THE NIGHTMARE

Chapter 107

Dragos sat leisurely, one leg crossed over the other, swirling a goblet of blood like it was a fine wine.

Valerian knelt before Dragos’s throne and bowed so low that his forehead touched the floor. He had gone completely silent once we passed the army of vampires outside. And now Valerian was so still that he could have been a kneeling statue. “Is this a sire-bond thing?” I thought. Well if it was, I wanted no part in it. I decided right then that I would not be bowing down before the tyrant whose blood flowed through my veins. I folded my hands across my chest, raised my chin high, and stood facing the man who had raped my mother. Once I made my decision, I sensed Valerian reaching out to my mind through our bond. He prodded and nudged the thoughts in my head apart gently until he secured the space he needed to plant his.

“Mire,” he said inside my head, “please don’t do this. Kneel down and bow to Dragos. It’s only a bow my love, think of it as respect for his position. It doesn’t ha