The Oath by Tara Fox Hall Page A

a living
room with two bedrooms to either side. Theo dropped the bags and
went into one, saying he had to make a call. I followed Danial into
the other.
    “We’ll unpack in the morning. Come to me,
darling.”
    We undressed and got into bed, kissing
lovingly, though we were too exhausted to do more than hold one
another. I lay in his arms after he’d fallen asleep. Some time
later, I drifted off myself.
    I dreamed of being at the zoo. A lion roared
at me from its cage. I wanted to set it free but didn’t dare. It
was huge and ferocious, it’s eyes light golden and hungry, so
hungry.
    I woke up as Danial was stirring. The clock
on the nightstand said six, the time there. Europe was what, seven
hours ahead? How long had we slept?
    He groaned. “What time is it?
    “Six. Are you okay?” I asked, gently touching
his shoulder.
    “Crossing the ocean and adapting to the
different time zones is always hard, but I’ll be fine.” He
stretched. “I have a meeting at eight. It will probably last a
couple hours. Then I’ll need to go out and get something to eat.”
He went to the door and reemerged with our bags. “You should stay
here and order room service. I’ll be back before dawn.”
    “And tomorrow night?” I pressed.
    “Tomorrow night, Theo and I have to go out
for another meeting. It should be routine, but it’ll take at least
a few hours. You can wait up for me tonight if you want, but I want
you to have fun tomorrow afternoon, so don’t stay up too late.”
    “Where am I going?” I asked in confusion.
    “There’s a concierge downstairs. Call him in
the morning and go wherever you like for the day. He’ll arrange it
all. Bill it to the room.”
    “Are you sure? The Euro is worth almost two
of our dollars.”
    “Sar, what I told your parents is true. I
have resources. A good portion of what I make is spent on security,
chartered planes, and secure hotel rooms, but there’s enough that
you don’t need to worry about how much something costs. Just have
fun.”
    He began to get dressed. I put on a robe and
went out to the living room to look out the window. The lights were
beautiful against the night sky.
    The door to Theo’s room opened behind me. I
turned, expecting it to be Danial. Instead, a woman stood there.
She was about my size, with long light brown hair. She was more
slender than I was, but there was strength to her that I didn’t
have. She was also in a robe.
    I realized with a start that she’d come out
of Theo’s room. She looked at me, I looked at her, and we both
flushed. Then we both burst out laughing.
    “Hi, I’m Sarelle,” I said, extending my
hand.
    “Good to meet you. My name is Tawny,” she
said throatily.
    Theo, you dog , I thought with a smile. Good for you .
    Theo himself came out looking very relaxed.
We both turned to him, and he flushed, which made Tawny and me
laugh again. Danial came out and saw us, but he was the unruffled
and just said hi to Tawny.
    “We’ve got to go,” Theo said to Danial.
“We’ll be late.”
    Danial kissed me. “Stay here, sweetheart.
I’ll be back before dawn.”
    He left the room. Theo went after him after
saying something similar to Tawny. As the door shut behind them, I
turned to see Tawny perusing the room service menu.
    “What shall we order?”
    “Breakfast for me,” I replied. “I need some
carbs, preferably with syrup.”
    “Steak and eggs for me,” she said, picking up
the phone. “I’ll order some pancakes for you.”
    As she hung up the phone, I said with
curiosity, “I thought I heard a lion roaring last night.”
    She grinned. “Technically, you might have
heard two, but most likely you heard me.” She touched my neck. “Do
your scars hurt?”
    Danial had made the marks that adorned my
throat with his fangs, the night I agreed to live with him. It had
been a ritual, almost. “They did when they were fresh, but not
since they’ve healed.”
    “I was bitten once, but the bastard who did
it tore me. It hurt a