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Her eyes were fixated straight ahead of her, her face bearing traces of fear and concern. The unsettling event had shaken her to the core. I could see that now. Surprisingly, I wanted to jump at the opportunity to show her that she could find solace in my presence, because that was why I was here. My desire to protect her was overpowering.
Still, we navigated through the hallways side by side, our steps synchronized but it seemed that both our minds wrestled with hidden truths.
“I haven’t seen much of you today and yesterday,” I heard her say suddenly, without even turning to me as she spoke.
The sound of her voice did something to me, something I refused to acknowledge.
“I’m around,” I replied curtly.
“I know,” she added, “it’s just… I feel better knowing you are here. I mean, around.”
She sounded slightly awkward, as if she didn’t quite know how to express herself, as if there was a line she was afraid of crossing. She obviously longed for reassurance. That much was obvious. And that, I could easily provide.
“Do you want to see me at all times?” I asked her.
She still didn’t turn to face me, as we continued to walk, as if looking each other in the eyes would somehow disrupt the fragile balance we managed to keep up until this point.
“Yes,” she said, without even thinking. Then, she quickly added, for clarification. “I mean, you are my bodyguard, aren’t you?”
“Yes.” It was my turn to say this.
“I know you’re here now,” she continued. “So, you don’t have to lurk behind some corner in the hallway or something silly like that.”
“Alright,” I said only that, feeling that anything else would be unnecessary.
Besides, we had reached the door to her father’s study. She reached for the doorknob, finally turning to me. I could see more of that fear in her eyes. More than ever, I wanted to wrap my arms around her and silently assure her that she was safe, that I would lay down my life for her.
But I didn’t do that. I watched her slip into her father’s study, where I remained in front of the door, with the sound of my own beating heart, hammering loudly without any sign of stopping any time soon.
Chapter Eleven
Lilith
It had been three days since Luke got poisoned. Little by little, he was starting to feel better. He was still as pale as a sheet, and he could barely eat anything, but Doctor Zalkind assured us that things were looking up.
This was good news. The bad news was that Father had forbidden us to leave the castle on any pretext. We could go to the garden and that was all. No lake. No woods. Nothing. I was frustrated to say the least.
That morning, Cass and I were sitting in her room, on a plush sofa, and I think we could both feel my restless energy fill the confines of this room. I sighed deeply, my voice tinged with disappointment. “I can’t stand being inside all day long. I feel like the world is passing us by, and we’re stuck here, unable to go anywhere.”
To be quite honest, I had no idea where it seemed to be more dangerous, inside the castle or outside of it. We thought that this castle was the safest place on earth for us, that nothing and no one could harm us here, but what happened to Luke proved otherwise. Danger managed to sneak in past these walls and now, I felt like anything could happen at any moment.
At first, fear gripped me like never before. I thought that Luke being poisoned was a mistake, that it was meant for either me or Cass. But then Doctor Zalkind told us that he found poison in Luke’s sweetener. No one in the entire castle used it but him. We all preferred regular sugar with our tea or coffee. So, I doubted that whoever had planned this, didn’t know about Luke’s sugar preference. That left just one logical conclusion, which was that he was the intended target.
But even that didn’t make much sense. Why target Luke? Why poison him? What did the vampires have to gain by that?
“I can see that you’ve been restless, Lil,” I heard Cass say and her words brought me back to the present moment. “But safety is in numbers.”
“And all our food and drinks have to be pre-tasted,” I frown.
“Well, of course they do, after what happened,” she reminded me, although no reminder was necessary.
My eyes searched Cass’ face for solace, my frustration tempered by my sister’s wisdom. “I know,” I sighed heavily. “I just feel even worse now, being locked up in here, like a prisoner.”
“I’m sure Father doesn’t want you to feel that way,” Cass reached out, gently placing her hand on my shoulder, offering me a grounding touch. As always, it worked. “And I understand how you feel. At least, I try to. You and I have always been so different, looking at the world with different eyes. You are drawn to be outside, while I find solace within these walls, in the stability and protection that this castle provides. There is beauty and discovery within these walls as well, if we allow ourselves to see it.”
I thought about it for a moment. She was right. Her gentle words made me feel better, as my frustration gave way to a glimmer of hope that this wouldn’t last too long, and eventually, everything would be as it was before.
“You’re right,” I smiled at her. “I never thought about it. I thought there was nothing in this castle that I didn’t know, but we could find old books, we could search all the hidden corners we’ve forgotten as adults, and we can just cherish the time we spend together.”
