The Vampire Rules by Michelle Madow

Author:Michelle Madow [Madow, Michelle]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Dreamscape Publishing
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

NINE

For the next week, I spent as much time as possible in the palace library, reading what I thought looked like the most important books in the non-fiction section. The texts were lengthy and wordy, especially the ones from centuries ago that were written in older forms of English. But I powered through them anyway.

Because to escape the Vale, I needed to know as much about the kingdom as possible.

I returned to my room at sunrise. As always, a large glass of blood waited for me on the table.

I downed the blood, but it wasn’t enough. It was like I’d had an appetizer but no main course.

I needed more.

With the glass still in my hand, I marched to the door and opened it. Daniel and another guard were in their positions outside my quarters.

“Your Highness?” Daniel’s arms went to his sides as he stood to attention.

I’d never get used to that title. But what he called me was hardly a concern right now.

“I need more blood.” I was quick to get to the point. “The amount I’m getting isn’t enough.”

“I understand.” He stared straight ahead, not meeting my eyes. “I sent your complaint to the kitchens yesterday.”

“And they gave me less today than they did yesterday!” My nerves felt like they’d reached a breaking point, and I threw the glass to the floor, shattering it in my fit of anger.

Daniel didn’t flinch. “They’re weaning you down to the point where you’re satiated with a normal amount of blood each day,” he repeated what he’d been telling me throughout the week. “You might feel like you need more blood than they’re giving you, but you don’t. That’s your bloodlust talking—not your body. We’ve all been there before. The only way to overcome the bloodlust is to refrain from gorging yourself on blood you don’t need.”

“I’m not asking to gorge on blood.” I grit my teeth together, not understanding why he didn’t get it. Like he’d said, he’d been there before. He should understand. “I just need enough to function. One more pint a day. That’s all I need.”

I hated begging, but I was desperate. It was harder and harder to focus every day. Each day, I was inching closer to a breaking point.

“You’re getting all you need.” He finally met my gaze, surprising me with the worry in his eyes. “You need to learn to control yourself. If you don’t… well, you know the rules as well as we all do.”

Vampires who can’t control their bloodlust aren’t allowed to live.

It was the most important rule of the Vale. And if there was one major takeaway I’d had from my recent reading, it was that the supernaturals loved their many rules.

“Fine.” I marched back into my room and slammed the door shut behind me. Daniel was only trying to help me—I knew that—but it didn’t mean I had to like what he was saying.

I got ready for bed and tried to sleep, but it was impossible. As the week had progressed, falling asleep had been getting harder and harder.

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