“Okay, I am going to go now,” I say in a rush, and I move towards the door when his clawed hand shoots out to wrap around my wrist, stopping me in my tracks. My entire body stiffens, and I turn to see him holding his other hand out to me, but I can’t see his expression. What is he thinking?
“The washcloth,” he says, reaching for the towel I am holding onto like it’s my lifeforce. “I need it to wash the rest of the blood off.”
I quickly shove it into his hand, turn back around, and walk stiffly to the bed. Blood has stained parts of it, so I tear the sheets off the bed and toss them in the corner. I siton the bed as the nightwalker emerges and hides the bathroom away once more.
“You’re quite awkward,” he says, and my face burns. “And now your heart is beating very fast. Fascinating.”
Gripping my knees and glaring at the ground, I say, “What do you want from me, nightwalker? Why did you summon me here again?”
“I enjoy your company—and also wanted to know if you have decided to drink my blood.”
“No,” I say flatly, facing him now that the heat from my face has fled. “I’m not interested.”
“Then why are you here?”
“I have more questions for you.”
His shadows stir, as if laughing at me. “And you want me to answer them without my liar’s tongue, correct?”
I nod once, firmly.
The shadows move, and my body becomes rigid when he sits on the bed beside me. I shuffle away slightly when the springs of the mattress groan in protest, tipping me towards him. “I will only do this if you agree to answer one of mine.”
My hands run up and down my thighs, across the itchy fabric of my white gown. “We will see.”
He huffs a breath and leans back, resting his clawed hands behind him. The shadows wrap around him like velvet, revealing the muscled silhouette of a man. What little saliva I had in my mouth dries up completely, and I quickly look forward, away from muscles tensing across his stomach.
“Saya, indulge me.”
He is amused. He finds this fucking funny.
I clear my throat, straighten, and keep my eyes on the door as I ask, “What were you doing before you entered the Darkovish Feeding Ground?”
From the corner of my eye, I see the nightwalker tap a claw against the mattress, and those crimson eyes narrow slightly as he watches me. “Looking for a cure.”
Turning to him, my attention fixes on the darkness of his face, genuinely curious. “A cure for vampirism?”
Hope lathers my words. Hope that I might rid myself of this shell wrapped so tightly around my body. Anything to help free me from what I’ve hated my entire life.
I can be hu?—
“No,” he says before hope can take root in my mind. “Sunlight. To be able to walk in sunlight. To be able to stay awake during the day. To see the sun again.”
Slowly, I blink, and my disappointment becomes mild curiosity. “You can’t stay awake during the day?”
“No. We can’t. A lull starts to pull us under at dusk, and we must find somewhere safe to sleep before daybreak.”
I lean into the groaning springs and rest my hand against the mattress. “Where do you sleep when you leave here?”
“In the airshaft.” His eyes crinkle.He’s smiling.“I watch you sometimes after I wake.”
I make a face. “Don’t do that. It’s weird.”
“You hide yourself, even when you sleep,” he continues. “You cover yourself in blankets as if you’re afraid your glamour will stop working while you sleep.”
My eyes narrow further. “Can you read minds, too?”
“Sure,” he chuckles.
