I shake my head on a snort. “It’s still going to be hard. But we’re going to do it anyway. And I’m ninety-nine percent sure our dear old uncle Lucian is the key.”
They nod in agreement, and I sit down at the counter to get to work.
“I’ve got a plan,” I say. “But it’s going to take all six of us to make it happen.”
“Lay it out there, brother,” Rook says. “We’re all ears.”
Romy
I wake to the sound of a knock on my door, the deep slumber of lax limbs and bite marks on my wrist and neck slowing my eyes’ opening.
The knock sounds again, intensifying in both tempo and force, and I jump from the bed in a hurry as I realize this isn’t theTwilight Zonemovie or something—I’m very much waking up in Dracula’s freaking mansion for the day of reckoning, aka the wholesale market for human women.
Scuttling to my bag, I grab a sweatshirt and toss it on. Pulling it firmly over my wrist and ensuring the collar hides the small puncture mark that sits low on my neck, I make a Sharpie-level mental note that I will need to figure out how to cover up Cal’s marks with makeup and jewelry really well before any other attempt of human interaction today.
And then, I hightail it to the door.
“Good morning,” I chirp, swinging open the door to my waiting guard with what I hope is an easy breezy attitude. “Breakfast?”
His brows draw with slight contempt since the overflowing tray of food makes the answer to my question painfully obvious, and then he grunts out a question.
“Would you rather a treadmill or an exercise bike?”
“Excuse me?” I ask, confused. “What do you mean?”
“Fitness this morning is being held in the rooms. You can have an exercise bike or a treadmill.”
“Oh.” I use my supposed human naïveté as a tool. “Why are they doing it that way? Yesterday we all worked out together.”
“I don’t know,” he says. “All I know is that you get a treadmill or a bike.”
“Oh-kay. A treadmill, I guess.”
“Very good. It’ll be delivered within the next hour.”
With that, he hands me the tray, invades my space in a manner that forces me back into the room on a scramble, and then pulls the door shut with a hand on the knob. I hear the lock turn, and my eyes jump wider.
What the hell is going on? Why don’t they want us to be together?
My first instinct is to skip the food, but as my legs shake just walking it over to the table beside the chair, I rethink the idea altogether. Sharing my blood with Cal last night was magical. Truly unlike anything I’ve ever experienced in my entire life.
But biologically, it makes my body have to work to produce more, and with everything at stake today, I really can’t affordto let myself get hungry. I’m already working on a few hours of restless sleep.
Starting with a carb, I grab a waffle and shove it into my mouth a bite at a time without even bothering with the syrup. I’d rather do sugars in the form of fruits.
Popping one strawberry slice into my mouth and then another, I sit down in the chair and curl my legs into my chest.
The bed is rumpled from the night spent with Cal, and just the sight of it takes me right back to the feeling.
Testing the waters, I reach out to Cal through my mind again, wondering if he’ll be able to hear me while he’s not in as much distress as he was last night.
So, uh…is this thing still on?
I swear I can hear his grin, and it sends a thrill through me.Hi, sweetheart. Did you sleep well?
Not exactly well, but it’ll do the job. What are you…what are you doing right now?
On my way to meet with my uncle. I’ve been called to a private meeting.
