Who the hell was Isabelle?
He held the portrait as if it were the most precious thing he’d ever seen. “She was clever and funny, wasn’t she?”
I said nothing. But he was right.
His face relaxed as he stared at the portrait. “She spent hours playing chess and searching the shore of the river for special stones. She loved stones with even edges and with the shapes of animals.”
He was right again!
I folded my arms. “How do you know that?”
“She suffered from seizures and often had nightmares and moments when she grew still, looking out of the window. She said she didn’t belong to this time.”
That annoyed me no end. This stranger, with his fine clothes and foreign accent, shouldn’t know my sister so well. Yes, everything he’d said was true, but how did he know that?
“Where did you meet my sister?”
His expression softened. “During a festival. She caught my eye immediately because she was graceful and she was laughing.”
That was possible. Odette had attended several festivals. Would a foreign count have attended them though?
He didn’t add anything else, and I was tired of this lunatic.
“You’d better leave.” I moved to take the portrait, but he didn’t let me.
“Did you love her? Were you good to her?”
“I loved my sister very much.”
“I loved her too.” He caressed the portrait with so much love I burst with anger.
“Really? Where were you when she needed your help? When they came to take her to the fever hospital? When she was starving? When she was sick because we couldn’t pay the doctors? When my parents fell into debt with a thug to pay for the drugs? Do you think you can come here, showing off your expensive clothes and making demands, after she died in pain?”
He sucked in a few deep breaths, his muscles bulging. I thought he was about to slap me, but he said, “You’re right.”
“I’m glad we agree.”
He nodded in approval, his facial lines tensing. “You deserve a gift for having stayed close to her.”
“Only because a brother loved his sister? Leave.”
“You don’t understand.” His tone was deadly serious, and I didn’t contradict him. It would be a waste of time. “I’m lost without her. I’m in pain. I must be reunited with her.”
I had no idea what to say. “That’s…ahem horrible.”
I stepped away from him. The man was as mad as a hatter. But he did seem in pain.
He raised three fingers. “I’ll bite you three times. Then I’ll give you my blood.”
“What?”I’ll bite you three timeshad to be an expression that made sense in his language, but that he’d translated badly.
“Then you’ll need to feed. After you feed, the transformation will start. You’ll help me find Isabelle.” He sounded excited.
“Who is Isabelle?”
“My wife.”
“But you’re looking for my sister.”
