He lightly grabs my wrist and guides me as we walk to the music room.
His touch on my sensitive skin distracts me for a moment. As we walk to the music room, I notice how high the ceiling truly is throughout the Bloodstone Castle. It's enough space to fly around in if I had the ability to fly. A bat.
The Grand Duke doesn't seem to be able to sense my gaze.
I have no idea what vampires are capable of such as him. Especially high-ranking ones.
We soon come upon smooth double oak doors with music symbols carved into it to represent what goes on inside. There is no sign displayed above the doors like with The Garden of the Night.
Xavier walks ahead of me as he opens one of the doors. He gestures for me to walk through. The door shuts softly behind us as I survey the room. Silver chandeliers hang from the ceiling very similar to the ones in the library. The room is enormous.
Several cases of musical instruments lay across several tables around the room.
Violins. Guitars. Trumpets. In the center of the room is a grand piano.
"I had no idea you had such an interest in music," I say to him as I walk around the room.
"It's soothing. Words can only do so much to convey feeling. Though vampires aren't known to care deeply about them. Many vampires think emotions make us weak. Too human," he says as he opens up the velvet curtains covering the windows. He opens one of the windows.
Sunlight pours through the glass as it makes everything in the music room look clearer.
"I am the only vampire in the castle who likes to play music. My vampire servants occasionally listen in when I play. Though I do not know if it is out of being nice or genuine interest. Everyone seems too afraid to ask questions," he says as he sits down at the piano.
He rolls up his sleeves and stretches his fingers.
"I'm not afraid of you," I say with confidence loudly, my words echoing.
He smiles as he looks into my eyes, the sunshine cascading on his figure creating a shadow on the ground. "That is one of many reasons I choose you, Aurora Lucinda."
I stay silent as I process him saying my full name. He gestures for me to sit next to him at the piano. I obey and watch as he plays the piano. The notes resounding beautifully against the space of the atmosphere. Sad. Haunting. Mysterious.
He ends the song. My eyes feel blurry for a second as I wipe my eyes. So beautiful.
"I am 400 years old, though I never look a day over twenty-five. The Blood King himself is over a thousand years old. Ancient bastard. Pure-bloods and the royal bloodline of vampires can live up to around 1,500 years. The average vampire lives a lot younger than this."
I stay silent as he continues to explain this to me.
"It's been a century since that woman betrayed me, but it feels like yesterday. Not romantically, but politically. We were friends with prominent political families. Ever since then, I never trusted easily," he says as he stands up from the piano and offers his hand to help me up.
I take it without saying a word and stand in front of him. He doesn't let go of my hand.
"This is for you, Aurora Lucinda," he says to me while looking into my eyes.
He reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out a slave collar. This collar looks nicer and more comfortable. It even has a tag on it with my full name. He lets go of my hand gently and places his hands around my neck.
My old and worn slave collar unlocks and falls to the ground. Xavier's rough hands around my neck are gentle as he locks my new slave collar around me, my name tag dangling off of it as it snaps into place.
He doesn't remove his hand from my neck as he steps closer in front of me, his face barely a centimeter from mine.
His lips hover over mine, drawing me in. His eyes full of desire and emotion.
"You're not just a slave, Aurora," he says with a whisper. "Don't let them make you forget that."
For a moment, time stands still. We look into each other's eyes, daring one another to react.
His hand grabs my collar and he pulls me in close. His lips brush up against mine. I feel like I can't hold back until he pushes me away at the last second. He walks out of the music room, leaving me wanting more.
A cold breeze flows into the room from the open window. I walk over and shut it with a thud.
I can't explain why I feel emotionally confused. Ever since I got a vampire owner, I don't know who I am. He acts like he knows and that he cares for me in his own mysterious ways.
I slam shut the music room doors behind me as I leave.
For the rest of the day, I distract myself with romance novels I found in the library. The cushions of my couch in the bedroom feel comfortable as I continue to read. The words on the page sometimes do the opposite of distract me.
Sometimes these romantic moments remind me of him.
The day transforms into evening as I find myself back in the dining chamber eating across from the Grand Duke. He seems distracted by the documents next to him as I see his brows furrow. We make some small talk as we pretend what happened in the music room didn't happen.
The evening turns fully dark as we finish dinner. He doesn't make any moves.
Before he leaves the dining chambers, he simply turns to me and says, "Sleep well, princess."
I head back to my bedroom. The events of the day replay in my mind as I lay in bed. This time I am sure of it. Sure of the tension between us. I shake the thoughts off my mind. We cannot be thinking like that. If he is caught breaking the cardinal rule, who knows how much trouble he will be in with the Blood King.
That is a duel I do not want to witness.
My eyes look lovingly upon the rose on my nightstand as I fall asleep.