When Luna opened her eyes, she saw an animal’s foreleg, her body bouncing up and down with the trotting motion of a horse.

Where was she?

Luna squirmed, but she couldn’t move far because her hands and feet were bound to the horse.

Her head felt like a hundred stones were dropped on it, and she had her mouth gagged.

Jon.

Anger surged through her as she remembered what happened.

Trashing and jerking from her bonds, she tried her best to get free.

The stallion moved sideways, and she caught sight of thick forest.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Jon’s voice was companionable, as though they were out for a ride in the gardens.

Luna froze.

“You’re probably wondering where I’m taking you. I’d love to say, but unfortunately, Fei had placed several restrictions on me.”

Tears of frustration ran down her forehead as Luna painfully craned her neck to look up at him.

He smirked and patted her on the bottom. “You didn’t want to be part of the Consortium anyway, did you? Those ladies are all just highly-priced harlots, and you never struck me as that sort of lady. Better suited to cavern than in the castle.”

Her head dropped, and Luna rested her cheek against the horse’s shoulder.

Bile rose in her throat, and she struggled to keep her stomach contents down.

She ate more than a lot, and if she threw up while gagged, she would choke on her vomit.

Where is the dignity in that?

Think, Luna. Think!

“Here we are.”

Jon dismounted, and Luna stared at his hands as he untied the knot binding her to the horse.

When the tension on her legs gave, Luna kicked out hard, catching him in the face.

“Damn you!” Jon gave Luna a stern look.

Luna slid to the ground, landing with a thud.

Seconds later, one arm caught her around her ribs, flipping her over.

Luna’s gaze fixed on Jon’s handsome yet bloody face.

It’s a shame it healed quickly as expected of a powerful vamp.

Luna’s wrists and ankles were still bound – the best she could do was roll into a seated position.

“You can make this easy, or you can make it hard,” Jon said as a matter-of-fact, wiping that slash of blood on his aristocratic nose with a clean, frilly handkerchief, the epitome of an elegant vampire.

“Either way, you’re coming with me.”

“Where?” Luna managed to make the word audible around her gag.

He jerked a blood-smeared chin forwards, and Luna looked over her shoulder.

Mountains loomed menacingly above them.

Luna felt her eyes widen. It had a dark, eerie atmosphere around it like it was cursed.

“Welcome to the Valley of Kings.”

Jon left her gaping at the mountain while he led the horse over to a rough wooden corral.

Jon unsaddled the animal while Luna clawed at the knots binding her ankles, but they were tight, and her fingers were numb.

They were metals, and the more Luna moved, the more the steel wires dig into her skin.

Luna tried to crawl on knees and elbows, but she quickly realized it was a waste of time.

She couldn’t move fast enough, and the dirt left marks on her leg.

Crouched on her knees, Luna reached up and pulled off her gag.

Taking a deep breath, Luna screamed, her voice reverberating down the mountainside.

The horse squealed and leapt away from Jon, galloping to the far side of the enclosure.

She called again, praying there would be someone near enough to hear or try to annoy him.

Jon sprinted in her direction, but she managed to howl for help one last time before his fist caught her in the cheek.

“Damn you, Jon!”

“Fortunate of me ’cause I’m a vampire,” Jon said. “We’re already damned.”

“I’ll tell the King what you did! I am the High Priestess!”

Luna tumbled backward, and Jon grabbed her dress, hauling her upright.

Her face throbbed, her vision hazy as she tried to hit him back, but he was good at blocking her attacks.

“Only if you survive this.” Jon released that familiar insidiously seductive scent of his as it swirled around her in a sinister caress. “By then, you are dead and useless to the King.”

Luna’s first reaction was an inevitable gasp, followed by, “I’ll tell Fei!”

“I can do whatever I want since we are far away from the castle.” Jon gave her a wicked, wicked smile. “Quite the set of lungs you have, my lady. No one will hear you. It’s just you and me here.”

“Damn you.”

“Let me just remind you, my lady, that this is entirely your choice,” Jon replied. “I’m just following orders. You need to undergo initiation, and the less you fight back, the earlier this ends.”

Luna tried to crawl away, but he snatched up the rope binding her legs and dragged her down a slope, her skirts riding up around her waist.

Sitting on her bare legs, he unbound her ankles and retied the rope to one of them.

Then he flipped her over and untied her wrists, leaving them free.

“You need to be able to swim. It’s the only way under the mountain.” Jon tore down the front bodice of her dress, brushing her arms aside as she tried to fight him off. “Don’t worry. They were specific that your virtue remains uncompromised.”

“I need answers, Jon,” Luna demanded. “Where are you taking me?”

He shook his head. “You’ll learn soon enough.”

Taking hold of the rope attached to her ankle, he hauled her into the icy pool of water lying at the base of the rocks.

Luna started to swim so that she wouldn’t drown.

She was used to living in the mountains, on land, a stable ground or foundation to step on all her life.

This was the first time she swam this deep.

She was terrified of deep bodies of water.

She didn’t know what’s lurking beneath.

It was not safe.

Luna slowed down, and Jon must have noticed that because he swam back and snatched hold of her arm.

“Pull yourself together, high priestess! The other side of this rock is a cave, and for you to get inside, you must swim down about four strides and slip under the edge. Do you understand?”

“I’m not an idiot, Jon,” Luna croaked. “But this is madness.”

Luna took a deep breath before the rope binding her ankle jerked her under as Jon dove beneath the surface. The rock was slimy under her hand.

She swam hard even if she didn’t know where Jon was.

Now, Luna had to find the opening because she was sure that Jon wouldn’t help her if she wouldn’t move or run out of air.

Bubbles drifted from her lips, floating freely to the surface.

She was desperate for breath that her lungs hurt.

Her heart hammered faster and faster.

Her ears popped due to underwater pressure.

Suddenly the rock disappeared, leaving her disoriented and searching for Jon in the darkness.

Luna found the edge of the rock.

Following Jon’s instructions, she slipped underneath, and the water thickened for a moment, holding her in place for a few seconds.

Luna stood on the top of a mountain, and lightning crackled all around her.

The rope pulled hard on her ankle, flipping her upside down.

Jon had grabbed her arms, and her head broke the surface.

Luna gasped a lungful of air as she found a rock protruding from the water.

She clung to its wet edges, afraid to let go.

It was dark in the caves.

Luna felt the icy cold water on her body and the jaggy stone beneath her fingers.

She inhaled the musky humid air as Jon swam towards her.

Luna shivered, waiting.

“Are you all right?” Jon’s voice broke the silence.

“Damn you.”