Chapter One

I hate him.

He stole everything I loved.

He stole my mother. He stole my brother. And now, he's stealing me.

He approaches my father with a small smile twisting his lips. He stares at me; his green eyes glowing eerily. I sneer at him, wishing for him to disappear. His perfectly sculpted lips tug further as his eyes land on my magnificent red dress. The dress fits my torso tightly. It flares out in a series of warm yellows and oranges until it lightly touches the ground. On my head, is my diamond tiara. The dress is the outfit I must wear when we have royal visitors.

I glare at him with as much malice as I possibly can. I know what happened that night. It is possible that no one else does, but I remember him clearly. I remember his face as he drank the life out of my mother and brother. I should feel fear. But all I feel is fury. I feel the strong urge to exact justice on this man.

My father does not know. He is tugging his beard thoughtfully. My father is the strongest man in the world—not exactly, as the thing in front of me is—and his body reflects that. He is large; although not fat, but strong and muscular. His words fill up all of the space in the room. His blue eyes instill fear on anyone who gazes at them too long. But this monster in front of me—he is stronger than my father. And he doesn't know. He is the murderer. The man hated and wanted dead by the whole land.

"Your proposal is interesting," Zeus says. "I am intrigued. But I am not so keen to give my precious daughter to you."

"But isn't there supposed to be a reward that benefits me?" the man asks. His smile becomes wider and I scoot farther away from him, my back was pressed against my throne. "We open the ports, share our armies, have trade agreements—don't you think it's time for our kind to get along?" He cocks his head to the side, his voice sickly sweet. I shiver. I know that he is not making a proposal. He is demanding from my father a full submission; a surrender.

"Hm," Zeus hums, not agreeing or disagreeing. "Access to my armies is reward enough."

The man snorts. "Vampires don't need Golden Ones."

Zeus frowns. He does not like that name for our race. We are called "Golden Ones" because of the color of our ichor. "We…Golden Ones don't need vampires." He jabs a large finger at the man in front of him, who was smiling slyly.

"Oh?" He raises a brow. "Perhaps you have forgotten the Great War?"

Zeus growls, his hand clenches around the throne armrest as he struggles to restrain his anger. "I could say the same thing to you, Castellan," he practically spits out the vampire's name. "If I recall correctly, we practically slaughtered you all in the Battle of Thrones."

"Stupid name for a battle," Luke Castellan remarks, his smile becoming ominous. It scares me. "Yes, King of the Golden Ones, you slaughtered us in the Battle-That-Was-Stupidly-Named. But," his fangs gleamed in the light, and I gagged in horror and disgust, "We slaughtered your precious Queen and Prince."

I stand and grab my bow that had been placed by my throne. Aiming a charged arrow at him, I growled furiously at him. The anger flowing through my veins is unbearable. My heart aches, my chest feels like it is bearing the weight of the world. I feel like throwing up.

"You had failed to save your wife and son," Luke taunted, his words feeling like a knife twisting in my gut, "Who's to say you won't fail in protecting your precious daughter?"

"You keep your mouth shut!" I roar at him, "You killed them, murdered them, in the dead of night, like a coward!"

"I am not a COWARD!" Luke screeches back, his entire body trembling at my insult.

"Yes!" I spit, "Recognize yourself for who you are. How could you make my people suffer in such a way? You are a little weakling, unable to face your vile, twisted, vicious ways!"

Luke is still shaking, and then, suddenly, he stops. A smirk slowly creeps along his lips. "Never mind negotiating. Let's just take her." I do not have time to even feel fear. He runs towards me with incredible speed, all I had felt as an indicator of his presence was a gust of wind. He picks me up, and I scream in anger, kicking and punching him. I can faintly hear Zeus bellow from the palace. If there is one thing the Vampires have over us Immortals, it is their super speed.

"Let me—" I manage to punch him square on the cheek, causing a grunt to fall from his lips. "GO!"

"No can do, sweetheart," Luke says in his sickly sweet voice.

"Damn it, you monster, I am an Immortal!" I bend my leg and kick him in the face. I squirm in his hold.

"If you fall while I'm at this speed, it'll take you over a decade to reform. So I recommend to you that you shut up and stop moving," Luke advises through clenched teeth. "If you punch me one more time, I will drop you."

I glare at him. "Fuck you."

Luke winks at me, and we speed up. The wind flowing through my hair is almost painful. It hits against my face, making my eyes feel cold and dry. It is not a pleasant experience. I have to make sure my dress does not fly up and give anyone an immodest view. When we stop, which does not take long, I am set down in front of a large boat.

I turn to Luke, a look of pure hatred on my face. "You're disgusting. You're a monster."

"And you, my dear," he places a finger under my chin, in which I desperately try to step away from him, "are my wife-to-be."

I bend over and retch off the docks. Luke doesn't bother pulling my hair back. When I come back up, Luke is looking at me with a deep frown. "Now now, Artemis Castellan, let's not get so nervous now. It's only a wedding after all."

I feel bile rise up in my throat and throw up again. I hate the name "Artemis Castellan."

"I will never marry you," I croak. "You're a murderer."

"And so are you, Artemis," Luke smirks at me. His fingers roughly tug at my chin so I am forced to stare at him. "So," he tugs me closer, "are," closer still, "you." He pushes me away, and I lose my balance, almost falling off the docks. I growl and turn around, intending to sprint my way back to the palace. Luke catches up to me in no time, picking me up and setting me down.

"You can't run away, sweetheart. Not when I'm around." His breath reaches my ear and I squirm uncomfortably. "Face it," he says lowly, "You're powerless. Golden Bloods are weak. We are strong."

"Only when you feed on the blood of innocents," I reply snidely, "We are strong by our own power."

"My only advice to you, my sweet, is for you to keep your mouth pleasantly shut." Luke snarls at me, and drags me toward the ship with a strong grip. I do not resist. I know he is right, and I cannot escape him.

The ship is large, made mostly of metal and painted white. A figure of a beautiful young woman was placed in the front. "This is Princess Andromeda," Luke says.

I roll my eyes. He thinks I care about the ship's name.

I follow him onto the ship, feeling lost and disgustingly helpless. I give my home one last look and climb on board. Feeling a tear fall down my cheek, I wipe furiously at my face. The ship smells stale and I wrinkle my nose. I do not want to take one more step. My dress keeps catching on my foot and I almost fall over.

Luke snaps his fingers. "Perseus! Bring my prisoner—I mean," he grins at me, showcasing his unsettling fangs; I cringe, "—my wife—to her room. And if you can find it, Ambrosia please."

I look around. There is no one else here.

And then I see him. Perseus is tall, and unlike most Vampires, tan. He has the perfect beach tan. His jet black hair is tossed around, sticking up in random places, and looks completely effortless. It is messy, yet still appears sexy. His eyes are the same color as the ocean, a deep green with soft undertones of blue swirling in the irises. Perseus is lean and muscular, although it appears his lean build is a product of being underfed. There are dark circles underneath his bright eyes. He is handsome, with boyish features and a strong jaw, chiseled nose, and lips sculpted to perfection. He looks utterly exhausted. "Yes, Your Majesty," he says, and waves me over to follow him.

I lift up my skirts and follow him with my head held high. I can feel Luke's eyes on me and I shiver. I know he likes me. I know he is attracted me; and as much as I hate it, it is the only reason why he is keeping me alive. Perseus is silent as he guides me to my room. I open my mouth several times to talk to him, but think better of it. He may look friendlier than other Vampires, but he could be one all the same. At the thought, my mouth twists into a determined frown. I will not talk to this "Perseus." I am above that.

"It's right here," he points to a small wooden door. His voice is of a soothing baritone timbre. "I'll be back for your ambrosia. And it looks like you'll need new clothes too."

I watch him as he turns and leaves me. I don't open the door until I cannot hear his footsteps any longer. When I do, I gasp at how utterly—

"It's too small!" I groan. The room was just big enough for the twin bed and about three other people to stand in that room. How could I dress and undress in such a cramped up space? I pace around the small room, my arms crossed and my eyebrows ticked up in irritation. I wait until I hear footsteps again and stand still

I hear a knock on the door and question if I should even open it. I sigh and open the door. Perseus walks in, and the room feels even smaller. He drops the clothes on the bed and holds out the ambrosia. "Here," he says.

I look at his sunken in cheeks and shake my head. "No…you can have it."

There are a few moments of silence.

"I don't need it," Perseus replies, and takes a step toward me.

I look down at my own full figure. My body is voluptuous due to all the royal meals I have access to. It's not like I really need the food. "I can go without a meal. Vampires can have Ambrosia too, can't they?"

Perseus looks down at his hand, and I see a flash of hunger in his eyes. "You look hungry," I say softly. I have no idea why I have any sympathy for a Vampire. "Please, eat it."

He slowly retracts his hand, and brings the Ambrosia to his lips. He takes a small bite, and sighs in content. I wonder how long it's been since he's eaten. As if he can read my thoughts, he says, "Servants get fed once a week."

I take in a sharp breath. A week. I don't want to believe it. I give him a look. He still has muscle, though. Why doesn't he look pale and sickly?

Perseus looks away, appearing guilty. "I don't want to answer that," he says, and I look at him with curiosity. That's the second time in which he knew what I was thinking.

"I brought you nectar, too," Perseus tells me quietly, reaching into a bag I hadn't known existed. I shake my head and tell him he can have the nectar too.

"No," Perseus replies, shoving the nectar container to my crossed arms. "If I have any more food His Majesty will find out. He'll know I've disobeyed him, and then he will punish me."

"What?" I step a little closer to him. The room seems to get smaller and smaller. "He won't be able to tell the difference. Vampires aren't actually affected physically by the nourishment of Ambrosia, are they?" From what I know, a Vampire could live off of Ambrosia, but they wouldn't look as well fed or powerful as another Vampire who drank their proper food; blood.

Perseus doesn't answer me, just scowls and shoves the nectar to my still crossed arms. I can tell it is taking him a lot of willpower to not drink the nectar himself. I eventually drop my arms and stand still. I look him in the eyes and shake my head. "Have it," I say.

"Please," Perseus begs, his voice shaking. He really wants the nectar, I can tell. His scowl is steadily melting off of his face.

"Perseus," I remove the nectar from his fist and take his other hand. I gently open up his palm and place the container on his hand. "You're hungry. Please drink it."

Perseus nods, finally, and drinks his nectar thirstily. His Adam's apple bobs up and down and some of the liquid drips down his sharp jaw and his neck. He sighs when he finishes, and I swear his skin is glowing with a certain luminosity an undead person is not supposed to have. He eyes me, and crushes the container. "Thank…you…" He bows his head. "If there is anything you may need, just snap your fingers, say my name, and I'll be there."

I nod and he leaves the room, closing the door lightly behind him. I turn around, looking through the small round window above the bed. All I can see is the blue ocean.

I sort through all of the clothes, there's a night outfit and two day outfits. I wrinkle my nose at the fact that I have to put the clothes on the ground, but they wouldn't fit on the bed if I slept on it. I place the day clothes neatly on the floor and remove my dress and corset. I pick up the night dress, which makes me huff indignantly. The dress is anything but modest. It is made of red silk and fits tightly around my torso. The dress stops mid-thigh. The bust is too small, constricting my generous chest. It is cut too low. I know it is not Perseus's fault, however. I've seen the Vampire ladies of the court before. This outfit is probably the most modest one he could find.

I fold up my dress and place it on the ground next to the other outfits. I look outside again. It is nighttime.

I hear a rumbling in my stomach and regret not asking Perseus for more food. "That might've been suspicious, though," I mumble to myself. With Luke around, every action I take must be calculated. There are dire consequences that might occur if I take one wrong step. Luke is dangerous, and I can't deny it. I sigh and hope that my father will find me. That somehow, he will rescue me.

But how? The Vampires are strong. We are strong too, but if they have blood, they have the ability to end us for thousands of years. I will try to send him a letter, a letter that tells him that we need to cut off their blood supply. That is the only way that they could rescue me from the Vampire King. In the War of Devastation, or the Great War, the Immortals did everything they could to keep the humans safe and healthy so that the Vampires couldn't get blood. It worked for a while, until Luke Castellan slaughtered a village of innocent people. In revenge of the people, I'd killed his Grand Advisor, Ethan Nakamura. He wouldn't be reforming for another ten thousand years.

And in revenge to that…Luke had killed Leto and Apollo. There is nothing in the world that I can wish for but their re-formation. I had no idea how long it would be until they reformed. Zeus hadn't known who had killed them. No matter what I told him, he was convinced that Luke Castellan had been weakened by the war and couldn't hurt one of us Immortals. I shake my head. We Golden Bloods have too much pride.

I look outside again. I still remember Apollo's bright smile. All of the days have been so much darker since he's been gone. I miss him.

I sit down on the bed, which is hard and lumpy. The blanket is scratchy too. It creaks under my weight. I get under the covers and realize that my pillow is about as thin as my blanket. I feel the temptation to call Perseus and ask him to give me better blankets and pillows, but decide against it. Something tells me that he probably can't, most likely under Luke's orders. He wants me to suffer, I can tell. I am grateful he at least gave me a bed. I could be sleeping on the floor right now. I scratch my leg. Never mind. This blanket is a lot worse than no blanket. I throw it off and find myself getting out of the bed altogether. It's late, I can tell from the moonlight teeming through the windows.

I decide to walk around, knowing that there won't be any Vampires around. They don't like to be out when there's a full moon. I eventually find my way to the deck, where I see a figure leaning against the railing. My breath catches, and I hide behind the mast. The figure glows underneath the moon. The figure turns around.

"I can hear you."

I sigh heavily. Coming out of my hiding space, I speak up, "Perseus? What are you doing out here?"

"I came to think. What are you doing out here?" He turns and looks out at the sea. I pad closer to him.

"I'm a…" my mouth tastes bitter, "I'm a Golden One. I can come out in the full moon."

"So can I."

My breath catches. "You're…you're an Immortal?"

"No," Perseus replies sharply. "I'm…I'm not anything." His shoulders slump. "I don't know what I am."

And in only a second, he's gone. There's only a gust of wind to remind me of his presence.