7. ANGEL

My nose wrinkled as I stepped into the basement. The smell that assaulted my senses made me feel sick. I hesitated at the bottom of the stairs with the bucket clutched tightly in one hand and the mop in the other. The maid said that the queen ordered me to clean the basement. I supposed it had to be better than being stuck outside under the hot sun, or so I thought. My eyes darted around as I took in the strange equipment. I sucked in a breath when my eyes locked on a bundle of blood near a bench. It looked fresh. Lowering the bucket to the floor, I dipped the mop inside and started cleaning. The sooner I got things done, the sooner I could get out. I had a few more chores to finish and then I had the rest of the day to myself. It gave me the perfect opportunity to go to the library. Once I figured out where it was. Mason had told me where it was, but I forgot. I was sure that it wouldn’t be so hard to find the library in the daylight. As I cleaned, my mind trailed off to last night. The strange, the guard who offered to help me, had come to see me last night. We had agreed to meet in my room earlier in the day rather than outside in the courtyard where someone might catch us. The man was persistent. He wanted a taste of his payment before he helped me, but I couldn’t bring myself to allow him to touch me. Every time he came near me, I panicked. The man said that he wasn’t going to help me if I didn’t give him an advance. His patience was running thin, I could tell. A sound snapped me back to reality. I jerked upright, eyes darting around. There was another sound, a low moan. It sounded like the person was in pain. Lowering the mop, I hurried forward. I glanced around, searching for the person, but the further I walked into the basement, the worse it got. There was blood everywhere. On the floor, on the walls, on the strange equipment. My breathing sped up. Fear made my stomach twist with nausea. There in front of me on the floor, was a girl. A naked girl, covered in blood. She moaned again as she rolled onto her back. “H-hi,” I croaked. “D-do you－” “H-help me,” she breathed. I hurried forward, which was a mistake. The moment I was within reach, her hand shot out and gripped my arm. I screamed when she jerked me down. She buried her hand in my hair and jerked my head to the side. Pain shot through me when sharp teeth sunk into my neck. It was just like that first day when I came through the portal and the man had bitten me. I was in shock then. But at the moment I could actually feel the girl sucking the blood from my body. The realization made me snap into action. Pressing my hands to her chest, I tried to push her away. Her fingertips dug into my skin, pulling me closer to her. My eyelids grew heavy as my body went numb. All I wanted to do was go to sleep. A loud roar made my ears hurt. The girl jerked and then pushed me away. Too weak to stop the fall, I fell back and hit the ground. Pain shot through the back of my skull. I had no time to dwell on the pain. A large man was stalking the girl who was busy crawling away from him. She pleaded with him as she cried, but the man had no mercy. Bending, he jerked her up by her arm and gripped her hair. He inspected her neck and then to my horror, snapped it. Dropping her to the ground, he turned around to look at me. I would have tried to run if I wasn’t so awestruck by the wings spanning a few meters behind him. They were dark with horns at the top and they looked velvety soft. He towered over me for a few seconds and then crouched. “You shouldn’t be down here,” he growled. I shivered. “I…I…I…” I swallowed. “The Queen ordered me to clean h-here,” I stuttered out. Reaching out, he gripped my arm and gently pulled me up. His eyes instantly dropped to my neck. My eyes dropped to his lips when they parted. Sharp teeth greeted me. There were fangs, but his other teeth were sharper than normal. I blinked and the sharp teeth were gone. Hazel's eyes locked with mine for a few seconds. “I’m going to have to take a look at the wound on your neck.” He slipped an arm under my knees and one around my back. I gasped when he suddenly picked me up. The shock faded when he started moving. I’m going to be in so much trouble, I thought as he carried me up the stairs and out of the basement. “Are you going to punish me?” I questioned him softly. His eyes darted down to me. Now that we were out of the basement, I could get a much better look at him. There was a resemblance between him and Mason, but I couldn’t be too sure. He had a thick beard and mustache with hints of grey. “You’re not getting punished for doing what you were ordered to do,” he muttered. “But they were given clear instructions to keep you away from the basement.” I frowned. “Because of the b-blood.” His lips parted like he wanted to say more, but he pursed his lips instead. Closing my eyes, I rested my head against his shoulder. The wound on my neck was still bleeding and it was soaking my uniform. Debora was going to kill me. The stranger wasn’t going to punish me, but she definitely would. I must have dozed off because when I woke up, I was no longer being carried by the stranger. Soft sheets covered me, and the bed I lay on was much more comfortable than my own. Pushing myself up onto my elbows, I glanced around. It was one of the royal rooms. The bed was a big four-poster bed that stood in the middle of the room with the bed sheets and the curtains around the bed made up in one of the royal colors. Was I in King Lucas’s room?” I doubted it. Sitting up fully, I pressed a hand to my throbbing head. “Don’t get up,” a familiar voice ordered from somewhere in the room. My eyes darted around, searching for him. I didn’t have to search for long. Mason walked out of what I assumed was the bathroom with a bowl in one hand and a small towel in the other. Walking over to me, he placed the bowl down on the bedside table and then took a seat on the edge of the bed. “Let me clean the blood.” He didn’t wait for me to reply. Dipping the edge of the towel into the water, he leaned forward and then pressed it to my neck. I winced, waiting for the pain, but there was none. “Nate healed you,” Mason said softly. “You’re going to feel a little weak. Once you eat something, you’ll feel better.” “It’s not time for lunch yet.” Mason frowned. “I still have things to do.” His frown deepened. “You won’t be going back to work, Angel. I have a meeting with my brother in an hour.” “Your brother?” Smiling, he lowered the towel. “You know him as King Lucas.”