“But you are. You’re here with me in the Veil, ready to come home to me.”
See, I knew this was a sick and twisted dream. I knew plenty about the Veil since King and Sky had started dreamwalking. There were plenty of scary monsters in the Veil, and they’d even faced one, but they’d never mentioned seeing a vampire. This really was my brain screwing with me.
A growl of displeasure reached my ears. “I sense an anchor bond. Is this what keeps you from joining me? What keeps you bound to that spot instead of crossing the river to my side?”
I’d never seen a river, but now that he’d said it, I saw the way it wound around like a snake, glistening between us. It was a ways from me, but he stood on its bank on the other side. Had he always been that close?
“Come to me, my child.”
“No.” I rolled to my back and crossed my arms over my chest.
The last thing I planned on doing was answering to a cranky, old vampire in my sleep the same way I had to heed the call of an ancient, eccentric vamp in my real life. If Scotty hadn’t made me promise to abide by Lysandro’s training, I might’ve already kicked him to the curb and gone back to blood bags.
“But you need my blood,” he said sternly. “I’m not sure how you’ve survived this long. I’m amazed, really, but I’ve felt your wounds. You need your Maker’s blood to come into your full power.”
“I’m gonna pass on that.”
“Don’t make me come to you, Ego. You will not like what happens when you meet me again if I’m displeased. If it is the anchor who blocks me, then I will remove the obstacle.”
I jumped, landed in a crouch on my feet and hands, and hissed. I didn’t care if this was my own brain. I didn’t care if this was some weird occurrence in the Veil. I wouldnothave Scotty threatened. “He is mine.”
“Then you know what you must do, or the consequences are dire for your anchor.”
I woke with a start.Pushing a hand through my hair, I blew out a ragged breath. Yeah, yeah, I didn’t need to do that, but it felt better somehow. From down below, I heard Scotty’s heartbeat and wanted nothing more than to be wrapped in his scent.
As I entered the great room, I finished tugging my shirt over my head. “Hey, sleepyhead,” he called from his wingback.
Lysandro sat in his chair next to him and pointed to the bar top. “Your nourishment is ready. How are you feeling this evening?”
Yawning, I stretched my arms over my head. “Good, I guess.”
“I didn’t wear you out too much last night with your training then?” He rose, approaching gracefully.
“No.” I moved my leg back and forth and grinned. “Good as new.”
“Are you sure?” Lysandro flipped open his pocket watch and tapped the face. “The sun rose nearly half an hour ago.”
That was weird. Since Lysandro started donating his blood to me, I’d been waking right as the sun set. It probably had something to do with having another weird-ass dream, which I wanted to discuss with him, but not in front of Scotty. I didn’t want to freak him out since the reference to him as my anchor had been part of it. The last thing I wanted him to think was that I was subconsciously trying to get rid of him. If anything, I wanted to figure out how to make our relationship closer.
“Drink your beverage. We’re running out of time.”
The goblet—which was my favorite thing in the whole castle since it was from Scotty—was halfway to my lips when I noticed all the smells infiltrating the air around me. Pausing, I glanced around and noticed finger foods on silver trays on every surface, including a long table. “Uh, what’s happening?”
Lysandro frowned. “I must’ve pushed you too hard last night. You were more aware of your surroundings when you first arrived. Please forgive me, fledgling.”
He looked so crestfallen I wanted to reach out and hug him and assure him I was fine. But I’d never intentionally touched him that way, and I wasn’t sure how he felt about that since I couldn’t remember seeing him and Scotty touch too much either. I didn’t want to cross his personal boundaries.
“Go ahead. Drink up,” Scotty said, rising from his chair in one fluid motion. “The whole Willowhope crew, plus Cassi, Carli, and Booker should be here any minute. I expected you to be up by now.” He stopped and gave me a quick look up and down. “You might want to…” He made a circular motion, indicating my whole person.
“What?” I asked, putting the cup to my mouth and humming in appreciation of the nourishment Lysandro kept providing me. I really needed to thank him for that.
“You kinda look a mess.”
I looked down at my black t-shirt and sweatpants. “I look like this every day.”
He snorted. “Yeah, you donow, but before you were turned, you were as fashionable as Sky.”
I gasped. “I beg your pardon. I love my cousin, but I most definitely was the better-dressed of us.”
