ChapterOne
DAYBREAK
Warmth. It wraps around me, better than the softest of blankets. The wonder of a human body, holding me close.
Michael stirs. ‘What time is it?’ His chin-length blond hair is tousled, his blue-grey eyes sleepy.
‘I don’t know.’ My voice is a rasp. We’re lying on a velvet sofa, tangled together. ‘It’s morning, though.’ Pale light slants through timber shutters, striping the wooden floor, the colourful rug, the pale blue walls.
‘Hmmm. We should probably get up.’ He doesn’t move, though, running lazy hands down my spine, waking flickers of pleasure.
‘We probably should.’ I absolutely do not want to get up.
‘Morning, lovebirds.’ The whispered greeting is accompanied by a giggle. Laurel, my roommate, tiptoes across the living room towards the adjoining kitchen. Faint trails of glitter are visible on her neck above her grey sweatshirt. I’m sure there’s more elsewhere on her body, hidden beneath the matching sweatpants.
I sit up, running a hand through my hair, straightening my crumpled skirt. ‘Shall I make coffee?’
‘Already on it,’ Laurel replies, accompanied by the hiss and whirr of the coffee machine, the buzz of beans grinding.
‘Did we even watch the end of that film?’ Michael swings his long legs around, sitting up.
‘We didn’t watch much of any of it.’
He grins, then leans in. ‘I suppose not.’
I close my eyes, my lips meeting his. He smells like butterscotch and smoke, with a faint hint of violets. I could breathe him in for ever.
It’s been two months since I moved to the Safe Zone. I’ve been with Michael for one of those months, slowly getting to know him. Slower, perhaps, than he would like. But there’s still a part of me that’s healing. He knows, and he understands. About Kyle, how I loved him, how he betrayed me. And how I had to kill him. I told him everything.
Well, almost everything.
When you’re getting to know a boy it’s difficult to find the right moment to tell him your family killed his father. I know there was no love lost between Michael and Mistral, that he barely knew him, and what he did know of him was cruelty and abandonment. But he was still his father.
So, I haven’t told him that Mistral was behind the North Wind rebellion, and my kidnapping. Or how he’d burned in a throne of metal on a field of snow, blood spreading like a flower beneath him. I know Ishouldtell him. I don’t know why I can’t.
It’s not like he doesn’t know Mistral is dead. It was big news, when it happened. The heroic lieutenant, giving his life to protect his ruling family. That was the story we spun to the press, anyway. No one needed to know that Mistral was a traitor, that there was such weakness at the heart of Raven. Everyone who witnessed the actual execution was sworn to secrecy; there were still rumours, of course, about the extent of Mistral’s involvement in the rebellion, but we shut them down, the families closing rank to protect us. And Michael doesn’t seem to want to talk about his family or his past. The fact it happens to be convenient for me is something I probably need to address.
It’s the only thorn in what’s been pretty much a sea of roses since we started dating. Even when I told him who I was, he didn’t back away like I expected him to.
‘I’m with you, Emelia Raven,’ he said, as we stood on the beach at the turning of the day. ‘Your secret is safe with me.’ Then he took my face in his hands and kissed me.
We haven’t really stopped kissing since.
I mean, we have. But when we’re together, it more often than not involves us being wrapped around each other, as though we can’t get enough of each other’s warmth. I think he’s been with human girls before; at least, he’s hinted at it. But I’ve never been this close to another human.
Not that we’re truly human. Vampire born, both of us, though we appear like everyone else. Yet we hold a faint scent of violets, echo of our dangerous kin. Heal faster, run faster, than regular humans. I thought myself weak for so long, it was strange to find out that I do have power. I suppose I have Kyle to thank for that.
Laurel reappears, holding a tray with three steaming mugs. She puts it on the coffee table and takes one of the mugs, cradling it to her. Her auburn hair is sleekly curled, her make-up flawless. But there are purple circles under her eyes and her cheeks are pale.
‘Long night?’
‘Hmm.’ She takes a sip of her drink. ‘Your parents had guests.’
‘There should be more iron tonic in the fridge. I got some last time I was home.’
‘Already had a shot.’
‘You want to watch a movie with us? We won’t mind if you snore.’ Michael grins, picking up the remote and flicking on the TV.
