Chapter 4
Ethan
My eyes snapped open to the same damp darkness I had come to hate. My cheek pressed against the cold stone floor. It was hard and unforgiving. The chains around my wrists were still there, biting into my skin every time I tried to move. The cell smelled worse than it did before. Now, it was a mix of old blood, stale sweat, and the deep scent of despair that seemed to soak into the very walls.
Every time I shifted my weight, my back screamed in protest. The welts from the whip felt like someone had poured gasoline over my shoulders and struck a match. The pain was constant. Each breath I took pulled fresh fire across my raw skin. It was hard to think clearly through the throbbing heat of the injuries.
I just wanted to die. I didn't want this. I didn't want slow, drawn-out suffering that left me just alive enough to feel every single second of the agony. I wanted a quick end, a fast ticket out of this nightmare and back to my real life.
"System," I rasped. My voice sounded thin and cracked. I had spent too much time screaming during the punishment earlier. "Do you have anything to heal my wounds? I can't keep doing this. I need something for the pain."
Red text flickered in the dark air in front of my face.
Healing Potion available in Shop. Cost: 5,000 Shock Points. Current Shock Points: 1,000. Earn more through provocative actions that shock, enrage, or unsettle your targets.
I stared at the glowing letters. My mouth fell open in disbelief. "Five thousand? How the hell am I supposed to get that many points? I can barely move."
System: You already earned 1,000 points from your earlier interactions with the princes. Continue to provoke them. Shock Points accumulate quickly when you push boundaries and challenge their authority.
I let my head drop back against the stone wall. The thud echoed in the quiet cell. I wasn't just tired; I felt hollow. I was exhausted in a way that sleep couldn't fix. "I just want to die in peace," I whispered to the empty room. "Why did I end up here? Why is death so hard to find in a place filled with monsters?"
I stayed like that for a while, lost in my own thoughts, until the heavy door creaked open.
I tensed up immediately. I wondered if it was another prince coming to finish what Desmond had started. I wondered if there was another beating waiting for me. But it wasn't a prince. A woman stepped into the cell. She was thin and very pale. She wore simple gray clothes that marked her as a servant. In her hands, she carried a metal tray. On it was a bowl of thin, watery gruel and a chunk of bread that looked hard and stale. She set the tray on the floor in front of me. She didn't meet my eyes. She kept her gaze fixed on the ground.
"Master says you should eat," she murmured. Her voice was so quiet I could barely hear her. "They do not want you losing any more blood. You need to stay alive."
I stared at the food. Then I looked at her. A slow, bitter chuckle scraped out of my throat. It hurt to laugh, but I couldn't help it. "So those stupid vampires actually want me alive? Figures. They want to keep their toy in one piece."
I leaned forward as much as the chains would allow. "But there are seven of them, right? I have only met three so far. There is no way one of the others won't want to rip my throat out eventually. I just have to find the right one."
The woman glanced up at me. Her eyes were wide and nervous. I didn't stop. I saw an opportunity to test the system again.
"You can take this trash back to your master," I said, my voice getting louder. "I am not hungry. Tell him I would rather starve than eat his garbage."
Her eyes went even wider. She looked genuinely shocked that a slave would speak this way about the food provided by the princes.
System: Shock Points +50.
I blinked. A small spark of hope returned to me. "Rejecting a meal gets me points? Seriously?"
The woman opened her mouth. I could tell she wanted to scold me or maybe beg me to eat so she wouldn't get in trouble. I didn't give her a chance to speak.
"Why do you have that shocked look on your face?" I asked. "Are you just that dumb? Your masters only know how to feed their slaves like they are pets. Do they not have anything better to do with their time? I know how this works. If you keep an old slave around for too long, the blood starts to taste bad. It gets sour. It gets weak. So why don't you run back to your precious master and tell him to come kill me himself? Feeding me is not even worth his time. I am a waste of a meal."
System: Shock Points +50.
I laughed again. It was a low, genuine sound. "Just like that. A hundred points in under a minute. This might actually be easier than I thought."
The woman's lips pressed into a tight, thin line. She looked like she wanted to argue with me, but fear was stronger than her anger. She took a step back toward the door. "If you keep behaving this way," she said in a quiet, shaky voice, "the masters will have no choice but to kill you."
She turned and walked out of the cell. The door shut with a heavy thud that felt final.
I laughed even louder this time. The sound bounced off the stone walls and filled the small space. "Did she think that was a threat? That is exactly what I want! I am already sick of all of them. Just do it already. Kill me and get it over with so I can go home."
I looked down at the untouched food. My stomach growled. The sound was loud and painful. I was starving, and my body was weak from the blood loss and the whipping. But I knew I couldn't eat. If I ate now, I might start to feel better. I might relax. I might even start to hope for something other than death. I couldn't risk that. I needed to stay focused. I needed the vampires to be angry. I needed them to be furious. One good push was all it would take for one of them to snap. Then I would be gone. I would be back in my own world with a hundred million dollars and a mansion. There would be no more empty nights. No more debt collectors calling my phone. I wouldn't be alone anymore.
Suddenly, a loud bell rang somewhere deep inside the building. It was a low, heavy sound that tolled slowly, like a bell at a funeral.
The effect was instant. Every slave in the cell—dozens of them who had been huddling in the dark corners—shot to their feet. Their faces were pale with fright. Their eyes were wide with terror. Some of them started to whimper. Others pressed their bodies against the cold stone walls as if they were trying to disappear into the rock itself.
I stayed where I was. I sat on the ground, calm and curious. I didn't feel the fear they felt.
"System," I thought. "What the hell is going on? Why is everyone so scared?"
System: The Slave Auction. It happens every week. Two to three slaves are selected from the cells and sold to external buyers. Most of them are dead within a month. They are drained of blood, tortured for fun, or used for sport by their new owners.
A wide grin spread across my face. This was perfect. This was exactly what I needed. "Another chance to die," I whispered. "And this time, it might be even faster."
System: Host appears pleased.
"Just watch me," I said.
The cell door opened again. It didn't creak this time; it was thrown open with force.
The same servant woman from before stepped inside. This time, she wasn't alone. A huge man followed her. He was built like a wall of solid muscle. Scars crisscrossed his thick arms, showing he had been in many fights. He had a heavy sword strapped to his back, and the handle looked well-used. In one hand, he carried a heavy iron ledger. In the other, he held a long, thick chain.
The other slaves shrank back even further into the shadows. One of them started crying softly, the sound muffled by their hands.
The big man's eyes swept across the room. He didn't look at the ones who were crying or the ones who were hiding. His gaze landed directly on me. He growled, a low and animal-like sound that came from deep in his chest. He reached for his sword and drew it just enough to point the sharp tip straight at my throat.
"Slave," he barked. His voice was as rough as gravel. "You have a a dead wish."