“Until…?”
She sniffs, and my ears twitch at the snot bubbling in the back of her throat. “I never asked where he came from. We didn’t really talk much. We knew what we both wanted. So, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that he was a Bleeder, right?”
I let out a shallow breath, and Emily nods at my silent response.
“Yeah, I know. I fucked a Bleeder. To him, I was a game. One day, he told me there was a lot more food nearby, but he couldn’t carry it all and needed help. I easily agreed, because I thought, fuck yes! More to take back to my grandma. So I followed him, and…”
I roll over and wrap my arm around her. Her heart stutters, and her breath becomes sharper, her lungs desperate to fill with air.
“I was a fucking idiot, Saya. Desperate to be held. So desperate for connection that I didn’t question anything until it was too late. Walked straight into the fucking house and came out held by three Bleeders who threw me into the van.”
I squeeze her shoulder tighter. “Is he here?”
She shakes her head. “No. Something about a conflict of interest, so he stayed there. And every day I am awayfrom my grandma is another day I wonder if he went after her next.”
“Em…Come here.” I sit up, grab her arm, and pull her until she is sitting in front of me. A hint of laughter escapes between bitter cries when I untie her hair and rake my fingers through. “Your grandma is alive. And when we leave here, we will find her, just as we will find Manni’s sister. Okay?”
With one final messy sniff, she breathes out deeply, then laughs. “You’re so kind, Saya. Like an older sister. You always know what to say.”
Moving behind her, I wrap my fingers around sections of her straight brown hair, and I begin to braid it. “Sometimes…”
Emily tilts her head to look back at me. “This is the last time, isn’t it? You won’t see him again after this?”
I nod firmly. “The last time.”
Her shoulders sag in relief and she faces forward again. “Good.”
Good…
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
OSCULATION
Nightwalkers are prohibited from falling in love with a human.
— Serun’s Law
I askedthe Bleeder to take me to the red room before sunset. He didn’t seem to mind. Excitement stirred in his voice when I did, and he escorted me there without hesitation.
Little did he know, the reason I wanted to go earlier wasn’t that I was excited to see the nightwalker.
No.
I feared the looks from my friends. Cole’s confused expression and Manni’s tight smile. There is no excuse for my choice to return this time. Emily is easy to convince, but Manni always knows when I am lying, and Cole is my brother. I’d rather not see any more disappointment on their faces.
The doors close, and the white light cuts out, leaving anow-familiar red hue clinging to my skin and clothes. I make my way to the bed, with a quick look at the table. The wineglass isn’t there.
Sitting down, I anxiously rub my palms against my thighs. Memories of the dead nightwalker ripping at my gown return, and I rise from the bed and make my way over to the table and chairs in the corner of the room instead. It’s darker here. Consumed by it, I take the seat against the corner wall, tuck my feet up, and wrap my arms around my legs.
This way, he can’t appear behind me. Above, sure. But it doesn’t seem like something the nightwalker would do.
My focus settles on the vent above the bed, and I wait.
The airshaft trembles, as though something solid collided with its walls, and I freeze. The vibrations grow closer, then blood starts dripping from the vent. After a beat of stillness, shadows spill into the room and onto the bed.
I brace for an unknown nightwalker to appear. Inky shadows darker than night quiver, and as they rise, red eyes swirl into existence.
“Evening. You’re here earlier than anticipated,” he says in a low, gravelly voice.
