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“Suisse?” I ask, even as I realize how unbelievable this is. Strangely though, I feel as if I’m addressing a family elder or someone equally important. There’s power in her face and voice, the expression on her beautiful face.
She doesn’t speak for a while, probably less time than it seems, but eventually, she lowers her head in an affirmative nod.
“I am Suisse,” she says softly, placing a hand on the side of my face. I feel no more than a firm chill where she touches me. “And you are Joanna Delevigne.”
Yes,” I say as my heart continues to pound against my chest, like a frightened bird.
She smiles one of the most heartbreakingly beautiful smiles I’ve ever seen. I smile back, but I’m certain that mine pales in comparison.
She can’t be older than twenty or one-and-twenty, but she has an aura of wisdom far beyond her years and I wonder how long she’s been dead and if she’s haunted this castle all this time. Or has she only appeared once I came here? Or maybe I’ve gone mad and this is all an illusion.
“I’m gravely sorry for what has befallen you and your family,” she says and her voice sounds like someone speaking under water. “Balor has caused much pain to many,” she goes on.
I don’t know what to say to that so I remain quiet. Her eyes go dark and as I watch, she simply floats away.
***
“Rise and shine,” Derith says as he swings open the door to my bedroom.
“Ugh,” I respond.
“Time to get to hunting. The moon is out. The night is young, and we’ve got ourselves monsters to kill.”
Luckily for him, I could only sleep a few hours after the visit from Suisse, so I’m already dressed and ready to hunt.
“This is the dawning of a new era,” Derith continues.
“A new era?”
“One of hope,” he says, clarifying, with a nod. “Soon enough, this place will be rid of monsters, and soon thereafter, free of my malignant brother.”
“If we succeed,” I say.
He looks at me and frowns. “Your lack of enthusiasm in no way diminishes my own,” he says, smiling a small but satisfied smile. “I see you’re ready to begin our hunt.”
It’s true.
I’m wearing clothes borrowed from the human population of the castle. They may be a bunch of vampire-obsessed freaks, but at least one of them is approximately my size. The black long-sleeved shirt Lisette gave me is actually a little loose.
“I’m ready,” I tell him.
He takes a few steps closer, coming around to the side of the bed where I’m currently standing. He stands tall and formidable, and he’s a little intimidating, if you get intimidated by that sort of thing. I don’t puff up or shrink down though. I pretend his closeness has no effect on me whatsoever.
“You look a little pale,” he says, a bit of concern in his eyes. “Did you sleep all right?”
I nod, but then I stop myself. Why lie? Out of politeness? That’s more than I’m willing to give the bastard who imprisoned me on our first meeting. “MaybeafterI saw the ghost.”
“A ghost?” he repeats and then cocks an eyebrow at me.
“You don’t believe in ghosts and yet you’re a walking example that the supernatural exists?”
He chuckles. “Call me a hypocrite.”
I just shake my head and decide I’ll keep the particulars of Suisse’s visit to myself. After all, if she’d wanted Derith to know she was here, she would have simply visited him. “We’re burning moonlight as it is.” I grab my bobby blade off my bedside table and put it into my left trouser pocket. “Let’s go.”
He nods, and the excitement he had when he entered the room is still present and accounted for. As for me—I’m not sure how or what to feel. Truly, I can’t help but feel a bit like a pawn in someone else’s game. But Derith and I have the same end in mind and that’s enough to get me through.
We descend the stairs in silence and head for the open door. I make a beeline for the woods, but Derith catches me by the arm and pulls me to a stop a few yards shy of the front door.
