“How did I get here?” I say.
“You don’t remember?”
I shake my head. “I remember there was an attack at the club, but… nothing after that.”
The smaller man shifts his weight. “You tried to run when the binding spells broke and—”
“Binding spells?”
He furrows his brow. “Yes. There was magic in the metal. It’s why they burned you. Did you not know? The club was covered in containment magic.”
Of course I knew.The magic burned me for weeks. Drove me mad with pain. “How did it break? He—Orem, I mean. He said the spells could never be broken.” I resist the urge to touch my shoulder; if only they had broken that spell too.
“Yes, well, we think the fire broke the spells,” the smaller man explains. “It’s how everyone got out. Once the fire started, the doors opened.”
I frown. Why can’t I remember this? Everything is a blur. Only tiny pieces come back to me. Blue flames over the bar, wolves killing vampires, and the strange man… thevampiretrying to break my chains. He hadn’t been able to, and I didn’t understand why he would help me—or why Foxx was afraid of him.
“I remember the fire, but I don’t remember the chains breaking or leaving the club.”
“You tried to run, but we followed you. We knew you were a victim, so we wanted to help.Iwanted to help, I mean,” Red says, his voice soft. “I wanted to heal you, if I could. But you were so panicked. Plus, whenI saw the mark on your shoulder…” He hesitates. “I figured it meant you wouldn’t be safe on your own.”
Again with the goddamn mark! I don’t have answers for them. I don’t even know what the mark is.
He sighs. “Anyway, we… um, convinced you to come here.”
I narrow my eyes. “Convinced?”
“A friend of ours compelled you,” Rowen says plainly.
“Rowen!”
“What? I’m not going to lie to him, Red. He needs to trust us.”
The smaller man—Red—groans while Sage scoffs. “I wouldn’t call Kaine a friend. Not even close. After what he did to Evan?”
Rowen rolls his eyes. “I know, but at least he’s helping us.”
“Yeah,for now,” Sage says bitterly. “I don’t trust that vamp for anything.”
Rowen grits his teeth, suggesting he doesn’t either.
My sluggish brain finally makes sense of what they’re saying, and my heart kicks into full gear. Sweat beads on my forehead. “You’re working with a v-vampire?”
“Two of them,” Rowen says. “We don’t know Kaine well, but Jericho is a close friend. We trust him.”
I scramble to my feet, attention darting to the door. The blanket falls around my shoulders as I step away. “No. No, I can’t do this. I can’t be—I have to go!”
“Tobias, please—”
“I can’t be around the vampires. Ican’t!”Rowen touches my arm, but I jerk away. “Don’t!”
“I’m sorry. Look, I know you’re scared and confused, but we aren’t going to hurt you. You’re safe.” He lowers his voice, pleading. “Just give us a few days, okay? Things will make sense soon.”
“The vampires—”
“Theyaren’t here right now,” Rowen says calmly. “You’re safe.”
I shake my head. “No. No, I can’t.”
