“Aurora! It’s so good to see you again. You look as lovely as ever,” Lucien greets her.
“Hello, Lucien,” she answers, moving in front of me. “I’ll be taking what’s mine.”
“You son of a bitch!” I yell.
“I’m sorry, my dear. I wanted to keep my word, but as I told you before, my priorities are elsewhere.” He looks at the beautiful vampire. “She’s all yours. I must say, she has quite a bit of potential.”
“Cyrus is going to kill you,” I spew.
“Cyrus is already dead,” he answers, making my stomach rumble with anxiety.
“That would be a shame,” Aurora says. “I was quite fond of his…skills.” She steps behind me, wrapping a strong arm around my neck and another around my shoulder. My body is powerless to fight her. “It’s time to say goodbye.” She twists her arms against each other, and the world goes black.
NINETEEN
how many broken necks is too many? asking for a friend
“How long willit take her to heal?”a voice says in my mind.
“How am I supposed to know? I’ve never seen someone heal from a broken neck,”another voice responds.
Broken neck? Who has a broken neck? At that thought, memories of Cyrus, Simon, Stella, and Lucien flood my mind. Oh, my God. Aurora broke my neck. Am I alive? Why can’t I see?
“She just moved,”the first voice whispers.
“Get out,”the second responds.“She’ll wake soon, and you’ll scare her.”The sound of something heavy sliding permeates my eardrums. Are they talking about me?
My eyes open an instant later. I'm on my feet without another thought. My feet sink into an overly soft rug as I stare at a familiar face. Sitting in front ofme is the girl I met at the party. It takes longer than it should to remember her name. “Victoria?”
She smiles, showing a mouthful of perfectly white teeth. “You remembered my name. I must say I’m flattered.”
I’m wearing what can only be described as a muumuu. “Where’s my dress? What the hell am I wearing?”
Victoria laughs. “It’s a nightdress.” She stands, moving to my side. “Let me help you to bed. You need to rest a bit more.”
“Where am I?” I move away from her touch and across the large room, finding a chair to hang on to.
“You’re in St. Augustine,” she answers.
“Florida?”
She laughs. “Yes, Florida.”
“Where’s Cyrus?”
Victoria looks down. “I don’t know.”
An influx of emotions hit me at once. A mixture of anger, frustration, and urgency. “I have to go. Where are my clothes?”
“You can’t leave,” she answers.
I turn toward the beautiful woman. “Watch me.” Opening the door of the large wardrobe behind me, I begin flinging through the clothes, looking for something to wear other than a dress that’s four sizes too large.
Victoria is behind me a heartbeat later. “You cannot leave,” she repeats.
I turn, ready to fight. “I’m done being nice. Get the hell out of my way before I make you get out of my way.”
A wicked smile covers her face. “I like your spunk, but you’re not nearly powerful enough to fight me.”
