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Claire POV.
Edited.

I open my mouth to respond, but he raises his hand to stop me.

His stormy-gray eyes watch me intensely as he leans over the sleek coffee table separating our couches from each other.

"When we first met at the auction, I thought I made the affection I feel for you quite clear. The courage you demonstrated in the presence of the world's most dangerous predators amazed me, along with your intoxicating and extremely rare beauty."

He pauses and my heart rate seems to increase by the second.

His eyes darken before he continues, "If that wasn't enough to catch my eye, you also have a heart of gold. You allowed yourself to be humiliated, all to save the life of a human who didn't show an ounce of remorse when you were raped.

"Humans in this day and time don't possess such qualities. My kind made sure of that, but somehow, you managed to slip through the cracks, Claire."

I open my mouth to respond, but this time he doesn't stop me. It's me. I seem to be at a loss for words. I don't know what to say. No one has ever said anything so . . . so nice, not to me. I'm only human, and he's a vampire, a king at that. He hates my kind.

I don't . . .

"Claire, I want to respect your wishes and not invade your privacy by reading your mind. However, you must converse with me if we are ever going to have an understanding."

Xander's smooth voice breaks my train of thought.

An understanding?

"I'm sorry, King Xander b—"

"I told you, call me Xander," he abruptly cuts me off.

King Xander, I mean Xander, has been kind and affectionate from day one. But it's still strange hearing him say nice things about me and compliment my character. I'm only human. I don't know what to do with this information.

"I just don't understand," I confess.

It's not like every day humans receive compliments, especially from vampires. This is just strange and foreign.

He leans further over the table and grabs my hands with his own. His eyes darken as he speaks, "I know you were taught that you exist only to benefit my kind. I know you don't understand what it feels like to be adored and cherished . . .  and I take full responsibility for that. I will right my wrongs if that's the last thing I do. And I want that  to start with you, Claire."

If I was speechless before, now I'm mute. I totally lost the capability to speak, breathe, or even think properly.

This is unreal. I must be dreaming. That's it. That's exactly what this is. It's just some sick and twisted dream.

I let go of King Xander's dream-like hands and do the only thing that I can think of. I pinch myself, literally digging my nails into my skin.

The dream-like king tilts his head to the side and burst out laughing. That's right. He laughs his ass off, nearly stumbling over the coffee table in the process.

"You're not dreaming, Claire. This is reality. I'm real," he informs in between laughs.

But he can't be. There's no way a vampire, especially a king, would ever in a million years say what he stated to a human, let alone me.

He moves in the flash of an eye and now he's sitting right beside me. Those beautiful silvery irises melt ice inside my soul.

"Claire, you have no idea how I wish this was a dream. Before laying eyes on you, I was content with the way things in the past played out. I buried my decency deep inside of me and allowed my society to turn me cold."

His eyes hold so much pain, and I feel like I'm staring into his soul.

"Your fearless nature awakened something inside me that has been long buried," he confesses, never once breaking eye contact. "You are my savior, Claire. All our savior."

"All our savior." Okay. This conversation has done nothing but confuses me from the start. I can feel the honesty of his words. I don't understand them, nor do I get why he's even saying this.

"Xander, I'm human. How could you possibly say I'm a savior?" I ask. "I have never been able to save myself. I'm nothing but the property of King Nicklaus. Nothing you are saying makes any sense."

He's really starting to seem crazy. He should be doing everything to belittle me, not calling me a savior, or saying sweet things about me. It's just not right. Is this some kind of trick?

He leans back, providing me with much-needed space. I breathe, allowing the oxygen to flow inside my body, and it feels like my first breath of air in ages.

"You are right about one thing," Xander admits, raising an eyebrow. "You are Nicklaus's property. You belong to him in every way. My loyalty has always been with my brother, the king. Despite what you believe, he is truly a remarkable ruler. I know that you may not see that, with the unfortunate circumstances of your upbringing, but in time, you shall agree."

He turns to face me, still allowing a short distance to remain in between us.

"I vow to protect you and show a more . . . How should I say this? a more . . . a more . . .  human side of my species. Claire, you have no idea how important you are to me, how important you are to my species. As long as you continue to remain true to yourself, there is no doubt in my mind that you will change everything."

Xander stands from the couch and starts to make his way up the steps.

"I apologize, Claire. I know this may be hard for you to understand." He chuckles softly. "If it wasn't for the bond Nicklaus and I shared, I wouldn't understand either. Let's just pretend that we never had this conversation and allow fate to work its magic."

Forget? How does he expect me to forget a conversation like this? No, I'm not taking that. I shall get him to explain himself and this ridiculous speech.

I quote his words, "If it's the last thing I do." I will get answers. "You don't honestly expect me to just forget this conversation. "How could I  just forget a conversation like that?" I ask him.

He not only said things that vampires just didn't say about my species, he even had the nerve to attempt to fill my head with lies. The reality of this situation is starting to sink in.

King Xander is trying to get me killed. Yup, he really believes I'm that foolish. Something inside me ticks.

"Do you believe I'm some sort of fool?" I cross my arms over one another, anger rising with each second. "You keep speaking in riddles, and it's starting to piss me off."

He wants me to be blunt, right? Cool, I'll show him blunt!

"Your kind hates my kind with a burning passion. Your noble king drained a girl to teach me a lesson."

Tears are starting to form as I stand up.

"There is no way you, or any of you, will be able to demonstrate humanity, especially one who shares the same bloodline of the leech king."

There I said it. How's that for remaining true to myself?

Xander is in front of me as soon as I finished my sentence. His icy breath fans my neck. I'm pretty sure I have signed my death warrant, but he asked for it so . . .

"There she goes. That's the girl I met a couple of weeks back, little brave one." He tilts his head and smiles wryly, acting as if my statement amuses him. "Keep that same energy at all cost, little brave one, and I promise to protect you against any species that tries to silence you, including my brother. I can guarantee that Nicklaus will never harm you, at least not physically anyway."

He lifts my chin so we are at eye level.

"Have you ever played chess?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" I ask him.

"It has everything to do with it, Claire. What's a king without a queen? When you play a game of chess, the goal is to put the opponent's king under direct attack, in which escape is impossible," he answers with a smile. "The players are so focused on the king. They truly underestimate the power of the queen. My brother is extremely powerful. His only flaw is not accepting the true queen, and I take full responsibility in playing a part in that."

Here he goes with his riddles again. Okay, I finally give in. This conversation or as he calls it "understanding," is just not understandable. I saw King Nicklaus accept his leech queen with my own eyes, and what in the hell does that have to do with me anyway?

I smack my forehead in defeat.

"I disagree, but sometimes it's best to just agree to disagree," I admit, speaking freely once again. My head is starting to pound.

I can admit Xander is not like any vampire I have ever encountered. He is sweet, charming, and nothing like his brother. I honestly do not know how he received the reputation of the Cold-hearted King.

"I don't understand why you keep advocating for your brother, or why you even feel the need to do so."

"He's my brother, and as I stated, players always underestimate the true power of a queen. But, you shall not be one of them. No matter what happens, I want you to remember a king is nothing without his queen, Claire," he says, speaking in riddles for what seems like the thousandth time since our conversation began.

"Why do you continue to speak in riddles?"

"It's the only way I can explain things to you, for now anyway," he answers plainly.

My stomach growls at his response.

Xander raises an eyebrow, and I take a mental note that he does that often, most likely absentmindedly.

"Where are my manners? You haven't had a proper meal in a while, have you?"

A soft knock on the door prevents me from responding. Something in his eyes flashed as he grants access.

"Come in."

Seconds later, the red door swings open, revealing a recognizable, fiery red-haired.

"Victoria?" I question more to myself than to her.

She doesn't respond. She curtsies, remaining with her head held low, patiently waiting for Xander to acknowledge and provide her with further instructions.

I bite my bottom lip as I turn to face Xander. This is bad. Victoria being in King Nicklaus's kingdom is a really bad idea.

Now don't get me wrong. We were never friends. In fact, I should hate this slut. She participated in making my life at school a living hell. I should want her to suffer for every single time she made me cry.

If Xander meant anything he said, I'm sure he would end her without question if I truly desired that outcome, but I'm not that person. No matter what she did, it's not her fault the vampires encouraged humans to belittle other humans. She was just trying to survive.

I honestly don't know why I'm surprised that she's here. I knew Xander had taken Victoria under his protection, bringing her here may have been good intentions on his part, but it will only end in her death. I can't allow that to happen.

Xander watches me with a calculated gaze. I'm pretty certain he's reading my thoughts, invading my privacy so soon.

I glare back at him, and his stormy-gray orbs sparkle with delight. My instincts were correct; he's listening in.

"Forgive me, brave one. I just couldn't help myself. And please remember it's all a game of chess," he responds out loud to my inner monologue.

His words confuse me once again as he shifts his attention towards Victoria.

"Rise, slave," he commands, and I notice the shift in his demeanor.

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