Page 155

What was that?

It felt like being trapped under water, lungs burning as I swim toward the light, only to reach the surface and ram against an impossibly thick barrier of ice.

I squeeze my eyes shut and try again, pushing my energy at him as forcefully as I can. I’m prepared for the wall now, and brace myself before each new attempt to break through. I throw myself at the wall, battering against it with all my might.

Again, again, again.

Caelan, let me in. Please let me in.

By the fifth attempt, I’m panting for breath, sweat dripping down my back despite the cold.

It’s no use.

He’s built a wall of pure onyx between us, preventing me from getting to him.

Tears of frustration and love fill my eyes and pool on my lashes.

How is he doing that?

With no other options, I curl back into a ball, but my mind won’t shut off.

I have so many questions, and I doubt I’ll get answers anytime soon. I know I’ve been brought somewhere with the other vampires—Caelan’s friends, I’ve deduced—but I don’t know where that is.

Then there’s my father. I don’t know where he is, either. The entire night is a chaotic mess of random flashes of memory, then… nothing.

Nothing until I woke up in this room, at least.

I’ve never felt so alone. Even the last two decades spent as a prisoner in my own home, I never felt this alone and dejected.

Eventually, my eyelids grow heavy. I’m halfway between sleep and awake when I hear the soft tread of someone walking right outside my door. Whoever it is stops, then I hear the unmistakable sound of a lock turning.

I freeze.

A lifetime of expecting the worst has taught me to err on the side of caution. So as much as a part of me desperately wants to sit up and see who’s coming into my cell, I stay where I am.

Quiet. Docile. Safe.

It isn’t the heavy tread of a man’s footsteps that step into the room like I thought it’d be. Shockingly, it’s the soft slide of a female. Even stranger is the faint Beta scent of rose water that trails after her.

Cautiously, I turn to face her, and relief rushes through me.

I was right. It’s a Beta. A woman.

She’s short, like me, with hair cut into a no-nonsense bob, and hard eyes that look empty of emotion. She holds a clipboard in one hand, and her pastel scrubs make me think she’s a doctor.

I feel my shoulders drop, my tension easing as hope sparks.

Maybe she’ll listen. Maybe she’ll let me explain⁠—

She stares at me for what feels like an eternity. Then her hard eyes narrow in distaste as she mutters, “I see.”

My hope dies.

I want to ask her what, exactly, it is that she sees, but I don’t. I keep my mouth shut and follow her movements as she walks a slow circuit around my cell.

“Sit up,” she demands.

With shaking arms, I do as she requests, then wrap my arms tightly around my middle. I keep my head down and my mouth closed.