Knox’s arms are around me a second later, and we move quickly up the stairs toward the double doors that flank the balcony.
“No, I have to help them!” I can barely get the words out. “You can’t help them, Danni. They knew what they signed up for,” he says casually.
“I refuse to believe that any of those people would sign up to be harvested like pigs!” I spit back, my anger rising at how calm he is about the carnage. How can he be so desensitized to it all?
A cold wave of dread washes over me.
“How many harvests have you taken part in?” The question slips from my lips as the heavy golden doors close behind us. As Knox places me on my feet in the empty corridor, shame and embarrassment flickers behind his eyes.
“More than you can count.” Knox’s voice is monotonous and distant as he speaks. He refuses to look at me.
Bile rises in my throat. “How many people will be killed tonight?”
His eyes finally snap to mine; with one hand, he grasps the side of my face tightly as his fingers wind in between strands of my hair. The bond thrums again and I curse it. I don’t want to feel anything for him. How can the world be so cruel to entwine my life with this monster?
“They won’t be killed. The harvest is for feeding. Not slaughtering.” His eyes plead with mine as I discretely slip my hand into the small bag around my wrist.
“Please, Danni, just listen to me—”
“And how exactly will I be different after the binding?” I yell, cutting him off. I’m done listening to half-truths.
Knox’s jaw ticks. “There is a price to accessing my power. You will become something in between a human and a vampire. You will only be able to survive by drinking my blood, and I yours. Anything else is poison to us both during our time together.”
My heart pounds against my ribs as my fingers grasp the cold wooden stake.
“You said you were doing all of this to protect me. But that was all a lie to keep me here, isn’t it? To be your food, just like everyone else in that ballroom.” Salty tears burn my eyes as I pull the stake from my bag. My face is still cradled in his hands. His eyes are still fixed on my own, relentlessly pleading with me in the silence between us.
His lips part and I inhale deeply as he leans in closer. His lips brush mine as he speaks.
“Everything I have done is to protect you. That wasn’t a lie.”
The bond constricts and begs for me to kiss him.
“How can I trust you, now that I know what you’ve done?” Sweat forms across my brow. My body shakes beneath his touch as I fight against the connection growing inside of me.
“You don’t have a choice.”
No. Idohave a choice.
I’ve had a choice this entire time, and I chose to trust him at every turn. I could’ve been home now. Alone. Going about my daily business. If only I had listened to my gut and stopped myself from being blinded by him and this hellish place. I was foolish.
I kiss him softly as fireworks explode behind my closed eyes, and then I plunge the wooden stake into his side as hard as I can.
Knox pulls away, his hand still gripping my hair, with understanding etched into his pale face.
“And so now, you hate me?” he whispers.
“And so now, I hate you,” I reply.
Expression empty, Knox stumbles back as the bond inside of me rages. It rattles against my bones in hysterics as I watch him unflinchingly pull the stake from his side.
“At least I know where we stand.” He throws the bloodied stake to my feet as he rolls himself up to his full height. “I’ll see you at your final training tomorrow.”
I blink and he disappears.
I sink down onto the floor, each rapid breaths threatening to tear my lungs into shreds. I glance over at the stake covered in his blood. Forever imbued with his betrayal and my foolishness. I pick up the wood and run my thumb along the sticky mess that encases it.
My pulse quickens as I examine his blood on my thumb. My mouth dries and a curious burning sensation licks the bottom of my throat. Without thought, I bring my thumb to my lips and smear his blood across my mouth.
