Kaliana blinked, her vision blurry, her head oddly fuzzy as she lay there... wherever there was. It certainly wasn't her fluffy bed, and her favourite teddy bear was not in her hands. Something was wrong. Very wrong. Her mattress was rocking gently, and her pillow was warmer and firmer than she remembered. She froze, the events of the day before coming back to her in a rush, and she startled awake. Her eyes fluttered open, narrowing as she caught sight of the annoyance – and he was the one carrying her, though it was different to his last method of approach. He was carrying her like a princess this time around. A damned princess.

"Finally awake, are we?" Bright blue eyes peered down into her own, shadowed by the darkness of the early morning sky. The sun wasn't out yet, but rays of light were already creeping over the horizon. She had been asleep for hours, she realised with a start. It had been evening the last she remembered, though it had been dark for longer periods, seeing as they were still well within the wintery months. "Took you long enough." His irritatingly smooth voice brought her out of her thoughts, pulling her attention back to her rather compromising situation. "I was beginning to think you were going to keep snoring until we reached the palace."

Kaliana snarled, concealing a yawn. She would show no weakness in front of the git. "You're the one who drugged me, thank you very much!"

He shrugged. "Well, it couldn't be helped."

A growl sounded, rumbling from her chest. "That's complete rubbish, and you know it!"

Leviathan only smiled, as if her growl didn't faze him in the slightest, and Kaliana realised soon after it probably didn't. He was a well-known warrior, and he'd patrolled the borders of their kingdom and walked away with barely a scratch. He was impossibly strong. She huffed, looking away from him and his unnerving stare. "The main vampire line is expected to have some sort of resistance to toxins, drugs, and poisons," he explained, smiling sweetly at her as though she should be thanking him for drugging her. "So just consider it an introduction to that part of your education."

Kaliana fought the urge to shiver. "Education?" She was supposed to be done with that.

"Well of course," he said with a scoff. "You can hardly be queen with how you act now. You'd bring the whole kingdom crashing to her knees with that attitude of yours." He leant closer, face alarmingly close. "Rest assured the palace tutors will bring you up to scratch... though I'll happily give my sweet little brat a few extra special lessons in private." His grin turned feral. "I'll be gentle though, don't you worry."

She spluttered, cheeks reddening at the implications of those words. "You—"

He cut her off before she could get another vaguely insulting word out. "Hush."

"Put me down!" she screeched, face burning with embarrassment. She hated him. She absolutely hated him... but she would get her revenge against him eventually. She just needed to be patient, and admittedly that wasn't exactly her strongest suit.

Leviathan glanced down at her, eyebrow raised, and she finally realised what had been bothering her since she woke up. They were no longer in the carriage. Instead, her horrible husband-to-be was carrying her across the rooftops of a very familiar city. The capital city of the Vampire Kingdom. Skordia. It had been years since she'd been there, but the sloping black rooftops and the numerous high slate grey walls left little doubt in her mind.

To her mind it appeared as dreary as a prison, because that was what it was going to be for her. Somewhere she couldn't escape from.

"You sure you want me to put you down here?" he asked, and her temper flared like a hot poker. "Certain?"

"Put me down already, dammit!"

His smile probably should have clued her in. "OK," he said, releasing his hold on her just as he jumped from one roof to the next, waving at her cheerily as she fell.

Her eyes narrowed, glaring up at him given it was all she could do. "You bastard!" she screamed, flailing as she fell towards the cobbled streets. If she hit the ground from that height there was no doubt about her breaking something, unlike the rest of her kin. She didn't need the reminder of how fragile she was, compared to every other single vampire. Her lips clamped shut, refusing to beg him for help like he probably wanted. The sly smirk of his lips told her that much. She already hated him with a passion. A pure unbridled passion – and not the sort usually found in relationships.

He was back at her side in seconds, scooping her up before she could slam into the ground and injure herself more than she probably already was. Breaking the carriage table had done enough damage to her delicate skin. "I thought I told you not to call me that, brat," he said, his voice low and musical. Something other noble ladies would probably swoon at and call seductive. It was anything but seductive, especially when paired with that annoying smile of his – the catlike grin that said he'd won whatever they had been competing about. She was far too busy hating his guts to think about how sexy his voice sounded though. "I'll be sure to help you curb that habit in our special lessons."

"I will kill you!" she promised in a hiss, hands clenched into fists, silently imagining pounding him into the dirt – and that was with her fists, her mind reiterated. She was not having those kinds of thoughts about that git, even if they were to be married. The thought of doing anything expected in the bedroom on the eve of their wedding sent shivers down her spine. She didn't want to think of those things, but fortunately her husband-to-be was more than happy to distract her with his obnoxious ways.

Leviathan tilted his head, voice a mocking drawl as he said, "I feel so loved."

"I will stab you in your sleep!"

He grinned, encroaching on her personal space yet again. "Are you insinuating we'll be sleeping on the same bed together? That's the only way I can imagine you getting the chance to stab me..."

She bared her teeth, pushing the nauseating thoughts about their upcoming wedding night away. "I'd rather die than get into bed with you!"

"I am rather afraid you'll need to be alive in order to provide heirs, otherwise I would happily lend you my aid with that..." he said, staring her straight in the eye without an inch of apprehension, seemingly enjoying seeing her squirm as the little voice in the back of her head whispered about how she was unwanted. Nobody wanted her - not her father nor the annoying prince. "Though I suppose I'll have to sleep in the same bed as you at some point... so I'd better come up with some countermeasures for all these little threats of yours," he mumbled. It was back – that small smug smile of his. The one which told her he was enjoying this. He shrugged. "Father did teach me never to underestimate someone..."

"You are so dead."

"Hmm... how to prevent the stabbing..." He tilted his head, a calculating smirk forming on his lips, eyes glinting mischievously. "Well, I suppose I'll just have to strip search you before you get into bed."

Her hands twitched, the urge to grab a hold of his neck and squeeze overwhelming as he carried her smoothly towards their destination. Anger was always better than the sadness which sometimes threatened to swallow her whole. She wore anger well. "I'll strangle you!"

They did need to breathe, contrary to the popular rumours spread around by mages and wolves. They weren't walking corpses. True, they lived a ridiculously long life and survived off the blood of others, but they still required air and other basic necessities.

"Hmm..." His grin widened, sparklingly white teeth appearing. "Guess I'd better bind your hands while I'm at it, then..."

"You're—"

He hefted her up, bringing her face closer to his own. "Would you prefer handcuffs or rope?" he asked, chuckling at her bright red cheeks. Even her ears felt like they were burning. No proper lady would be talking about these things... nor would a proper gentleman... but the bastard in front of her was neither.

"Kinky bastard," she spat, glaring at him despite her burning face.

"Oh, on the contrary, I'd say you're the kinky one here, brat," he said, eyes gleaming with laughter as he paused in their roof running, staring out across the city as he stood on the edge of the parapet of a nearby cathedral. "Anyone with any amount of brains would be able to work out how to make me stop saying things like this... but you just keep opening that pretty little mouth of yours."

She looked away from him determinedly, ignoring the flutter that ran through her at the word pretty. She was anything but that, and she knew it. "What are we even doing out here? Shouldn't we be at the castle... or, I don't know, inside the damned carriage?" she muttered, desperate to change the topic away from bedroom tastes and the like. Kaliana didn't want to think about anything in relation to that.

"Nice topic change."

She growled. Of course he'd notice. "Shut up and answer the damned question!"

He sighed, pouting ever so slightly. "Shame I left the duct tape in the carriage..."

"Bastard..." she hissed, fingers twitching as she fought the urge to strangle him as he started moving again, the light breeze barely bothering him. Their destination was in sight – a large grey stone castle situated on a slight hill.

"Luckily there should be some more in the castle..."

She bit her lip. "Answer. The. Damn. Question. Bastard. What the hell are we doing out here?" she asked, scowling up at him as he carried her closer and closer to the last place in the world she wanted to be.

"No please?" One eyebrow rose.

Kaliana lunged for his throat.

Though it was safe to say she didn't get very far in the process of strangling him. He was far stronger than her - a fact she loathed to admit - and he soon had her pinned against the rooftops in yet another unflattering position. She stared away from him, glaring up at the fading light of the stars, the pale deep blue of the early morning sky making her shiver. How she longed to be free... and she wasn't trapped inside the castle just yet. The suffocation would only get worse from there on in. Dimly, she was aware of him talking to her, but she was blocking out the sound of his annoying voice. At least until she felt his lips on her neck, sharp teeth biting down ever so slightly – not enough to break the skin, but it would definitely leave a mark on her fragile white skin.

"What the hell, bastard?"

"Glad that finally got your attention," he said, staring down at her levelly. "Besides, at least this way I have an excuse to spirit you away to your room – rather than forcing you to face a horde of ravenous cosmolise. They're always on the lookout for fresh blood." His breath brushed against her throat, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up on end. He was a predator, and in that instant she felt like his prey, which was probably why he snuck in another kiss or two before she finally found her voice again. She didn't particularly want to face the treacherous waters of court just yet, not that she approved of his methods about doing which. Kaliana was fairly certain there were other methods about avoiding the annoyances of gossip mongers and the like, but the dastard had chosen the one most likely to ignite her fiery temper.

"Don't you—" She froze, shivers running down her spine as he nuzzled into her neck at the wet sensation sliding across the pale skin of her throat. "Are you licking my neck?"

"Yes." He paused, devilishly bright blue eyes boring into her grey ones which roiled like storm clouds as she glared at him yet again. It was all she could really do, given his strength and her lacking abilities. "Problem?"

"Hell yes!"

"Hmm... Well, if you want me to stop, then tell me in those exact words, and ask nicely, OK?" He shrugged, and then his lips were back on her neck, teeth nipping playfully at the soft skin of her throat.

Her brain finally decided to reboot from the sudden unaffectionate affection, the words falling from her lips in a high-pitched jumble. "Leviathan, please stop," she hissed, her struggles against him weak as he all but sat on top of her, rubbing his scent all over her – something any other vampire would be able to sense a mile away. Most ordinary vampires had enhanced senses, similar to their werewolf cousins, and any sort of scent marker was ridiculously obvious to either of their species. It marked pack, or coven, in the elder days before the kingdoms had been established. A more established scent marking meant partners, couples, mates – however they said it, it all meant the same thing. She gritted her teeth. It was meant to be done between lovers... but they were anything but that. They were just two people forced together by circumstance, nothing more and nothing less.

He pulled back, as promised, smiling down at her as he rested on his elbows, still keeping her pressed flush against the roof tiles. "Oh dear," he mumbled. "Looks like I will not be able to dally about and entertain the court before I get you settled in your room..." He smirked, letting her know that had been his exact intention. "Best get you to your new room before anyone sees, my love."

Kaliana blinked. "My love?"

"Well, I can hardly call the next queen a brat in public now, can I?" he purred, staring down at her with a catlike grin. "Don't worry. I'll be sure to call you it in private though," he whispered, leaning down, lips brushing against her earlobe even as she shivered at the sensation. "My sweet little brat."

"Umm... Your Highness?"

The familiar voice made Kaliana freeze, her face reverting back to the colour of a ripened tomato. She was still half-trapped under her fiancé's body, dammit. She didn't want to be stared at by all of Leviathan's knights, especially not when she was no doubt covered in his scent. She was one of the unfortunate few who weren't blessed with enhanced senses, and never had she hated that fact more. She would never know how permanent the scent marking was, and she would never be able to tell when it had washed away - if Leviathan let it wash away.

Leviathan turned to face their new audience, unashamed expression written all over his face. "You took your time catching up to us," he murmured, smiling widely. "You want me to seduce my fiancée that quickly, eh? That eager for little Leviathans to train up are we...?"

The blonde, Albion if she remembered correctly, smiled. "Did you get that far then?"

Kaliana choked on the air, glaring at the idiotic knight.

"They didn't give you too much trouble then?" her fiancé asked, glancing between the three men to their side.

"They?" She stared between them all, silently demanding to know what the hell was going on – what she had missed whilst sleeping.

Leviathan clicked his tongue. "Oh pay attention would you brat?"

"To what?" she grumbled, so far beyond done with all of them. She wanted to curl up on the sofa back home and read the day away where it was safe. "Your ugly face?"

Albion sniggered. "Burn."

"Alby." The man with the auburn hair and glasses scowled, thwacking him over the head with a roll of newspaper. "Shut up and stay on your guard. Our loving couple has already been attacked once tonight. We don't need it happening again... especially since we're so close to our destination."

"Attacked?" Kaliana questioned, swallowing hard at the thought. She could hardly fend off a house cat, let alone a vampire with the intent to harm her. She was weak. Pathetically so.

"Oh, did I not tell you that?" Leviathan stared down at her.

She bared her teeth at his nonchalant attitude. "No! No you didn't!"

"Oh. Oops... Must have slipped my mind with how much fun I've been having..."