She’d made a mistake. Why else would they leave the room? She tried to work up the courage to tell the vampire she’d changed her mind, but then Peter wrapped his arm around her waist, and her fears started to ease. At least until Regulus tipped her chin up.
She tensed, a tiny whimper escaping her throat, and several droplets hit her tongue. They were cold, like he was, and tasted so strongly of copper she wanted to throw up, but he released her, and she let Peter’s warmth reassure her as she curled against him.
“How long—?” Before she could even finish the sentence, pain consumed her entire being, but it only lasted for a second—not even long enough for her to cry out—then faded into nothing but a memory. Her eyes burned, sending tears tumbling onto her cheeks as she squeezed them shut, and Peter dashed them away.
She didn’t want to look. What if nothing had changed?
A light kiss brushed her lips. “Open your eyes, Sameen. Whatever happens, we’ll deal with it.”
How did he understand her fears so well without her having to say a word? She so very much wanted to see his face. To know what he looked like. To know whatshelooked like.
Cracking her lids slowly, she gasped. The great room was full of color now. Dark wood walls, a forest green and beige rug spread out under the assortment of leather couches. Everything was still blurry. She couldn’t tell the pattern of the rug or see more than the flickering of the flames in the hearth, but she had enough of her sight back to tell the difference between Farren, Eli, and Tierney, who were all sitting across from her.
“Sameen? Did it work?”
Turning to Peter, she took in his face. Black hair, a little unkempt. This close, her vision was sharper, and she reached up and skimmed her fingers along his cheek. His eyes were brown, and the way he was looking at her...
It didn’t matter that she had so few memories of her time before the Thirteen imprisoned her. She was certain no one had ever looked at her the way Peter did.
“There’s tea,” Caitlin said as she and Liam came back into the room. “And whiskey.”
Sameen gawked at the height difference between the two. Liam was easily six-foot-four, as big as a prize fighter, and the top of Caitlin’s head only came up to his chin.
“Don’t be afraid of Liam, sweetheart,” Peter said in her ear. “He can be an ass, but Caitlin will put him in his place if need be.”
She was more frightened of the vampire staring down at her. “You are something unknown,” Regulus said. “Not elemental. Not practitioner. Not fae. Something new.”
Did he have to talk about her like she was an object? She’d been nothing for so long that she wanted to be Sameen now. Not “something.” But telling him off was definitely not a risk she wanted to take, especially when in the space of a single blink, he crossed the room and leaned against a pillar. She’d never known a being to be able to move that fast.
“Regulus, you owe me a life debt,” Peter said as he pressed a cup of tea into Sameen’s hands, “which is the only reason I’m going to say this to you. Sometimes, you can be an insensitive asshole.”
No one moved. Sameen wasn’t even sure if the others in the room were breathing.
“Excuse me?” Regulus asked.
“Something new? Sameen isn’t athing. She’s a person. And even if there is somethingotherabout her, she’s still, at her core, a human being.”
How did Peter know exactly the right thing to say? Exactly how to defend her when she couldn’t defend herself? Sameen took a sip of the tea and shifted closer to him as Regulus bowed from across the room.
“My apologies, Sameen. I meant no disrespect.”
Farren grabbed the bottle of whiskey and poured a healthy swig into her cup. “All right. We’ve delayed long enough. Sameen, we need ya’ to tell us everythin’ ya’ know about the Thirteen and what they did to ya’.”
Chapter Seven
Sameen
“Idon’t know where to start.”
The return of her sight was both reassuring and disorienting. She’d spent so long in the dark, this new world of colors and shapes and the small, distracting movements of those around her made it hard to think. It was overwhelming.
“At the beginnin’?” Farren asked.
Sameen stared down at her fingers, surprised at how long they were. She’d seen Peter’s face, but still had no idea what her own looked like. Or even if she wanted to know.
Taking another sip of tea, she let the spiked Earl Grey soothe her tired throat. “I don’t remember the beginning. I don’t even know how long ago it was. Or what year it is now.”
Peter whispered the date in her ear, and tears burned her eyes.
