• I fell against the cell wall, weary from the day. Zill seemed just as awake as he had been at the beginning of the day. I sighed as I closed my eyes. I could feel my last fight’s hair in my hands. I yelped, my eyes snapping open and shaking my hands. A tear slid down my face as I pulled my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around them. My chest throbbed with every breath. I jumped when the door to my cell opened. “Are you okay?” Zill murmured, crossing the small room to wrap his arms around me.
    “No.” I sobbed, accepting his cold arms.
    “Care to share?” He whispered into my hair.
    “I’ve killed so many!” I whimpered, “They never stood a chance, any of them!”
    Zill was silent so I continued. “They made me kill again and again…” I pressed my face into his cool, smooth, chest, “Men, women, children, teenagers, kids, half-breeds, elderly…”
    I looked up at Zill as his cold hands rubbed my back softly. “I’ve killed them all without mercy to feed the thirsts of the Nightwolves, and vampires that gather in the pits."
    “You will never have to claim a human life as long as your mine.” Zill promised, pressing his chin softly on my head. He hummed a soft, light tune that I didn’t recognize as I closed my eyes and rested my head against his marble chest.
    I jerked myself upright, feeling cold arms around me. ‘Did I fall asleep?’ I wondered silently.
    My muscles protested as I tried to unwrap my arms from my stiff knees. ‘Yup…’ I thought, ‘Definitely fell asleep.’
    Zill looked down at me. “You were really tired.” He chuckled, “You slept for almost six hours.”
    My eyes widened. “Did you stay here this entire time?” I whispered, wincing when he nodded.
    “You are very interesting.” His smile made my heart start thudding in a broken rhythm.
    I shivered as he kept me in his arms and rose to his feet. He didn’t set me down until we were outside of the cell. He chuckled as I stumbled on my numb legs. I shot him a furious glare in return. I can’t help the fact that I need sleep when he doesn’t. I jumped as Zill’s cold hand wrapped around my wrist. “We have some business to attend to in the dungeons today.”
    I froze in my tracks, only to get dragged behind him. I remembered the screams of pitfighters when they got a finger or a toe cut off, how they bled. “It’ll be okay.” He whispered, “I just need to collect the blood. You’ll be doing that seeing as how I’d be tempted to sate my thirst.”
    I closed my eyes as Zill pulled me into his arms. He was so calm, talking about slaughter. I could feel his cool breath on the back of my neck. “It won’t be long…” He whispered, “Most of the humans are bled out anyways.”
    “Ugh!!!” I tried to force my way out of his impossible arms, but my strength was no match for his vampire genes.
    His arms didn’t budge as his tone became worried. “What’d I say?” He murmured, “I don’t mean to be cruel to your race, it’s just how I was raised!”
    His words had no hold on me as he tried to win back my sympathy. “You’re all the same!” I breathed.
    He let his arms fall away from me as I shook my head. They just didn’t understand we have feelings. We aren’t animals. I looked up to see a sign of carved wood. The letters were carved in the ancient language, unintelligible to most eyes. Zill’s chest thrummed with a soft growl as he pulled me close behind him. He wasn’t breathing. I wanted to run, to flee this terrible place of suffering and find one of the free colonies. I hesitated at the cavernous doorway to the dungeons as Zill pushed me gently through. A scream pierced my eardrums, piercing me in place. Zill wrapped his long fingers around the top of my arms and pushed me forward. I was used to the cold by now. Zill stopped at a long rack-like machine with a pale human strung out on it, held in place by his ankles and wrists. He had no clothes on, exposing his bones that jutted out from under his skin. It made me shiver as the man’s blood shot eyes found my face. His Adam’s apple bobbed, trying to form words. His lips formed pleas for help, but he couldn’t get the strength to make the sound for the words.
    I clenched my eyes shut as I thrust the bowl Zill had given me under the flow of blood coming from the man’s throat. I repeated this on various humans during the next few hours. Zill was always there by me. He never said anything because he never breathed. I couldn’t help but try to fit against his body. He stayed tauntingly close to me. It was irritating and yet, I kinda liked it. I felt safe near his arms… When I couldn’t take anymore, Zill wrapped his arms around me firmly. “Let’s go.” He whispered.
    I closed my eyes and nodded as he took the bowl of blood from my bloodied hands and guided me up to the door. “Let’s get you cleaned up…” He breathed.