“I… I swear,” spoke the cadaverous figure, in a voice somewhere between a wail of despair and a death rattle. “Whatever you say… I swear… Can’t bear it… The hunger… Please… I’ll do anything… Anything you want… I swear… please…”
At a swift gesture from the lady, an attendant came forward bearing a silver decanter, and poured blood into Alexandru’s mouth. The time when this would have disgusted him was long past, and he swallowed it eagerly. The agony and emptiness that had been his only sensations for what seemed an age were washed away in a flood of euphoria, while other attendants set to work removing his chains, and out of the corners of his eyes he saw others approaching with combs, brushes, scissors, bowls of water, silken clothes, and jewellery.