It always unnerved her how he could read her thoughts or how easily he addressed her with names that made her heart waver and tremble.
But what also surprised her was his claim that the sun did not harm him. They had been taught that vampires get deadly skin rashes or age quicker than usual when they get exposed to even a glimmer of the sun, but her husband had said it didn't harm him. There were many things she was curious to know about him, like how his body temperature differed from both humans and his own kind. It wasn't just warm, it was more than warm. She had seen other vampires, and they all had either light or dark red eyes.
The pure-blooded vampires were the ones with dark red eyes and were the most arrogant of all, while the others had the same light red color. Where did her husband stand among those ranks?
She couldn't help but also wonder why the others who had escorted him for the marriage thought it was acceptable to leave him when he was a lord and should have had guards with him at all times. Whenever her father traveled, he had a long procession following him. Perhaps the ways of the vampires were different from theirs.
Biting the inside of her cheek, she turned to the window and pulled the curtains apart, and just to be sure the sun didn't indeed harm him, she turned to steal a glance at him and saw he was relaxed in his seat and still watching her. Apart from the glow on his skin, she did not see him in any discomfort from the sun.
Belle sighed in relief and turned to enjoy the view of the village they were in. The journey continued in silence. It was not an uncomfortable silence, as it almost felt like she was alone in the carriage. She remained in place, watching the scenery outside the window, while he barely made his presence known, he neither moved nor shifted. Yet, she could feel his gaze on the back of her head.
She would have preferred not to speak to him until they reached their destination, but one could only go so long without food. Her stomach began to growl, betraying her hunger, even though she wanted to hide it. She had not eaten anything on her wedding day, nor in the days leading up to it. She had only eaten light meals at her mother's insistence to keep her lean and ensure she fit into her wedding attire.
When her stomach made another noise, she silently prayed he wouldn't hear it, but that was impossible when he was a vampire with sharp senses.
"Hungry, are we?" came his amused voice from behind her, making her turn away from the window. He was still watching her with that same studying expression.
She nodded, then guiltily lowered her head. "You don't have to mind me. I can hold it in. I... I'm used to it."
It was nothing to endure hunger in order not to inconvenience anyone. She had done it many times before, ensuring no one thought of her as just another mouth to feed. In a land where a woman was only respected if she married a respectable man, she had learned to be cautious about everything she did. She ate only when given food and never imposed on others.
Rohan studied her bowed head. "Are you hungry, Isa?" he asked as if he hadn't just heard her response.
She looked up at him. "I can hold it—"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Humans." He shook his head, as if he could hardly believe it. "I asked if you are hungry, not if you can hold it. Why do you torture yourself when you need something?"
He did not understand this way of thinking. Just last night, she had been cold, and he had offered her warmth, yet she declined. Now, her stomach was growling the way a human's body did when it needed food, yet she was about to avoid feeding it. Really? Tsk. Why would anyone suppress their needs just to please others?
The world could be starving and dying, and he would not care, he would still feed on the desperate. He could walk through a burning, starving human town, with people begging for food and shelter, and he would take them and turn them into his own food source.
He did not need to be told to know that the Dawsons had played some kind of trick in arranging this marriage. But it did not matter, he had gotten just the right woman for him. He had seen the other sister lurking in the shadows of the residence, her heart as dark as her face was bright. Evil and evil could never go together.
"I am not torturing myself. I just don't want to slow us down because of... me." She wrung her hands in her lap, wishing she could disappear into the walls of the carriage as his gaze bore into her.
"I will ask you again, Isa, and I will take your answer as final. Are you hungry?" He crossed his legs and tilted his head to the side, his eyes blank and unreadable.
Her stomach growled again. Nervously licking her lips, she nodded. "Yes, but—"
"Stop the carriage. My wife needs to feed."
He spoke calmly, then leaned back in his seat. Had he been human, the coachman wouldn't have heard him. But being the creature he was, the carriage came to a sudden halt.
Before long, a tall, lean man in a long black cloak and hood, which shielded his entire face from the sun, and from her view, approached the window beside Rohan and knocked on it. She realized he must be the coachman.
She watched Rohan hand out a few gold coins, and then the man disappeared without a word among the crowd of people in the market where they had stopped.
'What should I get for the lady, my lord?' asked the coachman, Rav, who was more than just a coachman to the Lord, telepathically.
Though many humans thought they knew so much about vampires, they did not. Some vampires had the ability to communicate telepathically, and as Rohan watched his wife return to staring out at the people through the window, her golden blonde hair down her shoulders, as he'd removed the pins in her sleep, he replied, 'Get each of every eatable thing you see.'
There was a moment of silence before the other man's voice came. 'Would you be fine with the noise and humans before I am back? Or should I come back to take you to—'
'There is no need. I will manage before you return. It doesn't bother me that much,' he lied as he massaged his temple with his fingers and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. The loud noises around him began to overwhelm him and made his head bang like something was digging a hole in his skull.
Rav knew Rohan was not telling the truth. Just like how fire could not exist within water, his lordship could not comfortably be around humans or anyone lower than him in terms of strength and power. Sometimes, even a crowded space was unbearable for him without him doing anything, and no one would want to know the things he did to keep his mind preoccupied from his madness.
'All right, my lord. I will be back soon.' Rav said telepathically.
Rohan did not reply. He could no longer even hear what the other man had said to him. The only thing he could feel was the damned noise of the humans around him, grating on his senses like an unbearable itch. He hated such places, the human lands were nothing but filth, a place he would rather avoid if not for the need to satisfy his thirst or find amusement in the darkest hours. Lowly, fragile creatures with the lifespan of chickens. Disgusting fuckers.
Belle, who was watching the local market of the town, turned around when she heard the man behind her groan. She frowned when she saw him massaging his temple so aggressively that his honey-colored skin was starting to look slightly pale. Gulping in anxiousness, she asked, "Are you all right?" The last thing she wanted was for him to attack her. Could it be that he was hungry and in need of blood?
Belle saw his head jerk up at her question, and he turned to her as if just realizing she was in the carriage with him. Her breath hitched in her lungs when his dark eyes seemed to narrow down on her face. She was close to the door and could easily open it and run, but she couldn't move when he pinned her down with his intense predatory stare.
"Ro—Rohan, are you—" She never got to finish those words as he closed the distance between them.