‘It’s the wheel lock, on your side.’
I step back. The door is solid metal with three bars running horizontally, two more running vertically, locking into the metal door frame. It’s magnetically sealed. No point simply locking a door against a vampire – they’d be out in seconds. But magnets and metal will hold them for longer, long enough for any escape attempts to be overheard. There’s a wheel set at the centre of the door, the bars running through a central locking system. I put both hands on it, straining. It doesn’t move.
I groan, twisting harder, my hands slipping on the metal. There are noises behind me, rustling and faint metallic clangs. I turn to see that more of the caged humans are awake. They’re all watching me. ‘Please, don’t say anything,’ I whisper. There’s no response.
‘Emelia, try again. You can do this.’ Kyle sounds frantic, and it spurs me on. I brace myself, my teeth clenching as I push and twist at the metal wheel. It gives slightly. I stop, panting.
‘Are you okay?’ Kyle stretches his fingers through the grating.
‘I’m fine. Just need a moment.’ I give it one more try, the muscles in my arms and shoulders protesting. Finally, it turns, a dull thud as the bars disengage. The door swings open and Kyle is out in a flash.
‘Oh, my love.’ He buries his face in my neck as I cling to him. I want to stay like this forever, but we need to keep moving. I take his hand, leading him past the cages, trying not to look at the faces watching me. Faces like mine, human. Yet I am here and they are there, a world between us. Something I’m going to change. But for now I need to get Kyle to safety. I pull him into the hallway, where the passage is still open. He blows out a breath.
‘Genius.’
‘C’mon.’ I pull him through the opening with me. The panel closes and we’re together in the darkness. He lifts me off my feet, kissing me over and over. My hands are in his hair as I kiss him back, tasting salt and blood. My heart is breaking.
‘Where do we go from here?’ he says, once he can speak.
‘We go up, to the library passage, then to my room. And you know there’s a passage from there to the outside. Will you… are you going to be okay?’
‘I think so.’ His arms are still around me.
‘Where will you go?’ I ask between kisses.
‘I have a place I can hide out for a while.’ He runs his hand along my cheek. I sigh, curving into his touch even though my heart is snapping in two, tears leaking from my closed eyes. I can’t stop touching him, because I know this is the last time.
‘I’ll come and find you, once I’m Raven, I promise.’
‘One last kiss, before I go.’ His lips touch mine and it feels as though I’m flying, his body curving around mine, his arms lifting me. I close my eyes, enjoying the sensation, as though I’m at the centre of a storm.
When we stop, we’re still in darkness. He releases me. I can’t see a thing.
‘Kyle?’
‘Emelia?’
Oh, thank darkness. But he doesn’t come closer. I hear his voice again.
‘Do you still trust me?’
‘Yes.’ Of course I do. It’sKyle. He loves me and I love him and?—
A cool hand comes around my neck and I hear him sigh. ‘Well, you shouldn’t have.’
‘Kyle.’ My voice is strangled by his grip. It tightens, and everything goes black.
And my world shatters.
ChapterThirty-Three
LOVE HURTS
Iwake. Something heavy is pinning me down. I can’t see anything.
‘Where—’
A hand comes over my mouth. I realise the weight is Kyle, lying on me.
