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Petroski’s gray eyes studied her. “They drugged you.”
She stared at him, her mind not at all clear. Who drugged her?
Reaching down, he turned Caitlin’s head to the side. “Levka’s turned you after all. Know this, fledgling. I’m not just a tracker as Levka and his friends assumed. I’m an assassin. If you persist in staying with Levka, I will kill you both. You don’t have the Dallas league’s permission to be his.”
“Vlad’s…” She sighed heavily, wondering why the blood hadn’t given her strength like Levka said it would. “Vlad’s the one who forcibly took my blood and left me near death!” She meant to sound as mad as she felt, but her words came out no louder than a whisper.
Petroski’s brows rose. “So Vlad has claimed you.”
“No.” She closed her eyes against the swimming sensation in her skull. “Levka saved my life.”
Petroski shook his head. “The league doesn’t want to lose the princes. They fear the four will stick together in this travesty. But you can’t be Levka’s.”
Her eyes popped open, but she felt she needed toothpicks to keep them that way. “You…you will kill him?”
“Easily. Would you wish that on your conscience before you die, too?”
She stared at the bed. “What am I supposed to do?”
“You wouldn’t be able to fly invisibly this early after the change. Levka will have to take you to the airport in Fort Lauderdale if he’s to take you anywhere. Make excuses to go to the restroom. Leave a note telling him you wish no part of him now. That you wish to explore your new found freedom on your own. You will be able to turn invisible and leave. But you can’t do this and fly. Leave the airport and you can go anywhere you please.”
“What…what about Vlad?”
Petroski shrugged. “Don’t return to Orlando. You’ll be able to tell who is vampire and who is not. Stay away from them. In time, you will gain your own powers.”
She closed her eyes against the pounding in her head. Nothing in life was ever easy. Why couldn’t it be like before when her family was alive? “How will I survive?”
“We have a natural instinct for survival, Caitlin. Take what you want, go where you want, just stay away from Levka and his friends.”
She opened her eyes, but Petroski was gone. The nightmare wasn’t about to go away. With tears in her eyes, she hugged the death out of her pillow. Levka had saved her life.
Now it was her turn to do the same for him. She had her witch’s powers. Sure. But a fledgling vampire, on her own?
***
Two days later, they were at the Fort Lauderdale airport, just as Petroski had predicted. Would Vlad and his buddies be here, too? But what about Petroski? Was he watching Caitlin’s every move? She’d had a devil of a time pretending to be cheerful toward Levka and his friends, pretending that she planned to stay with them forever. She knew they sensed something was wrong with her, though she’d overheard Arman say he thought it was because she’d been newly turned. They hadn’t been around a fledgling in a hundred years they’d said, so they couldn’t remember how it would be for one exactly.
She couldn’t help the way her stomach did horrible flip-flops when she headed for the airport ladies’ room. Just turn invisible, Petroski had said. Leave a note for Levka.
With tears in her eyes, she rested the folded note on the bathroom counter.
Could she truly survive on her own? With no money, a craving for human blood. She shuddered. She had to because there was no way she was going to put Levka and his friends at further risk for her sake.
When a woman pushed the door aside, Caitlin concentrated on becoming invisible and slipped out with her.
She stifled a sniffle as she saw Levka leaning against the wall, his hands in his pockets, waiting for her to exit the restroom. I love you, she said silently to herself, and hurried toward the exit, leaving Levka, her love, and her new friends behind.
***
Frowning, Levka sniffed the air, certain the jasmine perfume Caitlin wore had grown closer, then faded away.
Suddenly, he grew concerned about Caitlin. She’d acted strangely distance all morning, though he’d assured her the best way to get to her foster parents’ house and wipe their memories was to fly out of the airport in Fort Lauderdale. He thought it was because she worried Vlad might still be waiting for her. It was all a risk.
Vlad might very well be waiting for her at her home.
When a woman headed for the restroom, Levka said, “Excuse me, miss, can you check to see if my mate…girlfriend is in there? Her name is Caitlin.”
“Sure.”
