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Nobody questioned how Carden had known so many girls were under attack, how he’d sensed he was needed enough to break free and act as rescuer. The vampires weren’t surprised, and it wasn’t because they’d detected our bond. There was something about Carden that made him more powerful than the others, and powerful was dangerous.
Dangerous enough to have caused the bad blood between him and Alcántara. I wondered if my mission off-island really had been to save Carden, or if it’d just been to ensure his silence.
But all that mattered was that he was free, and it was back to normal on the island. Except for Mei-Ling. Her absence left a hole that I felt already.
“What came of Mei-Ling?” Ronan had asked me gently.
I’d had to look away. I couldn’t let him see the lie in my eyes.
Carden spoke for me then. “There was nothing left of her. ”
They believed us, or at least I thought they did.
All except for Alcántara.
I was out of it at dinner that night. Shaky and empty, still trying to wrap my head around what’d just happened. Namely, Mei-Ling was gone.
It was possible to escape from here.
Worse, I hadn’t had a moment to be alone with Carden. All the refrigerated shooters of blood in the world weren’t enough to stand in for this need I felt for him. I wanted to see his easy smile and to feel that heavy arm around my shoulders. It would’ve been enough.
I was numb as I scooped a pile of gelatinous spaghetti on my plate. Grabbed a small, tart-looking apple. Walked to my usual spot with Emma and the gang.
My tray clattered as I put it down. The chair scraped hard against the floor. I sat.
Only then did I realize everybody was staring at me. “What?” I met everyone’s eyes in turn. “What’s going on?”
Yasuo’s eyes didn’t budge, pinned hard on me. “Alcántara posted a new fight bracket. ”
I dropped my forehead into my hand. “What now?”
“You’re fighting me,” Emma said quietly.
The blood drained from my head. I’d dreaded this day. “We have to fight each other?”
At her nod, I looked to Yasuo. “Rules?” I asked, though I was terrified of the answer.
“Two girls in. One girl out. ” His eyes were razors, slicing into me. “To the death. ”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
“Two go in, only one comes out. ” I stared at the notice, posted outside the gymnasium. “Sounds like a nineteenth-century circus playbill. ” I felt a slender hand on my shoulder. Emma’s. I turned to her. “This is my fault. ”
“Don’t be ridiculous. ”
“No. It is. ” It was never a good idea to cross a vampire. First I was a less-than-enthusiastic recipient of Alcántara’s kiss. Then Masha had gone off after me and never come back. “It is my fault. This is Alcántara’s way of punishing me. I’ll make it right. ”
“You bet you will,” Yasuo said.
I glanced over Em’s shoulder to find his eyes glittering cold on me. Everyone knew she and I were besties, just as they knew I’d beat her in a fight. But never in a thousand years could I hurt her. Though, just in case I did, there was Yasuo, ready to thrash me quicker than you could say catfight if anything happened to her.
Disturbed, I tore my eyes from him to look back at my friend. “We’ll find a way so you don’t get hurt. I’ll throw the fight. ”
“Or else,” Yasuo said.
“Please,” Emma told him in that quiet way of hers. “Trust Drew. I do. We’ll figure this out. We have before. ”
“Yeah, Yasuo. ” I tried my best playful scowl. “We have before. ”
