Gray
“Gray. Can you hear me?”
The whispers tickled the back of my mind, slowly drifting into my consciousness.
“Gray?”
Gray.That was my name, but why was that voice so far away? A million miles, at least.
Where was I?
Falling.
I couldn’t open my eyes. Couldn’t feel my body.
Mountain.
The wind howled like a banshee, carrying with it the rest of my memories.
Avalanche.
Images slammed into my mind, one after the other. The snow. The ice. The terrible rumbling. The fall.
Had it broken my neck? My back?
I gave myself a moment to breathe. To be still.
The wind faded.
All was silent again. I wondered if the snowy owl would come for me.
I wondered if I would leave a ruby-red stain in the snow like Jonathan had.
I wondered if Liam would ever find me. I wanted to thank him for our time on the beach. For all he’d done for me. For being him.
“Gray, I need you to open your eyes.”
Another whisper, and the scent of something I used to know.
“Gray, can you hear me? Please open your eyes.”
More whispers, louder now. Clearer. The heady smell of expensive whiskey and soft leather.
I know that voice. I know that smell…
“Stay with me, love.”
Darius?
My eyelids fluttered open, and slowly—agonizingly—the picture came into focus. A beautiful dark-haired man was looking down at me through warm golden eyes, his full lips pressed together in worry.
It smelled like my vampire. Looked like him.Feltlike him, my blood already warming in response to his presence.
“Darius?” I whispered.
A smile broke across his concerned face. “Yes. I’m here, love. I’ve got you.”
It was too good to be true. Another trick of the realm. Another torment.
