I leaned closer. "You're awake."
She looked at me in confusion, then at the room around her, and tried to sit up.
"Don't move." I steadied her. "You're hurt. You need to rest."
"Where… where am I?" she asked.
"The hospital." I swallowed hard. The doctors had warned me, but I had to ask. "What's your name? Do you remember who you are?"
She frowned and struggled to recall. After a long moment, she shook her head. "I don't remember."
"Nothing at all? Try again—anything. What do you remember?"
She closed her eyes, as if diving back into her memories. Pain crossed her face, and she pressed her hands to her head.
"I don't remember… I really don't… I only remember running…"
"Running?"
"Running with a boy." Her eyes opened, distant and unfocused, as if plucking a precious shell from the river of time. "Bloodsucking monsters were chasing us. We ran and ran until we couldn't anymore. The boy told me to let go of his hand so we could split up… But I knew. Those creatures only wantedhim."
My breath stopped. The hospital window reflected my trembling hands.
"Then what?"
She smiled faintly. "I told him, 'Let's switch clothes. I'll run that way, and you?—'"
"Hide. Hide in the snowdrift."
I heard the echo of a girl's voice from fifteen years ago, ringing in my ears.
She was talking about that day. The day I was kidnapped by vampires, locked in a warehouse. She'd found me by accident and saved me. She'd even disguised herself as me to lead them away... Because of that girl, I was alive today.
But when I was rescued, she had vanished. And my head injury was so severe I couldn't remember her face—only the flash of her platinum hair, bright as moonlight.
From that day forward, I swore that if we ever met again, I would repay her kindness and make her the happiest woman in the world.
But when we finally reunited, I had failed to keep that promise. She was pushed off a cliff right in front of me, and I couldn't even recover her body. She had slipped away from my life a second time.
And now, the Moon Goddess had shown me mercy again.
"That boy," I said. My voice was hoarse, barely recognizable. "Do you remember his name?"
She looked at me and slowly nodded.
"Elias," she said. "His name was Elias."
CHAPTER 3
SERENITY KELLER
Elias didn't come home.
At first, when he promised he would return, I relaxed. To surprise him, I asked Dr. Charles to keep my pregnancy a secret. He agreed. That way, when Elias came back, he would be the first to know about our new life.
But he never came.
I didn't know how long I sat on that couch. I tried calling him several times, but after my calls were declined again and again, I finally gave up. The overhead light grew useless, and by the time I noticed how bright the room had become, dawn had broken.
