I pulled my arm away. “I don’t just jump into bed with anyone.”
“I’m not just anyone.”
The air between us thickened, charged with something I couldn’t quite name. Amari stepped closer, his presence overwhelming my senses. His scent filled my nostrils. My fangs throbbed with the need to taste his blood.
A strange fog settled over the room, the edges of my vision blurring.
“You need someone, Val.” Amari’s fingers traced my jawline. “You’ve been alone too long.”
A loud crash interrupted us, the door flying open with such force that it splintered against the wall. My heart froze at the sight.
Samara stood in the doorway, her gown torn and soaked crimson. Blood dripped from her fingertips onto the stone floor, pooling at her bare feet. Her purple hair hung in wet, matted strands around her face, and the eyes I’d lost myself in countless times were cold and empty.
“S-Samara?” My voice cracked, barely a whisper.
She tilted her head, studying me with an unnatural stillness. The room temperature plummeted, my breath forming clouds between us. This wasn’t real. This couldn’t be real.
“This is your fault.” She raised her arm, pointing a blood-coated finger directly at me. The accusation sliced through me. “All of it. Your fault.”
My chest constricted, and my lungs refused to draw a breath. “I’m sorry,” I choked out, though I didn’t know what I was apologizing for. Everything? Nothing? The weight of a thousand regrets crashed down on me. “I’m so sorry, Sammy.”
Amari’s warmth disappeared from beside me. I turned to find him moving away, crossing the room toward Samara with measured steps.
I reached for him. “Amari, don’t?—”
He didn’t look back, his broad shoulders rigid with determinationas he stood beside Samara. They faced me together, united in their judgment, in their abandonment.
“Sammy... Amari... please...” I reached out again, my hand shaking. The distance between us seemed to stretch infinitely, though only a few steps separated us. “Don’t go.”
Blood began seeping from the walls and dripping from the ceiling. The metallic scent made my fangs descend painfully, and hunger and despair twisted inside me.
Samara’s blood-soaked hand found Amari’s, their fingers intertwining as they turned away from me. Together, they stepped through the doorway into darkness.
“Don’t... go...” The words were raw and desperate.
The floor beneath me gave way, and I was falling through endless darkness with their accusations echoing all around me.
Your fault.
Your fault.
Your fault.
I sat up,sweat pouring down my face. I wiped at it with shaking fingers, confusion turning to dread as I realized why I was soaked through.
Vampires didn’t sweat unless—oh hell—I’d been poisoned.
My stomach rolled violently, acid climbing up my throat. I stumbled to the bathroom, one hand pressed against any surface I could find for support, the other clutching my abdomen as I threw myself at the toilet. I made it just in time.
I was at my father’s estate, trapped in my childhood room with its oppressive dark wood paneling and family crests that always seemed to be watching. I hadn’t been here in ages, not since I’d been strong enough to be on my own.
I lived in my own house on the other side of the village, ina sanctuary I’d claimed for myself, away from the darkness that had haunted my father since my mother’s death.
That’s where I met Amari.
I groaned and wiped at the hot tears spilling unchecked down my cheeks. They’d taken his arm. Holy shit, they’d actually chopped it off as if his pain meant nothing.
His scream of agony still rang in my ears, and I retched again, bringing up nothing but bile that burned my throat.
