“Alaric.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
ALARIC
Irub my eyes, certain that I’m dreaming her voice. But vampires do not dream.
The blood has addled me. One of the bottles must have been corrupted, filled with hallucinogenic fungi.
It sounds so like her?—
“Alaric, look at me.”
I’ve even managed to conjure her adorable exasperation. Why must I torture myself …
“Alaric, damnit, if you don’t turn around, I’m going to start throwing Isis’s anti-vampire charms at you.”
I drag my gaze to the door, and there she is. Not a hallucination, but Winnie Preston in the flesh, her arms folded across her chest and her weight on her back foot, as though preparing to run at the slightest provocation.
She’s afraid.
But she’shere.
“Your friend is a lousy witch. Those charms do nothing except fill your pockets with weeds,” I murmur, rising from my chair.
“Someweeds are beautiful.”
“Others are deadly.”
“Deadly things can be beautiful. I brought this back.” Winnie holds up the candelabra she had in her hands when she fled.
“Reginald will be pleased. Women in flowing gothic dresses are always fleeing dramatically from the castle holding them, and we’re running low.”
“Meerow!” Mirabelle gallops across the room and wraps herself around Winnie’s legs, purring with ecstasy. Winnie kneels down to scratch her ears, her wary eyes never leaving mine.
“Hello, kitty. Did you miss me? I wasn’t gone for very long.”
“You’re a miracle,” I murmur. “A figment of my blood-drunk mind.”
“I’m not a figment. I just got back from book club. Reginald is making me an iced chocolate, because it was hot outside this draughty castle, and I thought maybe we could talk.”
Winnie picks up Mirabelle and takes a small step towards me. She chews on her lower lip.
“Don’t come any closer,” I warn, wiping my lips with the back of my hand. I’m aware of how I must look to her – the pupils of my eyes blown out, the blush in my pale skin from feeding, empty bottles scattered about my feet and my sword blade wobbling from where I buried the tip into the wooden floor.
Winnie takes another step, gripping Mirabelle tight against her chest.
“Reginald explained to me what you are,” she says. “That you’ve been controlling your hunger around me all this time. And the book club ladies filled in some other details for me. I know you won’t hurt me.”
“Ididhurt you.”
The words crack against my lips. Blood swirls in my stomach. No matter how much I’ve gorged myself, the scent of her as she steps gingerly towards me sends me into a frenzy.
“I was afraid because I didn’t understand,” she says. “But now I see that you’ve been protecting me all along. I trust you, Alaric. I’m going to stay at BlackCrag.”
“You wish to stay?”
It’s too wonderful to comprehend. Winnie wants to stay withme.
