I am Sam

SASHA

The moment we step through the darkened portal into an open space shrouded by more dead trees, I feel like being sick. I don’t like travelling through portals as it is, but the darkened portal Malvessa just made us go into was unbelievably dark and heavy.

We’re surrounded by mist flowing in from every corner; only then do I see the dark shadow of a gigantic castle in front of me. Whoah!

Caleb is right by my side, and Atlas is on my other side; Asher comes to stand right behind me, and the moment that Malvessa turns around and takes in all three men protectively standing so close to me, she raises a curious brow at me with a devious grin,

“I see you’re into threesomes,” Scowling at her, my jaw clenches,

“Excuse me?” Letting out a low chuckle, she merely spins back around and begins making her way toward the castle entrance, the only lights on this dark and misted bridge being torches strung up on the side rails. Gulp.

“Oh, Caleb,” She says, flicking her head back with a raised brow, “Be a good boy and leave your pets outside; my home has just been newly renovated.” And I can’t help as I narrow my eyes on her, not liking how she just spoke to him one bit.

We all reluctantly follow after her as she leads us into her castle of doom; I’ve never seen a more gloomy and chilling place in my life. From the outside, it’s all ancient and grim, and I’m suddenly dreading going inside this spine-chilling castle of horrors.

Looking up at Caleb, I swallow hard, and he immediately picks up on my distress the moment he takes my hand in his and laces his fingers with mine,

“I won’t let anything happen to you; I promise,” This might sound strange, but I believe him; if there’s anyone’s word I will trust without question, it’s Caleb’s.

The moment we enter the castle itself, my jaw goes slack; let’s say I should have expected it; high walls, vaulted ceilings, and oversized windows. There’s heavy use of ornate decorations as far as we walk, dark rich colours surrounding us with a plethora of pointed arches.

The moment the scariest looking behemoth of, I’m guessing, a butler steps out to greet Malvessa, I freeze in my tracks, immediately feeling like I’m in some Adam’s family sequel or something. Turning to face us, Malvessa grins wickedly,

“Andrew will show you to your rooms for the night so you can freshen up for dinner, which starts in forty-five minutes; I like being punctual so please respect my rules; no tardiness will be tolerated, guest or not.” She smirks before spinning back around and disappearing down the darkened hall. Gulp.

Andrew, the scariest butler alive, suddenly grunts as he begins making his way up the staircase; he walks like one of his legs is shorter than the other, crooked and painfully slow; and I don't realize how tight I’m holding onto Caleb’s hand until he lets out a low chuckle,

“Does the darkness scare you?” He whispers in a low voice beside my ear, and all I can do is nod stiffly; I can’t even talk right now. This is like a nightmare come to life situation for me, and he merely squeezes my hand in hopes of calming my nerves.

By the time we eventually get to the top of the staircase, the scary butler shows us each to our rooms, but I opt for sharing a room with Atlas instead; all jokes aside, I’m not staying in a room in this ancient spooky castle by myself, not even for just one night.

Atlas is the first to shower, and I forbid him from closing the door to the bathroom; I’m too scared that if he does, some freakish-looking monster might jump out from under the bed or something; the moment Atlas comes out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist, finding me sitting on the edge of the bed biting my nails, he suddenly chuckles as he shakes his head,

“Seriously, if she wanted to kill us, she would have done it by now, Sash. Yes, Malvessa is probably the evilest woman in our realm, but she might also be the one who will give up Lisbon to us for the right price.” Scowling at him, I’m shaking my head in response,

“How can you be so damn casual about this? From the moment I’ve come into the witch’s realm, all I’ve heard is how scary the Unseelie realm is, how I would die if I went by myself, and how insanely terrifying and evil Malvessa is. Here you are all relaxed and calm like we’re not in the most horrifying situation we could ever have landed ourselves in, under one roof with that spine-chilling woman.” I feel like I’m about to have an out-of-body experience at any moment, and Atlas immediately comes up to me and pulls me up into his arms as he wraps them firmly around me in a bear hug,

“Shh, breathe. Yes, everything you’ve said is true, but Malvessa can’t just kill me; she knows what will happen if she does, even she’s not that stupid to go up against Ronan. As for us spending the night under the same roof as her, it might not be ideal, but we did manage to skip a crap load of horrifying monsters and creatures you wouldn’t have wanted to encounter on the way. So yes, keep your guard up at all times, but know that I’m your brother, I love you, and I won’t let anything bad happen to you.” Pulling my face away to look up at him, tears are stinging my eyes,

“You say that, but Ronan is the one who’s ordered a hit on my head; remember, he wants to harvest my powers, no doubt, for you and then kill me,” Atlas’s eyes suddenly become stern and severe as he cups my cheeks,

“Now you listen to me; there is no fucking chance that I will ever allow Ronan to touch you, even if I have to kill him with my bare hands; I won’t let that happen. Do you hear me, Sash?” Nodding, I swallow a heavy lump because it’s all great that Atlas wants to try and protect me, but this is goddam Ronan we’re talking about; look at the amount of control and power he has over so much and so many, could Atlas go up against his father and win?

~

Entering a massive dining hall, the table stretches far and wide and can easily seat about fifty people. Asher and Caleb are already seated, closest to the head of the table, an open seat reserved for the Queen of doom herself.

I sit down beside Asher, and Atlas comes to sit down on my right-hand side; Caleb is sitting down opposite me and gives me a slight nod as a grin creeps up at the corners of his mouth. He’s not at all phased with how creepy this place is; of course not; I think this is probably right up his alley.

The moment Malvessa enters the room, everyone stands; I do so reluctantly as I scrape my chair back before giving her raised brow, but she doesn’t even pay me any attention; her eyes are fixed on Caleb like he’s something she would like to eat, and it irks me to no end how she’s undressing him with her eyes.

Taking her seat at the head of the table, she suddenly looks downright bashful as a smile that could easily reach her forehead has her placing her hands together graciously; and I can’t help the eye roll I give, evil Queen or not, she’s starting to piss me off.

“Thank you for joining me for dinner; please, take your seats; Andrew will be here shortly with our starters. I’m still silently staring daggers at her when a young woman enters the room; she’s dressed in a long black dress with long sleeves and a short black veil that covers half of her face. Silently making her way towards the long table, she takes the second seat off of where Malvessa is seated and slowly slides in beside Caleb, she's sitting as still as a statue.

Caleb’s jaw suddenly clenches as he sits up straighter, his eyes fixed on mine. Malvessa narrows her eyes as she watches between the veiled woman and Caleb like she’s waiting for something. She stares from one to the other for a second more before smirking to herself, raising an unimpressed brow at the veiled woman; she sighs,

“Don’t you know how to greet me?” But the veiled woman stays completely silent, suddenly making it feel even more awkward than it was a moment ago. Scoffing, Malvessa rolls her eyes as she clears her throat,

“Please excuse my daughter; Vanya isn’t very talkative; I sometimes wonder if she was born with a tongue at all; I sometimes wish that she could be more like her brother, Perseus. He’s my greatest achievement, whereas Vanya... she’s my most monumental failure.”

My brows raise in response as I stare at the girl; this is Vanya. I can’t see her face, only her petite jawline and cherry-red lips. What gets my attention is what I suddenly notice in Caleb’s eyes, he hasn’t stopped staring straight at me, but I can see he’s unnerved by something as he swallows hard; he’s sitting as stiff as a statue right now, which is strange for Caleb; he’s someone who makes the whole world shudder around him, not the other way around, what has him suddenly so spooked?

CALEB

I can’t move, my breath hitching in my throat. The moment she sits beside me, it feels like I have a golf ball stuck in my throat that I can’t swallow down, and my heart is suddenly thrumming like a racehorse. My eyes are fixed on Sasha, and I can’t move.

Malvessa addresses the girl beside me, but she doesn’t respond, and I swallow down hard again. My inner darkness perks up with excitement I can’t place; the fact that this girl can instantly ignore Malvessa with such ice-cold precision has me getting hard; what the fuck.

When Malvessa says the girl’s name, it’s like my fucking world flips on its axis, and I can’t understand why; it’s like I can’t think straight; my mind is jumbled like a fucking roller coaster steamrolled my brain. What the actual fuck!

Vanya.

That one name has me rock hard, my chest rising and falling as little sparks of pure adrenaline shoot fire bombs through my veins, and I have to force myself to stay calm and unmoved. Fuck. What’s wrong with me?

Vanya sits quietly beside me, completely unmoved. Is this just me? Am I the only one freaking out on the inside? I need to get the fuck out of here; something is seriously wrong with me, my stoic expression on the outside not holding a flame to the chaos happening on the inside. Fuck.

I’m still sitting like a fucken statue, staring at Sasha, who’s giving me this concerned look like she knows something’s up with me. When someone else walks into the room, my eyes immediately travel over to him as my jaw clenches in response. I know this asshole; it’s Perseus. I would recognize that punch me face anywhere.

“Hello, mother, sorry that I’m late for dinner,” Perseus comes up beside Malvessa, instantly tilting her chin up to him before claiming her mouth. I’m instantly cocking a brow as I narrow my eyes, my brows furrowing as my jaw goes slack. He’s fucking devouring his mother like she’s his... bile instantly rises up my throat the moment he starts to unbutton the first few buttons to her halterneck dress before slipping his hand in and cupping her breast, soft moans escaping Malvessa’s mouth like she’s about to have a fucking orgasm.

What the fuck.

Turning my head back towards Sasha; Atlas and Asher, the look on all three their faces are fucking more comical than the Jerry Springer bullshit we’re being subjected to. Their jaws are all slack, their brows raised as they watch the show, fucking shock painted across their faces. It’s like witnessing a horrifying accident and not being able to look away.

Finally stopping to grope his mother, Perseus tucks her breast back inside her dress as he gives her a wink,

“You taste delicious, as always,” He grins before coming to sit down beside Vanya, and her entire tiny frame tenses as she inhales a sharp breath.

“I see we have guests this evening. To what do we owe the honour of this visit Prince Atlas?” Perseus suddenly raises a curious brow at Atlas, and only when Sasha elbows Atlas in the ribs does he unfreeze from his state of shock,

“Huh,” Quickly turning his head to look at Sasha, it’s clear the two of them are having a silent twin debate; smirking to myself, I remember doing that with... And I quickly stop myself from continuing that thought; I can’t go there.

“Um, well, we’re here in search of Lisbon,” Blinking in amusement, Perseus scoffs,

“Lisbon? Why do you think she would be here in our part of the realm?” All the while, I’m trying to concentrate on what’s being said, but I can’t; all I want to do is touch her so badly, have my hand brush up against hers somehow.

I immediately lower my hands against the sides of my legs, fisting them so tightly in an attempt to stop myself from touching her, wanting to so badly but knowing I shouldn't. The conversation between Perseus, Malvessa and Atlas is still going on, but I can’t hear a damn thing besides the heavy thrumming of my heart in my ears.

The moment Vanya lowers her hands below the table, my heart skips a beat; is she... when she slowly moves her hand closer to mine, it’s like static electricity erupts between us. Swallowing hard, I feel like I can't breathe; she gently brushes the back of her hand against mine, and I swear I nearly choke, my fucking cock twitching like I’m about to cum in my pants.

Slowly unclasping my fisted hand, I gently lace it with hers, and all the while, no one else is anything the wiser. The palms of our hands push together, and I squeeze tightly, and it all comes crashing down on me like a tidal wave at that moment; it can’t be; it’s impossible, no way. My chest shudders as my irises dilate, my dragon roaring in my head.

Mate.

Vanya’s my fated mate.