Beholden (3 page)

Clearing her throat, she mumbled, “It’s fine.”

“Liar.”

Her Master said it in such a cheerful tone she had to glare up at him.

Alexandru chuckled. “But you are. I only had to spend a few seconds in your class to know that everyone hates your guts.”

“They do not.”

“Of course they do. I’m your Master, aren’t I?”

“Yes,” she said very seriously. “They hate me because you’re my Master and you are a disgrace to your race.”

Laughter, dark and as sinfully attractive as its owner, followed her words, and it was clear to see that nothing she’d say would succeed in putting a dent in his humongous ego.

When they reached the foot of the stairs, Zari was surprised when she felt Alexandru reach for her head and ruffle her hair. She was even more surprised when she heard her murmur in her mind.
I’m sorry, pet.
 

Their gazes met, his green eyes unreadable, her gray eyes questioning.
What are you apologizing for, Master?

I’m apologizing for leaving you her for so long, despite knowing that your personality wouldn’t have allowed you to make friends easily with the other pets.

His sincere apology made her frown very hard at the ground. His words touched and embarrassed her, but at the same time, a part of Zari was also hurt. She was right then. Her Master
had
known the predicament she would find herself in. He did know her well enough to guess she’d have trouble fitting in.

But in the end, he had still left her.

Perhaps if Zari had been any other pet, she would have been able to tell him he was wrong for leaving her. She would have been able to demand he take her with him next time. But she was not. She was Zari, the human pet who had forced herself on her Master.

So out loud, she said, “I’ll make friends eventually, Master.”

“I’m sure you will.”
 

She grimaced. “You could have
tried
to sound more convincing, Master.”

“If I had,” he argued, “what would be the fun in that?”

Before his pet could think up a retort, he changed the subject, asking soberly, “Have you seen anything unusual lately?”

She frowned. “You mean, about…” She wasn’t sure if she could say it out loud and so she continued in her mind,
Are you talking about visions?

He nodded.

No. I’ve tried touching every surface to have a feel—

A laugh escaped him.
It doesn’t work like that, pet. It starts with a color. Remember when we were at the tunnels and you told me the first thing you could see was just black?

She cried out,
You mean the whole time I’ve forced myself to touch the soil at the graveyard—

He laughed harder.

“Master, you should have told me!”

He protested innocently, “I thought you’d have figured it out.”

 
He was about to say something more, probably something that would either have her gnashing her teeth or blushing and wishing he was far, far away again, when someone called his name.

Both of them turned around, and Zari saw the headmaster of La Scala Legaturia walking hurriedly towards them, an amazed expression on his chubby face. She had always thought that all headmasters of nonhuman schools like LSL would have long white hair, a beard, and an air of wisdom. However, Sir Richard was the complete opposite. Balding with gray hair, short, and chubby, the headmaster more often tripped than not—

“I am so glad to be able to reach you, Master Alexandru—” A look of horror crossed Sir Richard’s face as he managed to miss seeing the huge warning about the wet floor in front of him and started to slide.

—like now.

Both Zari and Alexandru reached for the headmaster, and they each managed to catch a hold of his arms, preventing him from falling.

“Are you all right, Sir Richard?” Alexandru asked, only releasing the man’s arm when the headmaster had finally regained his balance.

Sir Richard smiled sheepishly as he took out his handkerchief to wipe the sweat off his brow. “My apologies, Master Alexandru. Old age, you know.”

Zari wisely held her tongue despite knowing age had nothing to do with it since Sir Richard was immortal like her Master. The headmaster had his pride, too, after all.

Most other pets would have laughed at the headmaster’s lame excuse, but
his
pet didn’t, and his eyes gleamed in approval at Zari’s sensitivity. In the ways that mattered, Zari definitely promised to be the best human pet he could ever ask for.

To the headmaster, he said congenially, “I understand, Sir Richard.” He didn’t say anything else, simply waiting for the other man to speak.

Sir Richard glanced at Zari.

Zari automatically said, “May I be excused, Master Alexandru?”

You are getting better and better at this, pet.

The sheer amount of happiness she felt at the compliment made Zari want to hang her head in shame. Dear Lord, she was hopeless. Hopeless, hopeless, hopeless!

Out loud, Alexandru said formally, “Of course. Please wait for me at the courtyard.”

“Yes, Master Alexandru.” She managed to remember to curtsy before leaving.

In her mind, she heard her Master remark in mock amazement,
Are my eyes deceiving me? Did you actually remember to curtsy?

She pressed her lips together firmly, not wanting to smile.
Not funny, Master.

A smile underlined his voice as her Master replied,
I will be with you shortly. Thank you for being understanding, pet. It is beyond what I expect and deserve.

As Zari slowly made her way to the courtyard, she found herself mulling over Alexandru’s last words. Was he saying her good behavior was more than what he expected and deserved? If so, why? She hadn’t been living here for more than a few days when she started to hear people
constantly
talking about him.

To both pets and vampires at LSL, Alexandru was a celebrity of sorts, a vampire whose skills in the battlefield were unmatched. His charm was just as legendary, and Zari had lost count of the number of times she heard the other girls gushing about him.

When she considered all the great things she heard about him, Alexandru’s words made less and less sense. If anything, he deserved a human pet who was a lot
better
than she was.

Zari absently seated herself on one of the stone benches lining the pathway. Her position allowed her to enjoy a sumptuous view of the school’s picturesque courtyard, with its marble fountain and ivory statues, but the beauty surrounding Zari was lost on her.
 

Would Alexandru always be a mystery to her?

Would she always feel undeserving of him?

And last but not the least, would he really keep her waiting much longer? The question crossed Zari’s mind when nearly two hours had passed and there was still no sign of Alexandru. Had he forgotten her? Had he left her? Had he—

Don’t think that way, Zari,
she scolded herself. Her Master may be a lot of things, but one thing he was not was rude. A man who insisted that she avoid cursing, carry anything heavier than a kilo, and open doors without assistance would never be discourteous enough not to let her know she could go ahead without him.

Right?

But Zari forgot her troubles soon enough when she heard a commotion at the edge of the courtyard, which was near one of the school’s main gates. There were lots of shouting, and the sense of urgency surrounding the men who came running into the courtyard was unmistakable.

They were carrying a stretcher with a bloodied and injured man on top of it, and one of them kept shouting “Ajuta” over and over.

She understood enough of the language now to recognize the word ‘help’ and Zari didn’t hesitate, hurrying towards the men. She kept one hand behind her, making sure that her skirt didn’t inch up and expose her cotton undies as she ran. The preppy uniform LSL insisted on was ridiculous, the way its buttoned-up top was so tight and its skirt so short.
 

When she reached the men, she asked, “May I be of assistance?”

“You’re human, aren’t you?” The one who appeared to be the leader asked, a desperate look on his face as he gestured for his men to lower the stretcher on the ground. “Are you Unclaimed? Lord Erou has lost a massive amount of blood, and he needs to feed right away. It’s the only way he can fight off the poison that’s entered his body.”

She was not Unclaimed, but—

Zari looked down at the man on the stretcher.
He was extremely good-looking
, she noted absently, but what made her swallow was how pale he looked. Vampires were extremely strong, and even that was putting it mildly. She could only imagine what this man had gone through in order to be near death.

“Miss? Could you tell me if—”

Zari wordlessly offered her wrist.

“Thank you,” the man said feelingly.

She expected him to use a knife or any other sharp object to slice her flesh, but instead he pulled her forward, and she found herself falling on top of the man on the stretcher.

A second later, she felt warm breath warming the side of her neck before fangs pierced her flesh.

In her mind, she heard Alexandru hiss in displeasure.
Who dares taste my pet?

Chapter Three

“Before I read to you the next line, I want you to promise me that you won’t freak out.”

Her Master gave her an arrogant look. “I am not the type to freak out.”

His pet looked unconvinced. “Well, if you say so…” She glanced down at her proposal. “In the interest of equality, a Pet must also have the right to terminate a Claim and choose another Master—”

He roared, “No!”

She winced. “See? I told you not to freak out—”

“The fuck I won’t freak out! You are asking me if I will ever give you the chance to choose someone else over me—”

“I’m not asking that,” she hurried to say. “This is not for me—”

“No.” He yanked his pet to him. Another yank and he had her imprisoned between his body and the wall. “Anything that could free you from me will never get my support.” And his lips slammed down on hers, putting a stop to whatever else she had to say.

“What is it that you want to say, Sir Richard?” Alexandru wasted no time asking the moment his pet was out of earshot.

“It is best we speak about this in private, milord,” the headmaster answered, a grave expression on his face.

Sir Richard led the way to his quarters, and Alexandru followed behind. As was his habit in recent times, his mind searched for Zari, a part of him wanting to make sure she was just nearby and nothing untoward had happened to her. He didn’t care if it meant he was being overzealous. She was
his
pet, after all.

When he was assured of the soul seer’s safety, Alexandru relaxed and allowed himself to enjoy the school’s picturesque landscape. Although the school itself was built like a fortress, with its heavy walls and brick structure, efforts had been made to make the rest of the property beautiful. Trees ranging from pines to mahogany created natural shades everywhere while rows upon rows of flowerbeds added dazzling color to the scenery. Benches made of marble lined the pathways and every so often, there would be an ornately designed gazebo with its own set of tables and chairs that the girls could use as a study area. Around them, birds sang from a nearby aviary while fish of every size and color swam lazily under floating lilies in manmade ponds.

Words like ‘serene’ and ‘exquisite’ were definitely an understated way of describing the scene before Alexandru, but he knew all the beauty in his surroundings was only meant to hide one essential fact: this school was
not
completely safe.
 

La Scala Legaturia was one of the few places that otherworlders like him could consider a sanctuary outside the kingdom of Chalys. And because it was so, the school was also like a ticking bomb, one that could be placed under attack by their enemies at any time.

“Here we are.” The headmaster’s quarters were housed in a stone tower connected to the school’s main building. Most believed that it was to afford the headmaster privacy, but the truth was, Sir Richard was the ever-vigilant type. He liked being able to see everything that was going on in his school and making sure all his students were safe.