reached out to touch her arm, Leila had pulled away. ‘I don’t want to be having this conversation, Miss Charn. I didn’t even want to come here, but I did because it is what my grandfather wanted. I will read my books and I will study hard. I will know everything that needs to be known for me to be a good and effective interpreter. I will learn those prophecies inside out. But I am never, ever, pursuing the serryn part of me. I am never going anywhere near one of those things, and I will never let one of those things anywhere near me. I’m sorry, but that’s the way it’s going to be. And nothing is going to persuade me otherwise.’
Now as Leila sat enclosed in the vampires’ bathroom, the declaration seemed sheer idiocy.
She should have known she wasn’t going to be able to hide from it. Not forever.
She pulled herself to her feet, a little too quickly, and pressed her hand to the wall to steady herself. She stepped over to one of the two basins.
She might be untrained, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t play it smart. And that meant no outbursts, no being argumentative and no proclaiming her beliefs. She had to stay unthreatening, calm and compliant. At least until she came up with a plan.
For a while at least, he needed her alive. She had until dawn. It was a temporary reprieve. It would give her time – time to think, time to work out what the hell she was going to do. Her and Alisha were okay for now. That was the main thing.
She washed her hands thoroughly. Scooping mouthfuls of water to rinse her arid mouth, she rid herself of the acidic aftertaste. She opened the cupboard beside the sink and searched for some toothpaste to freshen her mouth. She found it at the same time as finding the toiletry bag on the middle shelf. She reached for it and took it out.
It was Alisha’s – vibrant pink and emblazoned with a picture of a diamante-encrusted kitten. It was a few years old. She and Sophie had bought it for her one Christmas as a joke against her appallingly girly taste. She’d never thought Alisha had kept it. And there, in the vampires’ apartment, she’d kept a little piece of them. She’d kept a little piece of home.
Leila’s throat constricted and she fought to swallow. All the sleepless nights she’d had in the previous three months when Alisha hadn’t come home and this was where she had been – sleeping soundly in a vampire’s bed in the centre of Blackthorn.
Where had their lives gone wrong? Grandfather long gone. Sophie missing. Alisha sleeping with a vampire. It was her responsibility to keep Alisha safe, to keep both her sisters safe, and she had failed. If she hadn’t, Alisha wouldn’t have turned to a vampire for what she was missing. She would never have been there now – neither of them would, the hours ticking towards their undecided fate.
She would get Alisha out of there somehow. Back to Summerton. Back home. No one messed with her family. And certainly not a vampire.
She opened the bag and rummaged inside. It was all standard Alisha stuff, brimming with make-up and creams. But she did find a toothbrush.
Leila thoroughly brushed her teeth. Filling the sink with warm water, she washed her face and neck and wiped any traces of the dungeon off her arms, legs and feet. The heat of the water made her skin tingle painfully at first until the blood flow started to catch up, at which point the act became soothing.
She put the bag away and glanced at her watch. Less than eight hours until dawn. Less than eight hours to think of a way out. Eight hours up close and personal with Caleb. Her survival would be a miracle.
But she could handle this. She could do this. Somehow she would beat this.
Leila stepped back over to the door. After a couple more seconds of hesitation, she took a deep breath and pulled it open.
The living room suddenly seemed darker, the voile over the terrace doors wafting languidly with the passing of the storm.
There was no sign of Caleb, but the
Now as Leila sat enclosed in the vampires’ bathroom, the declaration seemed sheer idiocy.
She should have known she wasn’t going to be able to hide from it. Not forever.
She pulled herself to her feet, a little too quickly, and pressed her hand to the wall to steady herself. She stepped over to one of the two basins.
She might be untrained, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t play it smart. And that meant no outbursts, no being argumentative and no proclaiming her beliefs. She had to stay unthreatening, calm and compliant. At least until she came up with a plan.
For a while at least, he needed her alive. She had until dawn. It was a temporary reprieve. It would give her time – time to think, time to work out what the hell she was going to do. Her and Alisha were okay for now. That was the main thing.
She washed her hands thoroughly. Scooping mouthfuls of water to rinse her arid mouth, she rid herself of the acidic aftertaste. She opened the cupboard beside the sink and searched for some toothpaste to freshen her mouth. She found it at the same time as finding the toiletry bag on the middle shelf. She reached for it and took it out.
It was Alisha’s – vibrant pink and emblazoned with a picture of a diamante-encrusted kitten. It was a few years old. She and Sophie had bought it for her one Christmas as a joke against her appallingly girly taste. She’d never thought Alisha had kept it. And there, in the vampires’ apartment, she’d kept a little piece of them. She’d kept a little piece of home.
Leila’s throat constricted and she fought to swallow. All the sleepless nights she’d had in the previous three months when Alisha hadn’t come home and this was where she had been – sleeping soundly in a vampire’s bed in the centre of Blackthorn.
Where had their lives gone wrong? Grandfather long gone. Sophie missing. Alisha sleeping with a vampire. It was her responsibility to keep Alisha safe, to keep both her sisters safe, and she had failed. If she hadn’t, Alisha wouldn’t have turned to a vampire for what she was missing. She would never have been there now – neither of them would, the hours ticking towards their undecided fate.
She would get Alisha out of there somehow. Back to Summerton. Back home. No one messed with her family. And certainly not a vampire.
She opened the bag and rummaged inside. It was all standard Alisha stuff, brimming with make-up and creams. But she did find a toothbrush.
Leila thoroughly brushed her teeth. Filling the sink with warm water, she washed her face and neck and wiped any traces of the dungeon off her arms, legs and feet. The heat of the water made her skin tingle painfully at first until the blood flow started to catch up, at which point the act became soothing.
She put the bag away and glanced at her watch. Less than eight hours until dawn. Less than eight hours to think of a way out. Eight hours up close and personal with Caleb. Her survival would be a miracle.
But she could handle this. She could do this. Somehow she would beat this.
Leila stepped back over to the door. After a couple more seconds of hesitation, she took a deep breath and pulled it open.
The living room suddenly seemed darker, the voile over the terrace doors wafting languidly with the passing of the storm.
There was no sign of Caleb, but the
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