Vyvyan hisses at him, flashing her fangs. Misty gasps, but I remain still, knowing better than to get between Vane and Vyvyan.
“You expect me to believe that?” Vyvyan’s voice drips with venom. “You’ve been gone for hours, and the sun just set.”
“I’m back, aren’t I?” Vane’s calm response only seems to infuriate her further. He turns to us. “And just in time, for what, I wonder?”
My chest rises and falls in unsteady breaths.
The night Vane turned me, we were in my room at my mom’s place. I’d officially ended things permanently with Jaxson after he tried one last time to get back together but still wouldn’t tell Wilder about us. I considered it because of our history and wasn’t sure if I had a future with Vane. He was a vampire prince, after all. Vane wanted to see the childhood I had assured him was anything but glamorous before I moved into my own place. As a girl, I spent most nights alone, blasting angry music and pouring my pain into my journal. Seeing Vane—his otherworldly looks and designer clothes—surrounded by band posters and my old tie-dye bedspread made me laugh hysterically. I wasn’t the same Desiree who Jaxson had dumped. I was dating a vampire and hiding the War Letters. I had finally taken control of my life.
I asked him then and there to Turn me. At first, he was reluctant, but after I dropped to my knees to beg, he agreed. He laid me down on my bed with the utmost gentleness, undressed me with reverent hands, and made love to me to mask the pain of his fangs tearing into my neck.
As I lay dying, Vane whispered apologies into my ear, his words a haunting lullaby. I’d thought the pain in his voice was genuine, but now I know all of it was all for show.
When I woke up, I was a vampire. And Vane discarded me like a forgotten toy.
He stood beside Vyvyan as she gazed down at me with pity, telling me I wasn’t the first to fall for Vane’s schemes and wouldn’t be the last.
I had been naive enough to believe he loved me.
Aside from Vyvyan, Vane only loves himself.
He smirks as his gaze roams over me, and heat surges through my veins. He enjoys making those he loathes squirm. He revels in asserting dominance over me. Once upon a time, I enjoyed it, too, until I learned better. It takes every ounce of self-control not to run from the room. I hate him that much.
“Why are we here?” I interject.
Vyvyan’s attention snaps back to me. “So impatient, Desiree. Is there someplace else you’d rather be?”
Yes.“No, your Majesty.”
“Are you sure?” Her voice gains a taunting edge. “Perhaps you are eager to return to the hospital?”
I blink. Was someone hurt? Is my mom okay?
“I don’t understand,” I say.
“Rumor has it that Chiara Dunn has requested funding to develop a cure.”
“A cure . . .” My question trails off.
“For vampirism.”
The words hit me like a physical blow. A cure for vampirism? That’s impossible.
“That seems like a waste of time,” Misty pipes up, a slight tremor in her voice.
Vyvyan’s smile shows all her teeth. “That’s what I thought as well, Misty. That’s why I want to hear from Desiree. Well, Desi? Why is your mom researching an impossible cure? Is it because you asked her to? After all I’ve done for you, are you unhappy here?”
I open and close my mouth. No, I didn’t ask Mom to find a cure. I have no desire to be a witch again. My time as a human is over, filled with memories so painful that I never want to relive them. “No, I am very happy here.”
Vyvyan’s smile wavers.She must not trust me.
I steal a glance at Misty. A growing dread threatens to swallow me whole. This meeting involves far more serious accusations than my secret cell phone. Vyvyan believes I betrayed her. She thinks I asked Mom for a cure. She thinks I don’t want to be here.
“Prove it,” Vyvyan demands.
I wince. How am I supposed to do that? Vyvyan has never liked me. From day one, she has seen me as a threat to her relationship with Vane. But she has nothing to worry about. She can have him; Vane means nothing to me. He made it clear that I’m nothing to him.
“I—I—” Why can’t I speak? I should say that the Nest is my home, and the vampire coven is my only family, but I can’t. Wilder, Mom, Dad, and Jaxson are out there, and while they are alive, I also want to be close to them. But not at the cost of losing what I’ve gained here.
