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But that wasn’t going to happen, and the sun was close. I could feel it in the weight of my limbs and the imperceptible lightening of the sky. I couldn’t hide out here forever. It was time to return.
With sluggish steps, I trudged out of the patch of forest, starving in more ways than one, and panic laced my veins. I’d waited too long. The clouds were pink tufts of candy floss. Beautiful. Deadly. The house was in sight, close enough I’d make it if I was quick. It had been decades since I’d stayed out this long, and I’d felt the burn of the sun’s rays once before. I didn’t want to meet it now.
I moved as fast as I was able, willing my body to the door that stood between me and safety. If I’d been stronger, well-fed at the very least, the drain wouldn’t be nearly as bad. But my propensity for self-flagellation and punishment had gotten the better of me this time. I was a fool to think it somehow made me stronger to fight the urge to feed, to bring myself to the brink of collapse so I could stay awake during the daylight hours with Sunday. That wasn’t strength. That was stupidity.
What was my abstinence proving? That I was a bloody idiot. That’s what.
My skin buzzed with the first brush of the sun’s rays. Huffing out a relieved breath, I reached for the knob and twisted.
It didn’t budge.
I blinked at it in my sun-dazed stupor, not registering that it was locked. I shoved again, but the fecking thing wouldn’t move.
She’d locked it? Why? For protection, most likely, but I was the only one who’d ever dare to come inside.
“Sunday,” I said, as loud as I could. “Sunday, let me in, love.”
She didn’t respond, but I could feel her. My heart beat with hers.
“Please,a stor. I need to come inside.”
Still no answer.
Pulling every ounce of strength I had left, I went to the window, thinking to open it and climb inside to the safety of the dark. The move brought me into direct range of the sun, and the sizzle of my burning skin made me cringe against the pain. Not even my clothing offered protection.
“Feck. Sunday, please.” I wasn’t above begging. Not if it meant surviving to have her in my arms again. I slammed my fist against the glass, but it was a pathetic blow at best, barely rattling the panes. I was as weak as a newborn colt. The sun drained me exponentially faster with each second I stood outside.
It wasn’t until I made out her muffled whimper that I realized this was intentional.
She’d locked me out on purpose. She meant to kill me.
“Don’t do this,a stor. You don’t want me to die. Not even with how much you hate me now.”
I was so fecking weak as I crawled to the stoop and crouched in what little shade the roof offered. “Please, darling. I’m at the door. Let me in.”
It wouldn’t matter soon. This house bore the brunt of direct sunlight. It was why my da had chosen this location. Good for crops and warmth. My mam always said she wanted every window to have light streaming in because the sun was good for the soul.
A bitter laugh escaped at the irony of it all. Good for the soul, terrible for the soulless.
Sunday wasn’t going to come to my aid. And why would she? I’d betrayed her. I deserved this. I just hoped someone found her and cared for her. The rest of her men, perhaps. She needed looking after even if she wouldn’t admit it.
For the first time in almost a century, I watched the sun take its place in the sky, and when the harsh beam of light finally reached me, I closed my eyes and whispered one final prayer.
“Sunday.”
ChapterSeventeen
SUNDAY
The instant the doorknob rattled, my blood ran cold. The urge to go to him, save him from this fate, keep him close even though he wanted to do the worst, hummed in every single cell. I took a few stumbling steps backward until I collided with the wall and slid down, curling my arms around my knees and ducking my head.
I knew it was going to be hard, but I hadn’t been prepared for the way my very heart seemed to rebel against what was happening.
The wood shuddered as he shoved against the bolted entrance.
“Sunday. Sunday, let me in, love.” His voice was rough, tired, and pained.
I bit down on my lip, swallowing back my reply as I fought against the soul-deep instinct to obey.
