Her breath hitched as she tried to push herself up, but her arms were bound to the armrests with thick, leather straps.

Panic surged through her, but she fought to keep it under control. *Focus, Karina. Think. Think.* She twisted her wrists, but the straps wouldn’t budge. Her heart raced as she turned her head to look around the unfamiliar room.

There were no windows. The only source of light came from the flickering candles that lined the walls, casting strange shadows that seemed to stretch and writhe as if alive. 

Karina’s pulse quickened. *Where am I? What is this place?*

And then, she saw him.

He stood across the room, near a large, intricately carved wooden door. His posture was relaxed, his expression unreadable, but there was a quiet power that radiated from him—like a storm waiting to break. The man from the club. The one with the cold eyes. The one who had smiled at her like a predator hunting prey.

He was watching her now, his gaze piercing, but it wasn’t as cold as before. There was a flicker of something else in his eyes—a depth, a hunger, something ancient. His lips were slightly curved, as if he were amused by her fear. 

Karina’s breath caught in her throat as she realized the truth: *He’s a vampire.*

She hadn’t believed it at first, when the rumors had circulated around the club. The whispers about the “Night Lords” and their thirst for blood, the legends of creatures who walked in the darkness, consuming the lifeblood of their victims. But now, in this eerie place, with his inhuman beauty and the predatory gleam in his eyes, she knew it was no longer a fantasy. 

He was a vampire. And she was his prey.

“Good, you’re awake,” he said, his voice low and smooth, the kind of voice that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. “I was beginning to think I might have lost you.”

“W-What do you want from me?” Karina’s voice was shaky, but she forced herself to sound defiant. The bonds on her wrists were tight, but they weren’t unbreakable. If she could just get enough leverage…

“I’m not here to play games with you, Karina,” he said, stepping closer, his shoes clicking softly on the stone floor. “You’re not in a position to ask questions. Not yet.”

Her pulse pounded in her ears. She tried to struggle against the straps, but the more she fought, the more they seemed to constrict. A cold chill settled over her chest, like the hands of the dead were clutching at her heart. Her instincts screamed at her to escape, but there was nowhere to run.

“Please… let me go,” she whispered, her voice faltering.

The vampire’s lips quirked into a smile, almost pitying. “Let you go? I’m afraid that’s not an option, darling. Not tonight.”

Karina swallowed, trying to push down the rising tide of panic. *Focus. Stay calm.* “Then what… what are you going to do to me?”

“I’m going to give you a gift,” he said, his voice soft, as though he were speaking to a child. “A gift that will make you an offering. A gift that will make you part of something far greater than yourself.”

Karina’s heart skipped. *An offering? What the hell does that mean?*

Her eyes darted around the room, desperately seeking any kind of escape. But there was nothing. There were no windows, no doors she could reach, no way out.

The vampire moved closer, the floor creaking under his weight, and Karina’s pulse hammered in her throat. She tried to shrink back, but the straps kept her in place. He reached for her chin, his fingers cool but firm as he tilted her head back, forcing her to meet his gaze.

“You’re going to be part of something much bigger than you can comprehend, Karina,” he murmured, his lips brushing against her ear. “But first, we need you to understand what you are.”

She wanted to scream, to tear away from him, but the words wouldn’t come. His presence was too overwhelming, like a storm surging inside her chest. Her body felt heavy, sluggish, like she was being pulled into a trance.

Before she could speak again, the vampire’s eyes flashed with an unspoken command, and she felt a sudden sharpness at her throat—like a needle pressing against her skin.

She gasped, but before she could react, a sharp *prick* echoed in the silence. Pain bloomed in her neck, and her vision blurred. Karina tried to scream, but the air left her lungs. She couldn’t breathe. Her body went rigid, and the pain surged through her, overwhelming every thought, every sensation. 

“Relax,” he whispered, his voice like velvet. “It will all be over soon.”

The pressure on her throat increased as he sank his fangs into her skin, and Karina’s world tilted violently. Waves of nausea and dizziness overwhelmed her as the blood drained from her body. She wanted to fight, to claw at his hand, to break free, but her limbs were like lead. Her vision blackened at the edges, and her thoughts began to scatter like leaves in the wind.

*No… no… I can’t…*

And then, as quickly as it had begun, the pain stopped.

Karina’s body went limp against the chaise lounge, her chest rising and falling shallowly. Her blood was gone, drained from her by the vampire, but in its place was something else—a coldness that spread through her veins like ice, a hollow emptiness that seemed to gnaw at her very soul.

The vampire withdrew, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction, but there was something else in them now. A sense of reverence.

“Good,” he said, wiping his lips with the back of his hand. “You were perfect. And now… now you will serve as the vessel.”

The vessel? What was he talking about? Karina’s mind was fuzzy, her body still trembling from the shock of the blood loss. She couldn’t understand him, couldn’t make sense of the things he was saying.

And yet, she could feel it—something had changed. Something inside her, deep within her bones. A shift, subtle but undeniable.

*The vessel?*

Before she could ask any more questions, the door creaked open, and another figure stepped inside—tall, regal, dressed in ceremonial robes. The figure’s face was hidden beneath a hood, but the presence was unmistakable. 

The vampire turned to greet the new arrival with a nod. “It is done,” he said.

Karina’s vision blurred, but one thing was clear: the game had changed. And she was no longer just a helpless victim.