“I will handle everything.”
“Excellent.” Henri comes over to me again and rests a hand on my shoulder. His touch is weighted, like lead.
“Appointing you as my second is proving to be one ofthe wisest decisions I’ve ever made.” Henri’s fingers curl into my shoulder, and the expression on his face stays friendly despite the hard, threatening grip. “Don’t let me down.”
“I won’t,” I reply, the whole time thinking how much Henri’s words sound more like a warning than anything else.
Although every window I pass on my way to the foyer has been closed tightly by heavy drapes, I can still feel the power of the incredible morning sun behind them. My muscles are sluggish from exhaustion, but my day is hardly over. Today my lessons with Lysander begin.
Upon Lysander’s recommendation, I changed from my normal more formal attire into tan slacks and a loose, ivory shirt. Something movable and less constricting. I’m going to need to move freely, according to him, so I picked the clothing I believed fit his requirements.
When I reach our meeting place, I find Lysander already there waiting for me, his blond hair tied back from his face and his arms crossed about his chest.
“Are you ready?” he asks.
“Yes,” I reply quickly, feeling uneasy under his stern look. “I suppose I am.”
“You can’t justsuppose.” Lysander spit the last word as if it was a curse on his lips. “If you wish to ever be good enough to beat a powerful immortal, like Henri, you havetoknow. Be committed. Always know what you want and what you are willing to risk to get it.”
Not knowing what he means by that exactly, I only nod.
Lysander grunts. “Another thing. As a vampire, we may have eternity, but I am also impatient. Don’t keep me waiting next time.”
I laugh, but when I see his expression only hardens, I stop abruptly. He’s not joking.
Then he turns and walks away. “Follow me.”
As he strides up the main staircase, taking two steps at a time, I hurry to catch up. We walk through a small hallway, up another set of stairs, to the main hall where the bedrooms laid. Every door is shut tight, including Haven’s, which I glance at as we pass. The gas lamps are turned down low, and my vision sharpens against the dimness.
When we turn down another corridor, I wonder how I’m going to keep this secret from Henri. As proven by my run-in with him in the library, it’s hard to lie to him as it is. How am I going to manage this?
“There is one more floor above us now,” Lysander whispers from over his shoulder. “The rooms are mostly empty, but some guests do stay there.”
The third floor. I’ve rarely been there myself. Like he says, it’s usually empty unless we have a large number of guests visiting.
“Is that where we are going?” I ask. We head down a small hallway and up another set of stairs. “One of the empty rooms?”
He shakes his head. “We are going above even that. Thegrenier.”
I pause.
Lysander peers at me from over his shoulder. “The attic.”
At the end of the hall, another staircase rises, reaching up into the blackness. Without hesitation, Lysander climbs up, leaving me to follow in his wake. The squeaking of the old wood under my shoes is the only sound.
The closer we get to the door at the top, the more difficult it is for me to catch my breath. “Lysander—” I call out through tight lungs. Fear’s starting to set in. “The sun.” I’m slowing down, every step becoming more laborious and difficult. The distance between me and the door seems to grow by the second.
“Keep up,” Lysander says. He’s already at the door, his hand on the handle, waiting.
I suck in as much breath as I can and continue on. By the time I reach him, my skin tingles with heat, burning.
“The sun…” I begin again, confused how he can seem so unaffected by the daylight hours. “It doesn’t bother you?”
“Of course it does,” he replies. “But I have built somewhat of a tolerance for pain.”
What an odd thing to say. Again, I wonder who my friend really was before his change, before I came around. I truly don’t know much about him. He’s full of secrets.
Lysander opens the attic door, and the harsh brightness filling the room stuns me. I step down, my eyesdrying instantly. My face stings, and I gasp at the sharpness.
