The morning was quiet.
The lady of the Farm was away on a trip and had given everyone a day off.
For the first time in centuries, Auren was actually relaxing.
He lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling.
He wondered if Abby was close to finding the wizard and if Asric was causing trouble back home, which he usually was.
Then, the pain started, the spell in his chest began to pull.
Auren groaned and sat up; he went outside and found Brinna.
“Where is Evryn?” he asked.
Brinna pointed toward the back of the house.
“Probably at the old well with Ray.”
Auren walked toward the well, and his eyes narrowed.
Evryn was sitting on the stone edge, and Ray was playfully pushing her arms, making her lean back over the dark water.
She was screaming with laughter, having the time of her life.
Damn that girl, Auren thought.
She is having fun while I’m the one feeling like my chest is being stabbed by this stupid spell.
He picked up a small rock and weighed it in his hand.
Auren, he told himself with a dark smile, you always skipped your control training.
Focus.
If you don’t, you’ll explode his head.
He actually liked the idea of losing control for a second.
He flicked his wrist.
The rock flew through the air and crack!
it hit Ray right in the back of the head.
Ray let out a muffled and collapsed like a sack of flour and because Ray let go so suddenly, Evryn lost her balance.
With a yelp, she tipped backward into the well.
“Damn it!” Auren hissed as he sprinted forward.
The spell struck his chest like a hammer because she was in danger.
He reached out and caught her by the leg at the very last second.
Evryn was dangling upside down inside the well, she was inverted, her dress flipped over her head, covering her face and leaving her legs completely exposed.
“Whoever you were, don’t you dare look!” Evryn’s muffled voice screamed from inside her own skirt.
Auren stood at the edge of the well, his jaw tight as he fought the fire of the binding spell.
He was holding her suspended over the dark water, but as he looked down, His eyes betrayed him.
He found himself staring at the long socks tied at her thighs, the sight cutting through his focus.
Slowly, almost magnetically, Auren’s gaze moved higher, tracking up the smooth skin of her legs until his eyes fixed entirely on her underwear.
Looking at her center, a dark, possessive thrill shot through him…it looked as though it had been made entirely for him to claim.
A sudden, intense heat flared in his veins, making his breath hitch.
Auren caught himself, a low, self-deprecating smile curving his lips as he mentally pulled back.
Control yourself, Auren, he thought fiercely, but his gaze remained fixed.
“Pull me up!” Evryn shouted, her voice echoing against the stone as she struggled.
“Stop screaming!” Auren shouted back, his voice strained from the effort and the spell’s agonizing pressure.
“You are making my strength weak!”
“Close your eyes.” she yelled, realizing where his eyes were drifting.
“Stop pushing your body into my line of sight!” Auren snapped.
He tightened his grip, his silver eyes flashing with a sudden, dark intent.
Using her precarious position to his advantage, he leaned over the mouth of the well, his strength the only thing keeping her from the dark water below.
“Apologize, Evryn,” he commanded.
“Say you are sorry for the bucket of the balcony, or I might just see how well you can swim.”
Evryn shouted under her dress and pulled it away as she glared up at him, her spirit unbroken.
“No!
I won’t, never Auren!
I’m not apologizing for the truth!”
“I will let you go,” he threatened.
“I will make it easy on you,” she shot back, her voice trembling but sharp.
She began to twist and thrash her body to force him to let go.
“I’d rather take my chances with the water than give you the satisfaction of an apologies!”
Auren’s jaw tightened as the spell struck his chest like a red-hot iron, punishing him for the danger he was putting her in.
He could feel his muscles seizing, the magic screaming at him to pull her to safety.
Yet, seeing her fight him even while dangling over a drop, a dark, reluctant smile touched his lips.
“Still so many teeth for someone without a floor under their feet,” he teased, his voice strained by the pain of the binding.
Auren shifted his grip.
He released his hold on her legs and grabbed her hands with a powerful, desperate tug.
He pulled her up so fast that she flew out of the well and slammed right into his hard chest.
The force sent them both tumbling backward onto the grass.
Their eyes met for a long, quiet second, their breath mingling in the cold air.
Auren’s hand moved slowly on her back, a low, mocking tease in his voice.
“I thought you told me to keep my distance?”
Slap!
The sound cracked through the morning air.
Evryn hit him across the face and scrambled off him.
“You are a pervert!” she snapped, her face crimson as she fixed her dress.
Auren closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.
He was a king of vampires, and he had just been slapped by a human girl…and he couldn’t do a single thing about it.
“Ray!” Evryn suddenly cried out, seeing him still on the ground.
“Ray, wake up!
Oh my god, what happened to him?” She saw the blood on the back of his head and gasped.
Auren stood up calmly.
He picked up a bucket full of cold well water and dumped the entire thing onto Ray’s face.
Ray sputtered and choked, his eyes flying open.
“Wha…?”
“Ray!
Are you alright?
You’re bleeding!” Evryn put her hand on Ray’s cheek, looking worried.
“…
I don’t know…
something struck my head,” Ray groaned, feeling dizzy.
He reached out and placed his hand on Evryn’s waist to steady himself.
Splash!
Auren hit Ray in the face with a second bucket of water.
“He’s awake now, Evryn.
No need for the touching,” Auren said dryly.
Evryn looked up at him.
“Stop it,”
Ray wiped the water from his eyes and looked up at Auren with a gaze full of pure hate.
Auren simply dropped the empty bucket and walked away without a word, a small, satisfied smirk on his face.
Ray sat up, soaking wet and grumbling, “I hate that man.”
Evryn helped him stand, her face full of concern.
“He saved me from falling into the well, Ray.
Let’s just go so I can heal that wound.”
Later that afternoon, the garden was peaceful.
Evryn was sitting on a stone bench, trying to get lost in a book.
The quiet didn’t last long.
Auren stepped toward her.
“You ruined this,” Auren had said when he first approached, dangling the fabric by two fingers.
“The stains didn’t wash out very well.
they did a poor job.”
“Then wash your own clothes, Auren,” Evryn had replied without looking up from her pages.
“You ruined it, so you will wash it for me,” he countered, his voice dropping an octave.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever, Your Highness.
Just let me enjoy my peace,” she said with a mocking tilt of her head, still refusing to meet his gaze.
Auren stepped and his shadow falling over the pages.
He glanced at the cover of her book.
“Are you reading The Golden Swan?
It has a very tragic ending.”
Evryn looked at him, her eyes widening.
He was clearly trying to spoil the story before she could finish it.
“Finally,” Auren murmured, his voice smoothing out.
“I saw those hazel eyes.”
He didn’t stop there.
“The main characters…” he continued, acting like he was just making small talk, though inside he was loving how much he was irritating her.
“They will both…”
Before he could finish, Evryn’s hand flew up and covered his mouth.
“Stop it!
Don’t you dare tell me!”
Auren’s eyes glinted with mischief.
He didn’t pull away; instead, he made a sudden movement like he was going to bite her palm.
“You really are a vampire!” she shouted.
“You haven’t even seen my fangs yet.
Now, as I was saying, the main character will…”
“Stop it!” Evryn cried, slamming her book shut.
She stood up and ran away toward the house, covering her ears so she couldn’t hear him.
But Auren was already moving; his speed was terrifying.
He appeared right in front of her path, blocking her like a wall of stone.
He reached out and snatched the book from her hands before she could blink.
“Give that back!” Evryn shouted.
She started to jump, reaching for the book as he held it high above his head.
He didn’t smile as she struggled; he just watched her with a steady, haunting gaze.
“Shut your mouth, Auren, and give me that!”
“Take it,” he said, his voice showing no emotion as he kept it just out of her reach.
Evryn huffed, frustrated.
“Auren, are you bored or what?”
“I was bored,” he replied.
“But not now.”
“Go find some friends!
You’ve only known me since you started working here.
Go talk to someone else.”
Auren stepped closer, his shadow falling over her.
His face was serious, almost heavy with a weight she didn’t understand.
“You are enough for me,” he said quietly.
Evryn’s breath caught in her throat.
She looked for a joke or a smirk on his face, but there was absolutely nothing…
only that cold, intense, brooding stare.
“Idiot,” she finally muttered.
With a dramatic roll of her eyes, she reached out and violently snatched her book straight from Auren’s hand, nearly taking a couple of his fingers with it.
She turned her red face away, but she only managed two steps before his voice stopped her.
“Evryn,” he called out, his tone entirely too calm and smug.
The moment she whipped her head back around to snap at him, a flying wad of white linen hit her dead in the face.
The shirt draped perfectly over her head like a tragic ghost costume.
Evryn froze, completely blinded, her arms still clutching her book.
Underneath the fabric, she squeezed her eyes shut and took a long, deep, suffering breath, silently counting to ten to stop herself from killing him.
Without a word, she yanked the shirt off her head, threw him a look that could kill an immortal, and marched away into the shadows of the corridor, muttering a string of highly colorful curses under her breath.
Auren watched her go, a satisfied smile on his face.
He was having a lot of fun…at least until the spell broke and he had to go back to being a king.
For now, annoying her was the best part of his day.
The golden gate opened, and Asric stepped out, looking around the modest estate with a confused frown.
He found Auren standing alone, a strange look on his face.
“What are you doing here?” Auren asked, his voice returning to its cool tone.
“I have something that needs your decision,” Asric grumbled, waving a scroll around.
Then he stopped and squinted at Auren’s face.
“And why do you look so…
amused?
Did you actually start liking this servant role, or did you finally lose your mind?”
Auren let out a small, dry chuckle.
“I was just playing with my little bird.”
Asric blinked, looking genuinely lost.
“You have a bird now?
Since when do you care about pets?
Is it a hawk?
An eagle?”
“No,” Auren said, his eyes drifting back toward the path where Evryn had disappeared.
“A very beautiful one.
She has colorful feathers and a very sharp tongue.”
Asric groaned, finally catching on.
“Oh, great.
You’re talking about the girl.
You’re supposed to be breaking a curse, not playing games with a human.”
“I am having fun,” Auren replied, looking back at his cousin.
“Must be nice,” Asric muttered, crossing his arms.
“Back at the palace, I’m stuck dealing with grumpy lords and dusty papers while you’re out here enjoy with ‘little birds.’ I think I chose the wrong job.”