Wherever this was, it wasn't the human world. It was much more. The place I called home wasn't rich in magic, at least not to where you could practically taste it on the back of your tongue.
That left limited options for my current whereabouts. A barrow would be best. It would be much easier to escape than a realm, but something told me I wasn't that lucky.
Panic and fear threatened to replace the calm I'd managed to achieve. I swallowed them back. They wouldn't help me right now. I needed a plan and to do that I needed to be at my best.
The murmur of voices from all around made me aware I wasn't alone. Some were urgent. Expectant. Others angry.
I felt numb. My face, my hands, even my nose.
Terror surged again. Without being able to sense my body, it was much more difficult to keep at bay. There was no way to breathe through it since I couldn't feel my chest and lungs. Whatever heartbeat I had was slow and erratic.
As an experience in sensory deprivation, it was nearly perfect.
Blindfold me, stick cotton in my ears, and I would be entirely cut off with only my own thoughts for company.
Now that was a grim notion.
How long would it take before madness and insanity took hold?
Would I even be able to die in this state?
And now, I really wish I hadn't had that thought.
Technically, vampires didn't need to breathe. Under normal circumstances, my heart beat very slowly, but I didn’t really need it to live.
Gradual madness or final death?
Hard to choose.
"Na, Callie, why is she a statue?" Someone leaned over me. Eyes lacking any pupil met mine. They were a light violet, the look in them curious. Long silver hair fell over her shoulder to brush my numb face. Scattered dots of light crossed the bridge of her nose onto both cheeks, like tiny freckles that looked like stars in the violet black of her skin.
Unlike Callie and Don, she had no dense black shadow cloaking her power. Gazing at her was like looking into the sun. My eyes watered but no tears fell as her immense power threatened to sear the retinas from my skull.
"Get away from there," Callie scolded, pulling the strange Fae from view.
"She looks tasty. Can I eat her?" the stranger asked.
A disgruntled growl came from my left. "You know you can't, Astrid."
The stranger hummed in dissatisfaction.
"What's so special about this one anyway?" Astrid poked my forehead.
Rude.
"Her lineage."
My thoughts went still, my mind frozen. If I could still draw breath, I would have held it.
Because I knew that voice. Had heard it barking orders numerous times.
Footsteps moved closer as I strained to see. I had to be wrong. He wouldn't be here. Please let me be wrong.
There were some betrayals that were too horrible to contemplate. This was mine.
At the same time, it felt almost inevitable, like I’d been waiting for this for a while.
All the clues; all the arguments by the people close to me. It all led to this forgone conclusion.
