by Sela Croft
He sighed then shook his head. “Yes, we’ve done this type of thing before. And yes, the humans were left unharmed.”
“That settles it then… I’m giving my blood to Noah.”
Chapter 23
Callie
My mind was made up, but it was clear that Logan remained skeptical. I couldn’t tell if his reservations were concern for my well-being, or merely jealousy.
I couldn’t understand what he had to be jealous of. Noah was only a friend. And he was in love with my sister, not me.
“This isn’t Oregon,” Logan said, and rested his hand on my shoulder. “This isn’t like anything you’ve done before.”
“Nothing around here is like anything I’ve done before.” I turned to look up at him and he extended his hand to me.
Noah spoke up. “You should hear him out, before you make your final decision.”
“Fine.” I followed Logan to the farthest corner of the room possible. “I’m not going to change my mind.”
“I just want you to understand. This isn’t just about giving blood. It’s more than that.”
“It’s saving his life.”
“It’s risking yours.”
“You said it was safe. You said that several times.”
“For the others, yes. I have no doubt that the family will not suffer any adverse effects from their sacrifice.”
I scrunched up my brow and gave him the most scrutinizing glare I could. “Why are you so jealous of him? I’ve never done anything to make you think—”
“I know you haven’t. There will be time to discuss that later. I’m not asking you to forgo this to spare my feelings. It’s for you, Callie—everything I do is for you.”
I wanted to be mad at him, but I couldn’t. When our eyes met, his pensive look disappeared. The emerald green in his eyes seemed to glow as he took a step in my direction. Leaning in, he brushed a strand of hair from my face and hovered over me for a second.
“You’re different. Your blood has a scent to it unlike any I’ve experienced. I can’t explain the level of discipline I’ve had to acquire, to control myself around you. At first, it was nearly unbearable to be in the same room with you.”
His words were soft and his tone soothing. Despite the message he was communicating, I couldn’t bring myself to be frightened by what he was saying. I remembered the beginning. The first day I’d met him was burned into my mind.
Thinking about the intensity of the exchange sent a thrill over my skin. But so much had happened since then. Memories of those events overshadowed any dread his presence had initially instilled in me.
“But now, it seems that we can’t stay apart.”
Logan touched my cheek. “Like I said, discipline.”
“Discipline?”
“Maybe something more. But that’s the problem, Callie. I know how I feel, and how important you are to me, and yet I still struggle with the temptation. Noah, Raulia, and all the other vampires experience it too. There’s something special about your blood.”
“Are you afraid Noah will hurt me? That he’ll take too much?”
“It is a concern of mine, yes. And if you do this, I will remain at your side, to ensure that doesn’t happen.”
“He wouldn’t hurt me. Noah is my friend.”
“And he’s a vampire. Once he gets a taste, there’s no telling what will happen. His instinct may overpower any emotional connection he has with you. We are dictated by our needs, Callie.”
“If you insist, you can stay,” I said, then walked back to Noah. “But I’m not worried.”
I sat on the edge of the bed and observed Noah’s weakened state. With Logan looking on, I rolled up the sleeve of my shirt and held my wrist out to him.
Noah’s eyes moved from mine to Logan’s, as if asking for permission. I didn’t understand why he’d need permission. I wasn’t sure if it was because Logan had become my protector, or if it was because he was the prince.
Possibly, there was more in that look than just a request for permission. It might have been a request for guidance. That made me wonder if Noah shared Logan’s concern, and was worried about his ability to control himself.
Nervousness rippled through my stomach. It was too late to change my mind. Noah reached out with vampire speed, and grabbed onto my arm. He pulled my wrist to his lips and, without a second of hesitation, he sunk his teeth into my skin.
I flinched against the feeling of his teeth sinking into my flesh, expecting a bolt of pain to follow the bite. The act didn’t hurt nearly as much as Logan had implied. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling, but it wasn’t worth the fuss that he’d made.
I felt the blood flowing out of my veins. Logan was right about one thing—the experience was nothing like giving blood back in Oregon. The flow started the second his teeth grazed my skin. Once the puncture was made, a rush of energy surged through me. It was coming from Noah.
The invigorating surge of vitality buzzed through me. My skin tingled with a chill so cold, it burned. The sensation overwhelmed me—carried me away. I felt as if I was floating, as if I was completely untethered. My mind reeled, trying to make sense of what was going on.
I began to slip into a dizzying trance.
I wanted to go there, so gave into the pull. Noah’s energy poured into me through the pricks in my skin and took hold of me.
Logan’s voice broke into my lightheaded trance. “Stop!”
The next thing I knew, Logan was pulling me off the bed. The disconnect was abrupt and shocking. My body reacted violently to the rupture. The energy that had surged through me was gone. The experience was shattered, although its impact left a residual burning in my chest.
“What did you do that for?” My tone communicated the anger and frustration I felt at being ripped out of the trance and separated from the expanded state of being.
“He wasn’t going to stop,” Logan said.
“He wasn’t going to hurt…” I said, but spun to face Noah. The glow in his eyes had turned to a dull red.
There was an expression on his face that I hadn’t seen before, and a trail of blood ran down his chin. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and laid back in the bed.
“He did the right thing,” Noah said, closing his eyes.
“I would have been fine. Noah, you need more.”
My body ached to experience the transmission of energy again. My mind reeled as it searched for even a trace of the elevated state of moments before.
It had been wonderful, enveloping and controlling me. I shouldn’t let Logan or Noah know about the effect the bloodsucking had on me. Both were already worried. And Noah needed to recover.
But…being in the same room with Noah made me hungry with desire for the experience. I craved it and wanted more.
I’d seen how Noah had looked at me. Logan had been right. He wouldn’t have stopped. So, he must have felt what I had. Or maybe it had been the scent and taste of my blood that had driven him to lose control.
“I have to go,” I said, then stepped away from Logan.
“Are you okay?” Logan said.
“I’m fine, just lightheaded. I need some fresh air.”
Chapter 24
Callie
When Noah drank my blood, the sensation had been like no other. It had been exhilarating yet terrifying. I craved more of the experience. Like a drug, it drew me in. Logan had said my blood was special. But if that was so, Noah should have felt the sensation not me.
It wouldn’t be good for Logan to know of my experience. He’d read more into it, make it into something it wasn’t. He was jealous enough. I didn’t want him worrying over what I’d just shared with Noah.
Lisette and the family were downstairs. I didn’t want to be around the others, so upstairs was my only option. I made my way around the upper level, and noticed how large the manor was. The third floor had several rooms along the hallway.
Out of curiosity, I peeked into each one. There was an eerie atmosphere, like
the abandoned church where I’d spent countless hours with my sister.
Yet the place seemed desolate, and I wondered what it had been like before. Prior to the war, it might have been bursting with life. I imagined the crops thriving and families visiting. When I ventured into each room, it was easy to invent a story.
I relaxed, and my obsession with Noah abated.
Drawing on recent experiences, my imagined stories became more vivid. The stories were more adventurous, and I was lost in my imagination.
Standing in front of a window in one of the empty rooms, I pressed my hand against the cool glass and glanced out at the tree-filled hills. My mind danced with images of magical creatures lurking, and knights riding through the forest to battle them.
“Callie…”
The voice that called to me was no more than a whisper. At first, I laughed it off, thinking that I had truly let my imagination take control. But I heard it again. A shiver raced over my skin.
“Callie…” the voice said again.
I spun around to look at the door. I didn’t answer; I didn’t breathe. For a second, there was only silence. Then the voice returned. The words were muffled, but I could make out my name.
It wasn’t until I heard my sister’s name spoken in the soft, wispy voice, that I felt the urgency to move.
“Callie… Rosamon…” the voice said.
“Hello?” I said, then stepped toward the door. “Who’s there?”
“Find her, Callie…”
“Who’s there?” I said. “Who are you? And what do you know about my sister?”
The voice replied, but the words were too faint for me to make out. My heart quickened, and I took another step toward the door. I sensed a presence in the hall, moving away. My chest tightened at the sound of my sister’s name.
I stepped into the hallway, and footsteps echoed. The air was heavy with tension. The voice taunted me. Yet, as hard as I tried, I couldn’t identify where it was coming from. I raced in one direction, bursting into one room then the next. The faster I ran, the clearer the voice became.
“Callie, hurry,” it called to me. “Hurry.”
My head swam, and my chest ached. I was desperate to find the source of that voice. My legs trembled, and I rounded a corner, unsure where I was. I didn’t recall that part of the house.
I spun around, and noticed the walls around me weren’t wooden beams like the manor’s structure. Heavy, gray stone surrounded me. The ceilings reached high over my head, and the light came from a random series of windows.
I was in the palace again. I looked for the Fae princess and waited for the Redcaps mocking voices. I lifted my hands, prepared to strike any creature, waiting in the darkness. But there were no glowing eyes or razor-sharp fangs.
“Callie.” It was Amalia’s sugary-sweet voice, and the sound made my stomach turn.
With my heart in my throat, I turned and raced back in the direction I’d come. With as much speed as my legs could muster, I turned the corner that had brought me back to the heart of the Fae kingdom.
The corridor ahead was unfamiliar. It was yet another shadow-filled hall weaving through the palace. Panic rippled through me. I suppressed a scream, unsure if Logan would be able to hear it, anyway.
Amalia called out, “Callie.”
“Where are you? Show yourself.”
She did as I asked with flair. The hallway began to glow, then the princess moved toward me. She seemed to float in my direction. Her arms were outstretched, the sleeves of her gown dancing in a light breeze.
Amalia gave me a lazy smile. “You shouldn’t be worried about where I am, Callie,” she said. “You should worry about where you are.”
The princess hovered above, and I stepped back. “This isn’t real,” I said firmly. “I’m in the manor in the woods. I’m not with you.”
“It certainly looks like you’re here. Perhaps you have been, all along. What if I told you that you didn’t leave my home? That all of you are still in my palace.”
“It can’t be.”
“And why not? You’ve witnessed my abilities for yourself, have you not? Am I not capable of creating a world filled with representations of whatever I desire? Or, rather, whatever you desire?”
“I knew that wasn’t real,” I said, referring to the time I spent in the depiction of my life back in Oregon. “It felt wrong from the start.”
“Argue all you want,” Amalia said. “It will do you no good. Only I know the truth.”
Angry and tired of her games, I needed answers, and was desperate to find my sister.
“What do you want from me?” I said. “Why do you insist on tormenting me like this?”
“Oh, Callie,” the princess said, with a lilt in her voice. “If you think this is torture, you’re sorely mistaken.”
Chapter 25
Callie
I’d stood face-to-face with the Fae princess on several occasions. Since I knew what she was capable of, I feared her. My worry wasn’t just for my safety, but for my sister’s.
I mustered the courage to stand up to her, even though I was weak in comparison. Amalia’s gaze roamed over me, like a predator sizing-up prey. Her lips curled in disgust, driving home the point that I was inferior.
It was intimidating—also infuriating.
“I don’t mean to be harsh,” Amalia said. “But it’s the truth. Torture implies a dire circumstance. It’s important that you understand the reality of life in our realm, and not misconstrue it.”
“I’m sure threats of torture come from you,” I said with my jaw clenched.
“Come now, you can’t possibly know that.”
“I know more than you think I do.”
“Then tell me, little one, what do you know about me?”
Her tone was condescending. She was treating me like a child and I resented her for it. It didn’t matter what or who she was, I wouldn’t tolerate that. “I know that you are greedy for power. I know that you would do anything to extinguish the light and take control of Shadowland.”
Amalia watched me.
“I know that you have my sister locked away in your palace, and that you plan on using both of us for some evil purpose.”
“Some evil purpose?” the princess said. “Have you ever wondered what that word means? Evil is so subjective. You say I’m evil because the vampires have told you as much. Well, in my land, the vampires are the evil ones. Tell me, what about in your realm? How are vampires perceived there?”
I didn’t answer her.
“I expected as much. Use whatever term you’d like to define me, Callie. The truth is, I only want what you want.”
“I don’t see how that can be possible.”
“Because you don’t know the truth. So much of what has happened has been a horrible mistake. And I’m afraid you and your sister have gotten caught up in it. Think about it. Forget everything the vampire prince has told you about me and the Fae. Think only about what you have seen and experienced.”
I didn’t trust her. Yet I questioned my motivations for despising her. When I’d first arrived, Logan had instilled fear and distrust. I’d allowed him the opportunity to change my mind. I owed her the same.
It wasn’t like I had a choice, since I was stuck in a fabricated depiction, for as long as she chose to keep me there. Perhaps, if I went along with her, then she’d let me go.
“You claim that you were brought here, correct? You’ve been told that I was responsible for bringing you here?” Amalia said. “Well, tell me this. What role do you play? How do you fit into our realm?”
“I don’t know. It hasn’t made sense to me.”
“Because there is no sense to be made of it. It was a mistake. You’re lost, Callie. You and Rosamon both. All I want is to help you get home.”
Her tone was empathetic. On the surface, she seemed genuine. It seemed as if she understood the confusion I’d been plagued with, since I’d first stepped foot in Shadowland.
Yet there was more
behind her stated purpose. I remembered how the popular girls at school had spoken to me. It had taken a long while to figure out that their nice words were a façade. Those girls hadn’t cared about me, any more than the princess did. And had merely taken an interest to discover vulnerabilities, then use them against me.
I looked up at Amalia, noting the subtle grace in her features. She was a stunningly beautiful woman. With her flowing hair, porcelain skin, and petite frame, she would have fit in well with the girls who had tormented me.
Those girls had been the bane of my high school existence. They had been in the elite click at school. I’d had no aspirations of joining them or fitting in. Yet they’d taken an interest, and shown me around, even invited me to go shopping.
It had taken weeks to realize that they hadn’t been my friends. They had planned a prank, involving me and one of the boys in our class. It had been meant to embarrass me, and played into my insecurities with boys that I’d shared during one of our group text sessions. Thankfully, I had figured out their plan before they could put it into action. I had sensed it coming, read it in their thoughts. It had been one of the rare times that I’d been thankful for my strange gift to pick up on what others were thinking.
“You want to help me?” I said, refocusing on the present.
The princess smiled. “You and Rosamon.”
I wished I could tap into her thoughts. Then I would know for certain, whether I could trust her. Staring at her, I tried to push away earlier school experiences, and pay attention to the Fae princess looming over me.
I sensed evil.
Maybe all vampires weren’t good, and all Fae weren’t bad. But Amalia was evil—all doubts had vanished. “You want to help us fix this mistake?”
Amalia nodded.
“Tell me more about the mistake. It seems like a pretty big one, bringing two humans into a land of magical creatures. And from what I’ve heard, it’s a complicated process to travel between my realm and this one. So how does something like that just happen by mistake?”
Amalia’s smile widened. “I’m so glad you asked. Although, I should preface this by saying, it wasn’t really his fault. I mean, he did point you and your sister out. And he did claim that you could help to end the conflict going on in our land. But he didn’t have a choice. He was under a lot of pressure.”
