The cuffs held Elijah up.

He bled from his neck.

I carefully picked my way toward him. He was out for now, but could wake at any moment, and this was my chance to see an Original up close without any consequences.

Supposedly they were indestructible. The forgotten rock beside him still had dark red blood smeared on it.

Brute force wouldn't have worked, even if Esther hadn't walked in. 

This position couldn't be comfortable. His head hung limply.

He twitched faintly.

Bill would kill to be in this position, with an Original strung up and defenseless. He has always wanted to kill at least one of them. I'd certainly heard enough rants.

Elijah really was handsome.

Conversation was easy between us.

As far as arranged marriages go, I suppose he wouldn't be too bad. He had been nothing but kind and respectful, given the circumstances, and he still had the energy to talk after his random bouts of unconsciousness.

Though outside of rumor, I didn't know much of Elijah.

What if he was cruel? What if the only reason he'd been the way he was, was because he was trapped.

If Esther was his mother, how could she expect a complete stranger to marry her son? To love him. Did she not care if he was happy?

He stirred and I panicked.

Elijah blinked, shaking his head as if to clear it. "Are you alright?"

"I- yes. Are you?"

A smile tugged at his lips. "Perfectly fine."

"Liar." I hesitantly pressed the back of my hand against his forehead. "My god. You're burning up."

I'd been right. He did have a fever.

"I'm going to yell at Esther the next time she comes through that door. You need to lay down and have a hot meal. Should I be concerned that your skin is starting to turn gray?"

He was staring that way again, like he could see my very thoughts.

"Is all this your blood?" What was on his neck, I knew for certain, but his entire shirt was soaked. It looked more like spatter.

"No."

"Why isn't your throat healed? I thought it was supposed to be super fast or something?"

I found myself pinned under his gaze.

"I need blood."

Right. Because he's a vampire. Duh. The vervain I usually drank should be out of my system by now... but could I really offer my blood? Wouldn't he drain me?! "I- I can give you some, I just don't want to die."

He shook his head. "I will not feed from you."

"If it'll help... I can do that."

"I have not fed in days, my hunger, it will overwhelm me. I would drain you entirely."

I squared my shoulders. "Then your mom's plan will get ruined, and if we happen to escape... well that's just an added benefit."

"No."

That was unfortunate. "Sucks for you, because I happen to know what makes vampires tick." I scooped a rock from the floor, and pressed it into my wrist, hissing.

"Don't-" Elijah's vampire features came forward, veins dripping from his eyes. He turned his face away, letting out a sharp breath.

"Hey. I don't want you to drink from me. I don't trust you. However, we both want out of here and having an indestructible, unstoppable vampire on my side will better my odds."

And though he probably didn't need it, I couldn't stop myself from helping.

"Are you seriously holding your breath?" He was! Was my blood really that revolting? I don't know whether or not I should be offended. "Stop being a baby and just drink."

"You will die."

I grasped his face and turned it back toward me, and I found myself once again under his dark gaze. Good lord. "I'm not afraid." I held my wrist up to his mouth. "At worst, I'll have a bad gash. It's not as if you can chase me if I step back, which I will do the second I get lightheaded." It'd be the only time I'd be alright with a vampire feeding from me.

Elijah gave a barely perceptible nod.

His teeth grazed my skin, before sinking in. He watched me closely the entire time. Something passed between us that I couldn't explain.