“It is getting late,” he says, rising to his feet all of a sudden. He holds out his hand for mine, and when I press my palm to his, he pulls me up.
“Is this—goodbye?” The question comes out a murmur, my voice sinking along with my heart.
“I will stay one more day,” he says, and my pulse resumes its normal beat. “Good night, Lore.”
“Good night, Will.”
WHEN Iget back to the room, Tiffany is asleep, but Salma is sitting up in bed, waiting for me.
I grab my toothbrush, and she follows me down to the bathroom. As soon as we’re inside, she asks, “Where were you?”
Her arms are crossed beneath her knitted brow, and a quick look around tells me we’re alone. “With him,” I say.
“And why the fuck did he come back?”
“To save my life.”
Salma’s angry expression cracks with surprise. “What are you talking about?”
“Nate threatened to kill me if William didn’t come back today. I guess Will knew I was in danger through our Familiar bond, so he rushed here. I tried telling you all day, but Nate was watching and listening too carefully. He warned me if I said anything, he would kill you, too.”
Now Salma’s face goes slack with shock.
“They feel entitled to kill anyone who knows about them,” I warn her now that she’s listening. “We have to be careful.”
“What did William tell you?” she asks.
“Nate and Cisco are gone. And he… he’s leaving, too,” I say, and I hear the way my voice falters, heartache cutting into my words.
“So he’s gone then?”
“Tomorrow.” I whisper the word, suddenly afraid he followed me and is listening to us. I know this whole conversation is a big risk, but I can’t help it. I’m done keeping secrets from Sal.
“What did he tell you… about where he’s been? Has he met other vampires?Stokers?”
I shake my head. “There are only fifty-four vampires left in the world, and none of them are Stokers. And they don’t attack people to feed—they steal from blood banks. Their only concern is to stay hidden, and that’s why we can’t talk about him or vampires at all until he’s gone. If he hears us, and he knows you know, he could—”
“What?” she asks, her forehead creasing. “Kill me?”
I shake my head. “He’ll compel you to forget. And just so we’re clear, if he does, then I’m going to wait until he’s gone to refresh your memory.”
Salma’s face narrows like she wants to argue. “That’s nonnegotiable,” I warn her. “So please don’t do anything stupid.”
“Stupid?” she asks, angling her head. “You mean like falling for a vampire?”
“I’m not—”
“Oh, please. You and he may have lied to everyone about everything, but there’s one thing you can’t hide.” Her brown eyes drill into mine. “You’rein love.”
I try to argue or laugh or even roll my eyes—but no reaction comes. My best friend has seen what I dare not, and while I can keep lying to myself, I won’t deceive her anymore.
“You have to let him go.” She grips my arms as she stares into my eyes. “Or this won’t end well for any of us.”
“TODAY, Iwant to discuss the character of Count Dracula,” says Director Minaro on Friday.
William and I barely spoke at lunch or breakfast, opting to trade glances instead. It’s as if last night awoke a new shyness between us. All day, I’ve been torn between wanting to fast-forward to later today and get our parting overwith, and wanting to hit slow-motion to savor these final hours as much as possible.
In other words,timeis my tormenter.
