The hallway at the top of the stairs is narrow, claustrophobic, lined with doors that all look the same.Blade stops at one near the end, pushes it open.The room inside is small but clean, a bed, a dresser, a window with heavy curtains drawn tight.Basic.Functional.A cage with a mattress.
“Bathroom’s at the end of the hall,” Prophet says quietly.“You need anything, just knock on Vex’s door.He’ll hear you.”
I bet he will.Vampire hearing and all that.
Hannah follows me in, and the door closes behind us with a soft click that sounds far too final.I drop my duffel bag on the bed and sink down beside it, suddenly exhausted.The adrenaline that’s been keeping me upright since Blade showed up at my house is finally draining away, leaving me hollow and shaking.
“Hey.”Hannah sits beside me, her shoulder pressing against mine.“You’re going to be okay.I know this is scary, but the Kings don’t make promises they can’t keep.”
“I’m sleeping next to a vampire,” I say, my voice flat.“A vampire who just threatened to rip out another man’s throat for making a crude comment about me.”
“A vampire who’s clearly obsessed with you,” Hannah corrects, and there’s something almost amused in her tone.“Trust me, Tessa.Vex will die before he lets anything happen to you.”
That’s what I’m afraid of.
We sit there for a while, not talking, just existing in the quiet.Hannah eventually pulls out her phone, scrolling through something mindless, while I try to wrap my head around the fact that this is my life now.Something ancient and hungry has marked me, I’m hiding in a motorcycle club full of supernatural creatures, and the man I’ve been attracted to for two years is a vampire who can’t seem to decide if he wants to protect me or devour me.
Maybe both.
The knock on the door makes us both jump.
“Yeah?”I call out, hating how shaky my voice sounds.
The door opens, and Vex fills the frame.He’s changed out of his leather cut into a simple black t-shirt and jeans, and the casual clothing somehow makes him look more dangerous, not less.More human.Morereal.
“Just checking in,” he says, his dark eyes finding mine.“Everything you need?”
“I’m fine.”
“Liar.”
The word hangs in the air between us, sharp and true.I am lying.I’m terrified.I’m exhausted.I’m so far out of my depth I can barely breathe.
But I’ll be damned if I admit it to him.
“I’m as fine as I can be, given the circumstances,” I amend, lifting my chin.
Something that might be approval flickers across his face.“Good.”He glances at Hannah.“You staying the night?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”He looks back at me, and there’s something in his gaze that makes my stomach flip.“My room’s right next door.The walls are thin.If you need me, I’ll hear you.”
The promise in those words sends a shiver down my spine.Not fear.Something else.Something I absolutely should not be feeling for a man, a vampire, who just demonstrated exactly how lethal he can be.
“Thank you,” I manage.
He nods once and pulls the door closed behind him.I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.
“See?”Hannah says, grinning.“Totally obsessed.”
I don’t dignify that with a response.
Hannah falls asleepeasily, curled up on the bed beside me, her breathing deep and even.But sleep won’t come for me.Every time I close my eyes, I see the mark crawling across my skin like living ice.Feel the burn of it, the wrongness.Remember the voice in the darkness calling my name.
The clock on the dresser reads 2:47 AM when I finally give up and slip out of bed.I need air.Space.Something other than the four walls of this tiny room pressing in on me.
The hallway is dark and quiet, lit only by a dim emergency light near the bathroom.I move carefully, not wanting to wake anyone, and make my way toward the common room downstairs.Maybe there’s a back door, somewhere I can step outside and breathe without feeling like I’m suffocating.
