“You seem to really have a thing for green,” I say, wrapping it around my neck and trying to figure out the best way to tie it so it hides my bite without making me look like I'm hiding something. I twitch it into place.
“How does it look?”
“Perfect.”
I go to the mirror in my bathroom and look at it. The scarf is gorgeous, and it almost matches my eyes. That sneaky Peter.
“Thank you,” I say, walking toward him with the intent to kiss him. He moves away at the last minute.
“We should go,” he says. I've been denied twice in one day. My ego is bruised, but I'm not going to show him that.
I nod instead and go downstairs, saying good-bye to Mom as I grab my keys. Dad is MIA, which is good. I dash out before Mom can comment on the scarf. Actually, I have a good reason for wearing it if I tell her that Peter gave it to me. Brilliant.
He meets me at the end of the driveway and gets in the car without a word. Mom is still unaware that he spends the night in my bedroom. I'm not ready to broach that conversation, either. So many secrets.
The drive to Tex's house is mostly silent.
“Aren't you worried?” I finally say, because I can't stand it anymore.
“About what?”
“The bind that Viktor made to avenge Ivan. Aren't you worried?” Has he forgotten?
He blinks. “Not particularly. He is my brother. We will find a way out of this.”
“No offense, I'm glad you got us out of there, but undoing a promise with another promise seems kind of silly.” Actually, it sounds like the dumbest thing ever, but they're supposed to be the brilliant immortals.
“We did what we could at the time. We will work it out.”
“I wish I had your confidence,” I say. How can he be so sure? He was sure of Cal and look how that turned out.
“So do I.” Grr.
The only car in Tex's driveway is hers, so I feel comfortable going inside. Still, I have this vision of Viktor waiting for us with a chainsaw like we're in some horror movie. That's ridiculous because I'm pretty sure a chainsaw wouldn't stand a chance against Peter.
“You're alive!” A pair of arms throws themselves around me, and my face is pressed to Tex's chest as soon as I step in the door. Hello, boobs.
“Can't breathe,” I manage to get out.
She pulls back. Her eyes are wide and excited behind her purple glasses. Wait a second... There is something different about her. Something, more? It's like she got a haircut, only times a million.
“What happened to you? You look...” I can't put my finger on it.
“Uh, yeah, that's what we want to talk to you about,” she says, holding her hand out behind her, as if she's reaching for something. Or someone. Viktor emerges from the living room and takes it. Well, that's a development.
“So you guys are like, together?”
“More than that,” Tex says, looking back at him with a look I've never seen on her face. It isn't that flirty look or the sexy face she tries to make. It's pure and she looks happy. Really, really happy. What the... I look at her face and back at his.
“What did you do?”
Tex nods at Viktor, giving him permission. I think I know what's coming, but this can't be happening.
“I Claimed her,” he says.
“Shut the front door!” I stare at Peter. Everything had gone to hell in a handbasket while I’d been sleeping.
Peter
Ava is as shocked by Viktor Claiming Texas as I thought she would be. We all go to the living room where just the day before I told them my deep secret about how I killed Josie and how Cal saved me. Now we are sharing more secrets.
“What the hell were you thinking?!” Ava yells at both Texas and Viktor, nearly leaping off the couch. I have to hold her hand so she won't. Her face is red and pinched, and her anger flows into me like fire.
“Why are you yelling, you hypocrite! I guess it's fine for you, but not fine for anyone else? Why are you so damn special, Ava?” Texas yells back. They are both waving their arms and glaring at each other.
We all hear the footsteps at the top of the stairs. Texas' brother is here, trying to eavesdrop. Little does he know that all of us can hear him doing it.
Texas turns her head and yells up the stairs. “Coby, we are having adult time. Now get back in your room and put your headphones on before I break them and then cut your hair while you're sleeping.”
Coby mutters a curse at Texas under his breath, but goes back to his room and shuts the door. Seconds later, loud music blares out of his headphones and into his ears.
“I don't understand what the big deal is,” Texas says.
Ava is about to scream again, but suppresses it. I give her hand a squeeze. She is not alone. She takes a breath and thinks before she speaks again.
“You don't know what you're getting yourself into. It's like...” She struggles to find the words. “It's like letting someone else live inside of you. Get inside your head and share the most intimate parts of you. Sometimes Peter can read my mind. Sometimes I get sick when he doesn't have enough blood. We can't even be one room away for very long. You saw the pain that it caused last night and you still did it. What were you thinking?”
Texas hesitates for a moment, looking at Viktor.
“We thought that it was the best decision for the moment. She is involved in our world now and needs to be protected,” he says. Ava starts to say something else, but he cuts her off. “I will not hurt her, just as Peter has not hurt you. I did not take this lightly, but I knew that she would be a target after Cal and Di found out about her. I had to protect her.”
“Thank you,” Texas says, looking at her hands in her lap. They are sitting close, but not touching. The energy between them crackles like lightning. Viktor does not know what he is in for with her. Or perhaps he does and chooses it anyway.
Adele was like that. Fiery, passionate and impulsive. That is probably what attracted him in the first place. That fire in her eyes. They also look very alike.
Those eyes go back to his face. I look at Ava, and she gazes at me. She's still thinking angry thoughts, and I get snippets of them from her, mostly with curse words. A tiny part of her, probably a part she doesn't even know exists, is relieved that she has someone to share this with. She is not alone.
“It was so weird at first,” Texas says. “It was like I couldn't control what I was thinking. I just felt things I didn't think were my feelings. That doesn't make any sense.” She blushes, fiddling with her hands.
“No, it does. How's your vision and hearing?” Ava asks.
“Um, amazing? You didn't tell me about that part.” Texas smiles.
Ava relaxes a little, but her anger is still simmering, pushed aside for now so she can share her experiences with her friend. Their bond is strong. Much like my bond with Viktor.
Ava snaps her attention from Texas to Viktor. “What are you getting out of this, Viktor? Why did you do it?” Her tone is sharp again.
“Because it needed to be done.”
Ava nods, taking his words for their value.
“You're a good person, you know?” Viktor says.
“Thank you,” Ava says.
“So, what now?” Texas says, shifting so she's closer to Viktor.
“God, I don't know,” Ava says, rubbing her eyes. Even with all the sleep she got, she's still exhausted. I wish she didn't have to go to school the next day. I cannot keep her from her human life, as long as she is human. “We have got to find a way to break these binds. If we can do that, then we'll be set. Except we'll still have to get rid of Di. She's never going to stop trying to find a way to get me. And now we have to worry about Cal.” I want to brush the dark circles under her eyes away.
“It's too bad we couldn't just stake you guys like real vampires. That would have solved a lot of our problems,” Texas says.
“Right?” Ava says.
Texas snaps her fingers. “I would have been on that Di like white on ri
ce. But then, I probably would have staked you that first night Ava brought you to that party, Peter. I'm sorry I was so weird, but you weren't exactly what I expected. You weren't, either.” She directs the last part at Viktor.
“I did not expect you, either,” he says. They share a private moment, and I wonder if that is what I look like with Ava or what I could look like, if not for the bind. Viktor is free to feel however he wants about her. I am not.
“I should be totally pissed at you right now. You Claimed my best friend and you promised to take my life,” Ava says.
“Hey, it's not his fault. He was just trying to help,” Texas snaps.
Ava holds up her hand to make her stop. “But I'm your friend, and you're my boyfriend's brother. So I'm going to let it go for now.” Ava's speech is met with silence. She glances at me and shrugs.
“Sooo, someone needs to give me the full story of what went down. I was a little out of it,” Ava says, laughing a little.
I put my arm around her back and she leans into me.
Texas glances at Viktor before she tells her version of the story, which is mostly accurate. I interject a few times to explain something further. Texas is still ignorant of the power of the binds.
“So if you promise something, you'll die if you don't do it? Why did you promise to avenge that guy's death in a year, you idiot?” Texas smacks him on the shoulder, but flinches back when her hand meets it. “Ouch. I can't even hit you,” she whines.
“It was the only way. The only thing she would accept at the time. We will find a way in less than a year. A year is a long time,” Viktor says. It isn't, but he tells a small lie to assuage her.
“How old are you?” Texas asks, turning to face him.
“I don't remember,” he says.
“Exactly,” she says, putting her finger in his face. “A year is like nothing for you. Don't you pull that crap with me, Viktor Belikov. I know my dates.” He told her his last name. That is not something he shares lightly. This relationship is more serious than I thought.
“Wow, you know his last name?” Ava says.
“I know a lot of things,” Texas says. “So, as I said, don't you pull that crap with me.” She pokes him in the chest.
“I will try not to.”
“Good,” she says, smiling at him.
Ava waves her hands. “Hello? We still need to come up with a plan, and waiting around isn't an option. Didn't you say you had some other noctali you knew who could help? Or who might know how to undo binds? That won't want to kill me?”
“A few,” Viktor says. “I have some friends overseas who might know things.”
“Really?” Texas claps her hands and bounces on the couch. “How would we get there?”
“They will come to us,” he says, watching her.
“That sounds like a bad idea,” Ava says, shaking her head.
“You can trust them,” Viktor says.
“I don't even know if I can trust you,” she says in a small voice. I sense she is feeling that way, but don't want to say anything.
“Viktor volunteered to make the bind when I first asked him for help. I didn't ask him to do it, but we agreed that when it was needed, he would do it for me. For us.”
“What?!” Ava yells, getting up. “So everyone just thinks it's okay to keep these things from me? That it's okay to make plans without me? Screw you. Screw all of you.” She storms out of the house and I let her go. Her car door slams.
Texas moves to go after her, but Viktor holds her back.
“Let her have a moment,” he says.
We all wait. I hear her screaming curses in her head.
“So, we're just going to sit here?” Texas says.
“No, I am giving her space. She needs some space,” I say.
I wait until she tugs at our connection. I'm not sure if she's aware that she does it, but that is all I need. I get up and walk at human speed to the car. I tap on the window. She wipes tears from her face before hitting the button to make the window go down. Viktor was able to put in a new mechanism after I tore it off not that long ago.
“I'm sorry,” she says, sniffing.
I put my face at her level. “Talk to me.”
“It's just a lot, you know? Just with everything that happened last night, and now Tex being Claimed and Viktor. I just feel like things keep getting worse instead of getting better. Like we're jinxed. Every time I think things are going to get better, they just get worse. Even if you change me, Viktor is still bound. Why won't you guys stop making binds?”
“He did it for you.”
She throws up her hands and bangs them on the steering wheel. “That's what makes this suck so much!”
“We would all do anything for you.”
“I know,” she says, turning her head.
I reach out and touch her face. My precious girl.
“We have to figure this out as soon as possible. Tell Viktor to get his people here now. I don't possibly see how things can get worse than they already are. Bring it on.” She blows her cheeks out and crosses her eyes.
“If that is what you want.”
“What I want is you. I don't care how we get there, but I want the end of the story to be 'and they lived happily ever after.' Is that too much to ask?”
“For anyone but you, yes. I'll do what I can.”
“That's all I ask,” she says, finally smiling.
I try out a smile back.
“Good job,” she says. She gets out of the car and takes my hand as we walk back into the house.
“Are you okay?” Texas asks.
“Yeah, just had a little freak out. Carry on.”
“You sure?”
Ava nods.
“Ava, I only made the bind to help you, to help Peter. I would not hurt my brother,” Viktor says.
“I know. It was stupid of me to think that you would. I guess I'm not a good judge. I thought Ivan was evil and then he turned out not to be, so what do I know?”
“Yeah, what was up with that?” Texas says.
“I do not know,” I say. “I thought that his one goal in life was to destroy me for what I did to Josephine, but something changed him. Something happened to him in the past few weeks that changed his outlook. I think that had something to do with you,” I say, looking at Ava.
Her green eyes go wide. “Me? What did it have to do with me?”
“He fell for you,” I say.
“What? You're crazy.”
She thinks I'm making a joke.
“It is true. The only thing that would have changed his mind about getting rid of you to avenge Josephine would be if he cared for you.” She didn't know him like I did. I spent more time with him than I have with her. I hadn't wanted to see how his feelings had changed for her. Jealousy is a human emotion, but somehow I picked up the ability to feel it acutely.
“I thought he was coming to kill me when he showed up,” Ava says. “I couldn't believe you'd called him, of all people — whatever — to help. We talked a lot when we were coming to get you.” She did not tell me that part.
“What did you talk about?” I ask.
“The best way to survive the zombie apocalypse,” she says with a smile.
“What did he think?” Texas says, leaning forward.
“He agreed with me that the backward treadmill idea was insane and wouldn't work.” She smirks at Texas, who makes a frustrated sound.
“I still say you would have generators. What about solar power?”
Ava sighs and rolls her eyes.
“I still say you're underestimating the human race's ability to survive the zombie apocalypse,” Texas shoots back.
Ava shakes her head back and forth, her hair brushing my arm. “Not this again. Only the strong will survive, Tex. Most people will be too dumb to realize what's going on. We've been over this before.”
The conversation evolves into a discussion on the best way to dispose of zombies. Viktor puts in his part, and I add a little. Talking abou
t zombies, something that doesn't exist, is a change from talking about Di, Cal and binds. I watch Ava as she talks. She is so passionate that it oozes out of her. I soak it up, taking it in like a drug.
Just as Ava makes the salient point — that if ninety percent of the world became a zombie, and it took an average of three bullets to kill a zombie, you would never be able to make enough bullets — Texas gasps, grabbing her stomach.
“Oh God, what is that?” she says, tipping to one side and resting her face on the arm of the couch.
“Ask him,” Ava says, pointing at Viktor. Her anger is back as quickly as it left.
“It is a reaction to the change. Have you fed?” I say.
“No. I was putting it off as long as possible,” Viktor says, putting his hand on Texas' shoulder.
“Ow, ow, ow.” Texas curls her feet up on the couch, and Viktor tries to hold her. “I did not sign up for this.”
“Just take some. It'll be better after you do. You shouldn't have waited this long. All you men are the same,” Ava says to Viktor, moving to comfort Texas.
Texas looks up at him. “Grow a pair,” she says through gritted teeth.
“Take it from the wrist. It is easier to hide,” I say. He picks up her right arm and brings it to his mouth.
“The left,” Texas says, “I'm right-handed.”
Viktor switches to her other arm, turning it back and forth as if to find the best spot. She winces as he bites, but her arm unclenches from around her stomach. I watch Viktor, judging if he is going to be able to stop. His eyes close and he focuses. It reminds me of the feeling, the rush of blood filling my mouth and how it sparkles on my tongue.
“That feels really weird,” Texas says.
Ava is watching her, but also Viktor, making sure he doesn't take too much. His eyes snap open, and he shoves her arm from his mouth with so much force it bangs into the coffee table.
“Ouch!” Texas cradles her arm to her chest. “What did you do that for?”
“I had to stop. Otherwise I would have killed you.”
Texas examines her wrist, where a tiny bit of blood drips. She wipes it off with her finger and holds it out to him. “Don't waste it,” she says, smiling.