“The mark is bigger,” she says, blinking.
“Bigger?”
“The vines have spread,” she says, panicking. She holds up her phone, switching the front camera so I can see my neck. And just as she said, the lines have grown, slipping further down.
“What the fuck,” I say, touching my skin. Aliz pulls her phone away as panic seizes my throat. For a second I can’t breathe. Why is it growing? “Was this meant to happen?” I ask.
“I don’t know,” Aliz says, not looking me in the eye.
“We need to try it,” I say.
“Try what?”
I point at the book, trying to scrub my reflection, and those curling vines, out of my mind.
“But you’rehuman,” Aliz finally squeezes out, and I sigh.
“You can wipe your lips afterwards,” I say. “It’s just a peck.” I know I can’t compare myself to her vampire conquests, but she shouldn’t make me feel hideous, either. Not after looking at me the way she did in the library. “Or we can look for other cures,” I finally say. “And if nothing else works—”
“No, it’s all right,” Aliz says, getting up from her chair. “Let’s just get it over with.”
I’m about to stand, but she puts her hands on my shoulders, keeping me fixed in place. Then she swivels my chair until she’s behind me. Shereallydoesn’t want to kiss a human. I let out a frustrated sigh, and she pulls my hair aside. Cool air touches my neck, and just as I grow impatient, her lips, cold and soft, press against the mark.
My skin burns, all while a shiver rushes through me. Aliz pulls back, letting out a short breath.
“Thank you,” I say, a slight tremor in my voice.Jesus, what’s wrong with me?“I’ll check if it’s gone,” I say, jumping up from my chair, freeing myself from the hands on my shoulders. I know I can just ask her if it’s gone, but I can’t look at her now when my heart is beating too fast. I can’t look at her when I want more, and she doesn’t.
I walk over to my bathroom mirror, taking a deep breath. My cheeks are red, and the stupid mark is still there.
All that for nothing.
My grey jumper feels too heavy, so I pull it off and fix my eyes upon the mark. The twisted vines vanish beneath the white collar of my shirt. I undo the top three buttons. I have to see how far it goes. I undo another, the top of my black bra coming into view. The vines stop just above my left breast. I swallow hard. There was nothing in any of the books about the mark growing. Then again, we still have a lot of material to read through.
“Fuck,” I whisper, tracing my finger along one of the thorned vines, goosebumps raising in the process. This isn’t good. Penny may have taught me a lot, but everything I learned was focused entirely on one thing: killing vampires. Nothing about blood contracts.
I tug at the top of my bra, pulling it down, just to make sure there are no hidden lines.
Suddenly I feel something behind me. Hands gripping my shoulders. “What—” I start, my eyes widening. I can’t see her. Her reflection is missing. But Aliz is behind me. Before I can turn, she tightens her grip.
“Don’t look at me,” she says, her voice low. I take a sharp breath. I still can’t make sense of what I’m seeing in the mirror. My own features are flushed. And the space where I know she is, where I can feelher, is completely vacant. “Please,” she adds, with a hint of desperation. There’s something else.Thirst.Her eyes must be red, too. If I look at her, she might try to compelme.
“What is it?” I ask. Her grip on my shoulders loosens, only for her to wrap her arms around me.What is she doing?I should pull myself free, but instead, I sink into her, her arms strong and cold.
“We should try again,” she whispers, directly against my ear. Her cool breath makes me shiver. One arm lets go, and the picture in front of me becomes all the more absurd when I feel her finger tracing a line up my neck, caressing the mark, but I see only my skin reddening beneath her invisible touch.
“Again?” I ask. And I wish she’d just go ahead and help herself, because I don’t want to admit I want this. She’s a vampire. Ican’twant her.
I hear her swallow. “Well—” she says, trying to sound composed. “Clearly the first kiss didn’t work. So, you should let me try again.”
“I thought you didn’t want to kiss a human,” I say, hoping to somehow get under her skin the way she does with me. I turn my head, trying to catch a glimpse of her, but the hand on my neck grabs my chin, forcing me to look forward.
“I know,” she says, lips practically touching my ear as she speaks. “But I just want to help you, Cassie.”
I hate that I can’t see her. I feel incredibly exposed, even more so with the mark on display. My shirt is still unbuttoned, the top of my bra visible. I feel each line of the mark individually burning into my blood. “Do it, then,” I say, and I fix my gaze on the invisible spot where I imagine sheis.
“Fuck,” Aliz says, and she’s trembling, tightening her grip. “No,” she says, her voice low. “You should tell me to let go.”
“Why?” I ask.
