The King's Bite

Chapter 3

He was even bigger than Allegra imagined he would be, which was ridiculous. With a reputation like King Vladislav’s it was only natural to expect a giant behemoth of a man. So why did he loom over she and Niklaus even further than she had expected him to? His younger brother was at least 6 feet tall and yet he was dwarfed in the King's presence. Those grey eyes of steel were even colder than Milena’s had been. At least the Princess had allowed herself to share a moment of vulnerability with Allegra. She could not picture the man before her doing the same.

The King was burly, too. It was an odd sight seeing a thickly muscled vampire. Admittedly, she had only seen a few in her lifetime, but they all shared the same slenderness and gracefulness. The only thing the one standing before her had with the rest was his pale skin. He looked like he would be at home on a body battleground several millennia ago. He looked like he has never lost a fight in his life.

Allegra shook herself out of the treacherous turn her thoughts were taking and hastily dropped into an elegant curtsey. “Your Majesty. It is an honour to meet you,” she greeted demurely.

Niklaus let out a petulant huff, but she steadfastly ignored him as her attention remained on the King’s broad chest. Her mother's repetitive lessons were filled so far back into her head, she could never forget the appropriate protocol. She was not supposed to look him in the eye unless invited to do so. How exactly she was supposed to recognise said invitation was a complete mystery to her

“It has been quite a while since a member of the Piras family last graced these halls. You must realise what an honour this is, not only for you, but for your entire lineage,” said King Vladislav.

Allegra just barely stopped herself from reacting as she wanted to – with a huge scowl and the suggestion to stick something long and thick up his rectal cavity. It was blatantly obvious that arrogance ran deeply in this family. He had to be baiting her, but she refused to give him the satisfaction of watching her veneer crumble. She sucked it up and placed a serene smile on her face, taking his words as the signal she had been waiting for. She glanced up and looked directly into his eyes. She did not want to admit how difficult it was to gather her thoughts together while she was staring up at that strikingly sculptured face, she refused to even acknowledge it.

“It is both an honour and a privilege... Your Majesty.” Allegra said all the right words, but a sliver of belligerence creeped into her tone. Judging by the way Niklaus stiffened and the King’s lips quirking down at the corners, they both saw through her facade. Quick to rectify her mistake, the Duchess rushed on. “I have always dreamed of seeing Nefolktu with my own eyes. I never thought I would ever be in your country, let alone in the great Kalitsk Castle.”

Her sincerity must have shone through, because Niklaus grinned as his stance relaxed. He caught his brother up on their brief shopping escapade in the city and was completely oblivious to the cold, watchful glare said brother was pinning her with. She may have gotten one past her husband to be, but King Vladislav was not so easily fooled.

Allegra's mind began to spin. She knew human beings regularly died for much less at the hands of vampires. What would he do to punish her for her disrespect? She racked her brain for any memory of the Archaki Seal being removed, but came up blank. They would probably have to get some fae involved. It would definitely be easier to get rid of her. Her palms began to sweat nervously and she wiped the moisture off on her coat under the guise of straightening. Familiar Archaki eyes followed the movement. For a split second there she thought she saw them flash red with hunger, but it was gone before she could tell for certain.

The sight, whether imagined or not, sent her thoughts reeling once more. What if it was a slow and painful death? Death by feeding instead of just a quick twist of her neck? The image of the King with his fangs in her throat was not an unpleasant one. Instead, it sent a rush of warmth through Allegra’s stomach. It had been a long time since she felt that for someone. It had never happened with someone she had just met especially not her – wait. Was she really fantasising about her fiancé’s brother? What was wrong with her? She had gone from being deathly afraid of him to wanting to jump him in record time. How could he possibly affect her this much when he had only uttered a single sentence to her? She needed to nip this in the bud immediately.

Allegra turned her head slightly to look towards Niklaus. His vampire senses caught the movement and they made eye contact. Unfortunately, the King was following their exchange, but there was nothing to be done about that. She widened her eyes dramatically, hoping he would get the hint she was trying to throw him. Nikalus’s eyes mirrored her own as if he just remembered she had previously been on the brink of exhaustion. Of course the encounter with his brother effectively chased all her sleep away, but that was the last thing he needed to know.

“We’ll catch up later, Vlad. I have to show Allegra to her rooms. She’s feeling a bit jetlagged. Humans,” Niklaus jested lightheadedly as he reached for her waist to turn her in the correct direction.

“Oh, surely not,” tutted the King, his gaze firmly fixed on his brother's hand at her waist. It was so heavy, she felt the need to move away from Niklaus – something she had never had the urge to do before. “Lunch has already been prepared in honour of the Duchess. I cannot let our special guest go to sleep on an empty stomach in our home. It would not be fitting.”

She opened her mouth to argue, but Niklaus beat her to the punch. “She won’t really be going to sleep,” he insisted. “It’s only a short nap.”

“Be that as it may,” King Vladislav said with deceptive calm, “I insist.”

One glance at her fiancé’s resigned face was all Allegra needed to know. It was neither a request nor a suggestion. He would not be arguing with his King – brother or not.

“I had no idea vampires ate food,” she muttered recklessly, immediately cursing herself. The comment may have gone unheard elsewhere, but not here with these two.

“We do,” said Vladislav, strangely not showing any signs of being upset at her remark, which some may have called flippant. “It offers no nutritional value, of course, so most of us do without it.”

“What he isn't telling you,” butt in Niklaus, “is that we spend so much time with foreign dignitaries and other royals, we have grown accustomed to it.”

“Sounds tedious,” Allegra said with an exaggerated eye roll to her future husband.

He grinned lightly “You have no idea. Just you wait until we get hitched.”

“Yes, well,” came the King's deep baritone, effectively ending their moment of easy camaraderie. “Show the Duchess to her rooms, Niklaus. Lunch will be served in thirty minutes. A servant will be up to fetch you. In the meantime, I must speak with my brother privately. Join me in the drawing room as she freshens up.”

Allegra and Niklaus both watched his broad, hulking back as he retreated deep into the bowels of the palace. When he disappeared completely, they resumed their walk to her designated rooms.

“Wow,” whispered Allegra. “I expected him to be a bit of an asshole, but he exceeded my expectations.”

Niklaus glanced around frantically presumably to check if they had been overheard. “Allegra!” he hissed warningly when the coast was clear. “You cannot say anything like that while you’re here. He probably heard you.”

“Screw it,” she shrugged easily as he opened a pair of dark wooden doors to lead into her rooms. They were even more ostentatious than the ones she had at home, a feat she had thought impossible until that very moment. “I'm pretty sure he's going to kill me anyway. Maybe we were thinking of this whole thing wrong. There's no way he’d let you marry me if he hates me, right? The guy clearly already does.”

Niklaus grimaced. “Yeah, I noticed that.”

“I’m surprised you noticed over the sound of your own voice.”

“It was impossible not to. I'm not as oblivious as you think I am, Allegra. I was just trying to distract him. Not that it worked. He looked like he was about to throttle you. Usually it takes some kind of bloodshed to get him to even raise a brow. He must really hate you and your family.”

“Oh, thank you,” spat Allegra. “That is very reassuring. What would I do without you? Now get out. I need to change into something else for lunch and you need to go face your brother. Don't think I can't tell that you're trying to avoid him. If you play your cards right, you might get him to send me back home tonight.”

“Fine, I'm going. Don't get your hopes up, though. You're vastly overestimating how much my brother cares for my wants.”

Allegra waved at him absentmindedly as he left her rooms. She sighed with discontent and decided that a shower was just the thing she needed before she went back into the belly of the beast.

***

“You wanted to see me, Master?” Niklaus greeted sarcastically as he threw himself into an armchair opposite his brother’s. They were both facing a roaring fire in the hearth that spread warmth throughout his perpetually cold bones. The room was extremely deceptive, for it was the lair of the coldest being in existence.

“Don’t. I called you in here for a serious matter,” Vlad said seriously. He was in even less of a mood to put up with him than usual.

“Three guesses what it’s about,” Niklaus continued to joke. He knew when he could stop pushing his brother and the time had not come yet.

“It's about the girl,” declared Vlad, his kingliest voice in full effect.

That forced Niklaus to sit up at attention, all signs of fun quickly wilting away. “What about her?” he asked cautiously.

“I do not think she is a suitable match.”

Niklaus paused for a moment before he slowly allowed hope to bloom in his chest. Could this be? Was Allegra actually right? “You don’t?”

“No. I do not see you two together at all,” Vladislav confirmed.

“So what does this mean?” asked the younger brother a tad stupidly, recalling Allegra’s earlier fear. “You’re but going to kill her are you?”

The King let out an inpatient sigh. “Of course not. Don't be ridiculous. The pact we have with her family makes that impossible. All we are going to do is end the engagement. Are you amenable?”

He reached out his hand and his open palm lay in between them... waiting. Niklaus hesitated only briefly before he reached under his shirt to pull out a golden medallion. Gold – as all things fae. It was a requirement to wear it for the duration of his engagement to Allegra. Taking it off would break the contract’s enchantment. It seemed a bit too good to be true, but he was being given exactly what he had asked for and he was not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. He pulled it off from around his neck, watching as its golden sheen became dull, feeling the magic leaching itself from around his body along with the heavy adornment. He placed it in his brother's waiting hand and felt a heavy weight lift itself from his shoulders

“Yes,” he said triumphantly. “I am amenable.”

Had he been paying attention to anything but the elation he felt, Niklaus might have noticed his brother’s eyes sporting a triumphant gleam of their own. He only really switched guys attention to the it man when one of Vladislav's hands clasped tightly around the golden medallion while the other widened the chain so it slipped comfortably around his neck. He watched mutely as the golden relic that had gone dull a moment earlier began to shine once more. This shine, however, was different. It glowed so brightly they both had to avert their eyes for a while until it eventually settled down into a glittering gold. It no longer attempted to blind them, but it shined far brighter than it had around his own neck.

Niklaus was absolutely speechless as he stared at an infuriatingly calm Vladislav.

“What the f**k did you just do, Vlad?”