As I punched out the words, I thought I caught a small quivering in Logan’s jaw. As if he wanted to laugh, but found it too painful. I pursed my lips, waiting for whatever he would say next. Whatever excuse he would give—I was ready.
“Oh little writer,” he said at last. “If only we could have our happily ever after. But this isn’t a book. And it isn’t going to end well for me. But you…” He turned to look at me again, his beautiful, bloodshot eyes filled with pleading. “You still have a chance. Please, take it. It’s the only thing that’s keeping me going right now. To know that you will walk away from this. That I haven’t taken you down with me.”
I drew in a shaky breath. It was the grandest and most beautiful thing anyone had ever said to me. It would have been a great line in a book. One of those lines that gets notated a billion times in people’s e-readers.
But again, this was real life, not a story. And it wasn’t grand or beautiful or notable. It was messy and complicated. But real.
“Sorry, dude,” I shot back, keeping my voice strong. “But it doesn’t work like that. I’m a part of this, whether you like it or not. And besides, it’s not like they’re just going to let me go because they have you.” I briefly ran through what happened at the book signing the night before.
“Whatever they promised you, it was a lie,” I said when I was finished. “They will kill you and then come after me anyway.” I drew in a breath, steeling my nerves. “So wouldn’t it be better to stay alive to help protect me from them?”
He groaned, slamming a hand against the cement floor. His knuckles were dry and cracked and started bleeding on contact. I reached in between the bars, taking his hand in mine. Stroking it with gentle fingers. As if I could take the pain away somehow, just by touching him.
Logan sighed deeply. “Don’t get me wrong,” he said “I would love to protect you. In fact, there’s nothing I would want more than to stay by your side forever, keeping you safe. But you don’t understand. It’s too late. They’ve taken my blood. I’m too weak. I can’t even stand, never mind break out of this place.”
My heart fell at the look on his face. He wasn’t lying this time. Making any grand gestures. He legitimately couldn’t stand up. And there was no way I’d ever be able to carry him, even if I could somehow open his cell.
It was then that I remembered the plan. “Don’t worry,” I said. “We’ve got it all worked out. I’m going to take a photo of you and text it to Rayne. She’ll send it to Jareth and he’ll show it to the Consortium once night falls and everyone wakes up. They’ll break you out of here in no time.”
Logan gave a weak smile. “That does sound like something out of a book,” he admitted. “The Calvary on its way.” He squeezed his eyes shut. “But it’s not going to work.”
“What? Why not?”
“Sweetheart, I don’t have time to wait for a rescue. I’m dying. They took too much blood from me. I doubt I have an hour, never mind till nightfall.”
Oh God. Oh no.
I bowed my head and closed my eyes, anguish tearing through me now. Everything had seemed as if it was going to work out. To give us that happily ever after, despite the odds. But now… If he was really this close to death… Had so little blood left…
Suddenly, my eyes snapped open. I reached into the cage again, this time turning my hand so the underside of my wrist was exposed. I watched as Logan peered down at the pulsing vein just under my skin. He jerked away, but I shook my arm at him.
“Logan,” I commanded. “You have to. You have no choice.”
“No.” He shook his head. “I would never do that to you.”
“You have no choice,” I repeated. “If you don’t drink from me, you’ll die. You said so yourself. And then they’ll come after me.” I bit my lower lip, my mind racing. “Trust me, this isn’t some charity act. I’m doing it to save my own skin.”
“Hannah, you don’t know what you’re asking,” he groaned. “What if I hurt you? I’m so weak. What if I’m not able to stop?”
“Please. You saw me bleeding in the bathroom and you didn’t do anything. You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for. You can control yourself. I know you can. Just take what you need. Revive your strength. And then we can break out of here. Walk away. We can have that happily ever after in real life that we both want.”
He squeezed his eyes shut and I waited for his answer, barely able to breathe in anticipation of what he would say. Please, I begged silently. Please don’t be stubborn.
Finally, he turned to me. Blood tears dripped down his cheeks, splashing onto my hand. For a moment, he just looked at me. An agonized look that nearly broke my heart. Then, he leaned down, taking my wrist in his hand and bringing it to his mouth. For a moment he just hovered there and I held my breath, anticipation buzzing through me. I was terrified. But I was also a little excited. This was it. The moment I had written about a thousand times, now about to happen to me.
And then his mouth closed over my wrist. His fangs sinking into my flesh. I gritted my teeth, waiting for the pain, like when the vampire in the alleyway bit me. But it never came. Instead, there was a flash of unexpected pleasure flooding my insides until I almost cried out with joy.
Suddenly it was as if we had become one person, the floodgates opening and emotions and memories flooding through me. I could feel Logan as I could feel myself—all his anguish, his fury rushing through me like a raging river, euphoric at finally being freed.
But at the same time I felt something else, too. Something beyond anger and fury. Something…sweeter. Something that seemed a little bit scared. Afraid to let go and trust what was happening here.
He’d been hurt, I realized suddenly. Badly. The face of a woman swirled through my mind. Perhaps his maker? The one who turned him into the creature he was today? I had always assumed he liked being a vampire—he was so arrogant about the whole thing. But now…
Now I wasn’t so sure.
My thoughts and emotions began to blur into one another then and it became suddenly difficult to keep them straight. Colors flashed before my eyes. Warmth floated through my body.
I wanted to sleep. To sleep forever would be—
Logan broke away, startling me back to the present. It was as if someone had dumped a bucket of ice cold water over my head and I barely managed not to scream in protest. The warmth fled. The colors faded. And I was left with an aching wrist and a terrible headache. And a weakness that was so overpowering that now it was I who could barely stand.
“I’m sorry,” I could hear Logan whisper. “I tried to stop. I tried--”
I held up my hand to stop him. “I’m fine,” I assured him, even though I didn’t know if that was true. I pulled my knees to my chest, wondering for a moment where we were. My head was pounding and it was still hard to pull thoughts together. To think at all.
I could feel Logan’s eyes on me. Burning with self-loathing. “I need to get out of here,” he said. “Let me work on the lock.”
I nodded absently, thinking about what I had learned about him during our blood bond. The secret I now knew. The hatred he felt for his own kind. The hatred he felt for himself and what he’d become. No wonder he was so angry about my books. The glamorization of being a vampire. Creatures living beautiful, immortal lives with riches beyond belief and true loves to keep them warm. Logan didn’t have a true love. And the emptiness I felt inside of him had been cavernous.
God, I was tired. I lay down on the floor, figuring I could just rest my eyes for one minute…
“Hang in there, sweetheart,” I heard him say. “I’ve almost got it…”
“I don’t think so.”
I jerked my head at the unfamiliar voice, suddenly wide awake. A tall, broad-shouldered man stood in the doorway, silhouetted by the light behind him.
No, my mind corrected. Not a man.
A vampire.
27
It didn’t take long for the vampire to assess the situation. For him to make his mo
ve. One moment he was at the door. The next he was on top of me, grabbing me by the shoulders, digging his filthy nails into my flesh. He jerked me to my feet, staring down at me with greedy eyes.
“Let her go!” Logan growled. “Or I’ll rip your head off.”
The vampire ignored him, shoving me against the wall. My back hit hard and I wondered wildly if he’d broken it. I collapsed to the ground, pain searing through me. I wanted to get up, to fight back. But I was so weak from giving so much of my blood. Which must have been how he found us here in the first place. The scent of my blood making him rise from his coffin early. Like coffee to a sleepy human.
Logan shoved his entire weight at the cell door, desperate to save me. He already looked better, I noticed bleakly. His face not so pale. His body no longer shrunken from dehydration. He slammed himself at the door again and it groaned loudly—but stuck fast.
The vampire turned to Logan, giving him a derisive look. “Just like a Consortium Member,” he spit out, clicking his tongue in disapproval. “Always falling in love with their dinner.”
“Just let her go,” Logan said again. “We had a deal.”
“A deal that you are clearly breaking,” the vampire replied, observing him with cool eyes. “You’re trying to escape.”
“I’m trying to get her out of here.”
“She has two feet. Surely she’s capable of walking out herself.” The vampire glanced over at me with a small smirk. “Or, at least, crawling like the worm that she is.”
“I won’t leave without Logan,” I croaked, surprised at how difficult it was to speak.
“How adorable,” the vampire sniffed. “The cattle in love with the butcher.” He walked over to me. “Stupid girl. You should already be dead for what you did. I know you had a part in Cedric’s death.”
“Cedric tried to kill me.”
“So? Do you think your life has any value to me? You’re nothing but a tiny appetizer. Once we get Pyrus back in charge, you humans will learn your proper place in this world.”
“You’re not getting Pyrus out,” Logan growled. “Lord Magnus and the Consortium will never allow him to walk free.”
The vampire shrugged. “Maybe not. But that doesn’t mean we won’t prevail in the end. We tried to work through the courts. To plead our case using your laws. But you went and killed our witness. So now we are forced to take another tact.”
“And what might that be?”
“Please. You think I would tell you? This isn’t a movie with the bad guy giving away his evil scheme. Just know this, Logan Valcourt. You dealt us a blow by murdering Cedric, yes. But we are not one vampire. We are legion. And we will come for you all.” He smiled. “Well, for your precious Blood Coven anyway. You’ll, of course, already be dead.”
Logan roared with rage, trying to break the cage again. But it held fast. He gave me a heartbreaking look. “Please,” he begged. “Just go.”
“No,” I said, tears streaming down my cheeks. “I won’t leave you.”
“So sweet,” the vampire purred. “I actually believe you care about her.” He grabbed me again, lifting me up. This time into the air so my feet dangled. I kicked at him, but he only laughed. “They’re so fragile,” he observed. “Yet so feisty. I love it.”
“Let her go!” Logan cried. “I’ll do what you say. I’ll do anything. Just don’t--”
But his cries went unanswered. The vampire shoved me back against the wall. He turned and winked at Logan. “Thanks for leaving me the last drops,” he said.
Then he leaned forward, piercing my neck with his fangs.
28
I screamed in agony as the vampire’s teeth drove into me, hard and fast and cruel. The exact same action that Logan had taken only moments before, yet so much different in intention and feeling. What had once caused pleasure and warmth with Logan, now only brought on unbearable pain and suffering as the vampire tore at my skin. Siphoning my blood. His hand clamped against my neck, making it difficult to breathe.
I struggled wildly, arms and legs flailing, landing weak hits to his stomach and head. But he didn’t even acknowledge my pathetic attempts to regain control. And soon I was forced to stop anyway—no strength to continue. My body went limp. Stars danced across my vision. The blackness began to roll in like a thick fog.
In the end, it was all I could do to open my eyes. To turn my head and look at Logan, who was still trying to break free from his cell. He caught my gaze, returning a devastated look that shattered my heart into a million pieces.
If I had to die, I’d die looking at him. That would be something at least. In fact, that would be everything.
Because I was dying, I realized vaguely. There was no getting out of that. The vampire author would be drained dry by a vampire. It was almost a poetic way to go.
Yet, at the same time, pathetic, right? I mean, if this were a book this would never happen. I’d come up with some creative way to overpower him. To save myself and Logan, too.
But, it seemed, reality was a lot harder than fiction. I was weak. The vampire was strong. And I was no Buffy. No chosen girl with special powers and a stake that—
Holy shit. I had a stake!
With all that had happened, I had completely forgotten Rayne handing over that chunk of wood back at Slayer, Inc. HQ. I’d stuck it in my bag and had totally forgotten it was there. Was it still there? I tried to glance over at my discarded bag in the corner of the room. Yes. I could see it, peeking out from the side pocket. If only I could get to it somehow…
My head spun. My stomach wrenched. Which suddenly gave me an idea. I reached up with a shaky hand, sticking a finger down my throat.
Forcing myself to throw up on the vampire.
“What the hell?” he cried, breaking away as hot yellow vomit sprayed at his face. “Did you just fucking puke on me?”
I didn’t answer. Instead, I dropped to the floor, rolling across it until I reached my bag. I could hear him lunging after me, but I didn’t pause. Instead, I grabbed the stake and whirled around. Just in time for him to tackle me. I shoved the stake upward with all my remaining strength.
I didn’t miss.
He started to scream. But it didn’t last long. His body exploded into a cloud of dust. For a moment it seemed to hover above me. Then it dropped down on me like a blanket of dirt. I coughed as vampire soot filled my mouth.
“Ew!” I sputtered, rolling over, trying not to throw up again. “So gross!”
“Hannah!” I could hear Logan cry.
And then he was there. Out of his cage. By my side. Grabbing me into his arms, he pulled me to him with a fierceness that could have broken my bones. I cried out in protest and he seemed to realize what he was doing, loosening his hold, just a bit. I collapsed against him, desperate to absorb his strength.
“Nice of you to join me,” I managed to say with a weak smile.
“Oh sweetheart,” he murmured, stroking my hair. “That was so amazing. I thought---I thought…”
“Hm. Maybe you don’t know humans as well as you thought you did,” I managed to tease. But it took effort. I was so weak. So dizzy. So sick.
Logan pulled me away from him, studying me with worried eyes. “You’ve lost too much blood,” he said, his voice filled with fear. “That bastard. I would rip him apart--limb from limb.” He gave me a wry smile. “If only you hadn’t already done the job.”
I smiled weakly, loving the fury and indignation in his voice. I reached up with a trembling hand, brushing his cheek with my fingers. Wanting to feel him one more time.
Because I was pretty sure this was it. This was the end of my story.
“I’m so cold,” I whispered. “So, so cold.”
He let out a horrible moan. “No!” he cried. “I can’t lose you. Not now. Not after everything. But…” he trailed off, looking miserable. Torn.
My eyes widened, suddenly realizing what he was thinking. What part of the story we now found ourselves in. The part that came in almost every vampire n
ovel. The decision every vampire and human got to make.
Our blood bond might have been broken, but I could still feel Logan’s agony raging through him like wildfire. His doubt, his hesitation, his fear. He wanted nothing more than to save my life and he knew only one way to do it. But he wasn’t sure if he should. If he could. To force me into the life he hated so much. To make me a monster like him.
But, in the end, it wasn’t his choice to make. It was my life, after all.
I drew in a shaky breath. “Let me drink from you,” I managed to say, my whole body still trembling. And not with fear this time. Rather hunger. My desire to go on burning through me like a fever. Suddenly I knew, no matter what, I couldn’t let it end like this. I’d finally found something worth living for. But I would have to die to get it.
I didn’t necessarily want to become a vampire. But if that was my only choice I was going to grab onto it with both hands. After all, how could I just give up? Let that bastard and his band of vampire vigilantes win? This wasn’t nearly over. Sure, we’d killed one of them—well, two of them. But like he’d said, they were legion. And as long as their fearless leader Pyrus was still alive, the world was not safe. For vampires…or humans.
Also, there was Logan. My Logan.
I lifted my eyes. “Please,” I said. “Don’t make me beg.”
He raked a hand through his hair, his eyes filled with agony. “You don’t know what you’re asking.”
“Of course I do. I’m not an idiot.”
“This isn’t like a novel.”
“I think I know the difference between fact and fiction.”
“I’d be cursing you for eternity. You’d never see the sun again.”
“The sun is overrated.”
“You’d never get to eat food. You’d never get to have a baby.”
I swallowed hard. “But I’d have you,” I whispered.