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“I’ve been busy.” I held my breath, committing every inch of her to memory, knowing soon she’d be gone. I shouldn’t care about her. I didn’twantto. But there was an undeniable pull, keeping me locked to her unlike any obsession before. Because unlike the others, who I felt a need to collect, I wanted toprotectElizabeth instead. To keep hersafe.
Ihatedit.
“Salenia wishes for you to attend tonight’s ball.”
She jumped to her feet, her thick lips falling open, a reminder of when they’d been on mine. Consumed in the memory of us, I swallowed thickly, pushing those desires deeper. “Niall,” she said shakily, stepping closer. I flinched slightly, stepping back, but she pressed forward. I guess I liked that about her. She was so forward in what she felt, what she wanted. Every emotion was so obvious, as she wore them so evidently on her face. “You’ve been distant ever since—”
“I promised to get you out of here,” I stated, regret aching deep in my bones for not doing it when I had the chance. I’d been selfish, enjoying her company too much to let her go. Then, when I decided to set her free, Salenia happened and the world as I knew it crumbled. I sighed, averting my gaze. “I failed you.”
She dropped her hands to her side, the light from the sun illuminating her curves through the dress I’d brought up for her. Her hair fell like silk around her chest, and I wanted nothing more than to run my fingers through it, to hold her, to take her on my bed. But she deserved better than that—than me.
She licked her lips, unaware of how much she was distracting me from the current conversation. “You didn’t,” she assured, being kinder than I deserved. “I’m certain if you hadn’t brought me up here, even if it was for nefarious reasons,” she added, arching a brow at me. “Then I would be dead, and Carla would have been in that tournament. I hate to say it, but I’m glad I ran into you. Even if you are a vampire,” she teased, but it did nothing to lift the heaviness weighing on my shoulders. “Look,” she continued. “I’m happy to go to that ball. If it means seeing Carla again, then I’ll do it. I’m not afraid of Salenia. What’s the worst she can do? Kill me? I’ve already accepted that’s probably going to happen. But I won’t go down without a fight, especially when it comes to my sister.”
A growl erupted from inside of me, vibrating through my chest as I closed the distance between us. Her eyes widened as I grabbed her shoulders, looking her in the eyes. “No…” I spluttered, rage stealing any reasoning from my words. “I refuse to believe you’ve accepted you’ll die here.”
My hands slipped off me as she pushed me back an inch. Her cheeks reddened. “I’m just being realistic. I’m a mortal, trapped in a castle, nay, a kingdom filled with vampires and I’m walking around like some well-dressed snack.”
A slice of humor jolted through me, a ghost of a smile crossing my lips as I looked down at her, my hair falling around the sides of my face. “A very beautiful snack.”
She rolled her eyes, and I couldn’t help but grin, despite everything. She paced away, back to the bed, and unsheathed her dagger. “I guess this is pointless. It’s all I have, but it won’t stop a vampire. Unless…” She climbed her eyes to mine, her deep swallow loud in my ears. “You turn me into one.”
“We’ve been through this,” I snapped. “You don’t want that.”
“How else am I supposed to get out of here?”
“Fine.” I shook my head, beads of sweat gathering on my forehead. “Say you become a vampire, then what? When you die, because we all do, even immortals, you’ll be damned to the underworld.”
“Since when did you care about that? You love being a vampire.”
“Me, not you.” I balled my fists, my heartbeat erratic as I struggled to find the words. “My soul is already headed there. Even if I was mortal, the gods would not have mercy on my soul. I’ve done terrible things, but you haven’t.”
She squinted, her lips parting. “You care about my soul?”
A lump formed in my throat, and I averted my stare, heading for the bookshelves. I looked upon the spines of books, noticing they’d been rearranged, by color. “Did you organize my room?”
“Yes. Your shelves were a mess,” she pointed out, and I was just glad for the subject change. “You kept all the good books in the other room, so I got bored.”
I smiled to myself, then quickly dropped the expression before turning back to her. “I was planning on breaking you out before the ball,” I admitted, staring at the back of one book I’d collected about war tactics. “But security is too high. I’ll need help, so I need to bide our time, for a few days.”
I despised not being able to do something now, but the aniccipere were everywhere. In the forest, the mountains, the gates, the grounds, and every fucking tunnel leading out of here was blocked. Admittedly, this wasn’t something I could do alone. Salenia even had hundreds of guards on standby. But there was Velda, who was acting queen until tonight. She could help. I know she hated Salenia for possessing her daughter’s body. But she held no genuine power. Salenia pulled all the strings. However, she was sneaky, intelligent, and an asset. With her and Adrian, and a couple more Blood Brothers I could trust, there might be a way. But what could I offer?
I flinched when Elizabeth touched me, so lost in my plans that I hadn’t heard her walk back to me. She ran her hand over my shoulder, then turned me to face her with a gentleness that made my heart skip a beat. Slowly, she brought her hand down to clasp mine, then nodded. “I want to go tonight. I trust you’ll try to get me out of here, but understand I have to protect my sister. She means the world to me and if I am forced to leave without her, I will come back.”
I bit my tongue. I couldn’t get them both out. Not with her sister now Salenia’s new pet. “Let’s get you a dress for the ball,” I surrendered. “As for the dagger, I have a way to make it useful against our kind.”
Her brows raised. “How?”
“There’s another vampire I know, Erianna. Her dagger is magically infused to slow the healing in vampires. There’s some of it in Azia’s cottage. I’ll go there before the ball.”
“Thank you.”
I closed my eyes, breathing in the vanilla and lavender scent, brushing my thumb against the back of my hand as I allowed myself one moment of peace in the chaos. Then I left, without a goodbye, unwilling to ruin her with any more kisses or touches, no matter how much I wanted them. Because the moment I let her in was the moment Salenia would see my weakness and Elizabeth would be dead.
I headed out the door, hearing the crescendo of a piano melody from the ballroom. Preparations had already begun.
SEVEN
Niall
