Chapter 7

Dabin and Danielle's house is nothing like Lesath's cold castle. Instead of slabs of black granite, the floors are warm wood. Instead of flashy gold accents and star-studded ceilings, there are wide beams supporting some kind of thatch roof. Small lamps glow as we walk past them, Lyn leaning heavily on me. Brightly covered blankets and pictures cover stone walls, and the overall effect is homey.

I inhale deeply, and it even smells yummy, like lavender and baked bread.

"It's good to see you again, Ali."

"You have no idea," I mutter, but when Danielle narrows her eyes at me, I shake my head. "It's nothing. I mean, it's really good to be out of his castle. I was starting to lose my mind."

Lyn's body shudders as she inhales a shaky breath. "Seeing what happened to us? And seeing those vampires made you feel better?" Her voice rises in intensity and pitch, and Danielle and I share a worried look. "You saw what Gisele did! I've never been so grossed out in my life." Her bruised face pales under the dirt. "Not that I'm not thankful you and your husband saved us."

"He's not my husband?—"

"How long does it take to find a mate, anyway?" Cassie pipes up from somewhere behind me. I hadn't even realized she was in the house. "How do I get one? When do you find out what kind of magic you have?"

Sheesh. The girl must have had some seriously weird dating experiences if she is that ready to get hooked up for forever to a stranger. Forever is a really long time. My head spins even thinking about having that kind of commitment.

Danielle's eyebrows nearly disappear into her dark hair. "She's taking it well."

"I mean, she's not throwing around severed body parts, so yeah, I'd say so."

"Or crying," Lyn wails, a fresh bout of tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Come on, let's get you ladies cleaned up." Danielle takes a hard left into the bathroom, and I sigh. The newbies needed to go first. I could wait. Who knew how long they'd been without a bath?

"Oooh," sighs Cassie, grinning as she takes in the rustic bathroom. "This is so nice."

"Did she hit her head?" Danielle murmurs, propping Lyn up against the big tub that took up most of the room.

"Nah, she's just like that," Gisele answers for me, closing the door behind her. "Lyn, you can go first."

"But, but you're covered in blood!" Lyn holds a hand over her mouth, newly horrified, as though Gisele hadn't been covered in blood for the last few hours. Gisele arches one eyebrow, annoyed.

"Lyn," I say, using my very best persuasive voice, the one I used on cats who did not want to get out of their carriers, "you're in shock. Get in the tub. We'll get you cleaned up, fed, and to bed."

"Just get her away from me," Gisele says under her breath.

Danielle's eyebrows continued to rise.

"Oh wow, there's so much fancy soap!" Elbow deep in one of the big wooden armoires, Cassie holds one out. "Here, Lyn, this one smells like lemons." The bar of soap sails through the air, plopping into the now-filling tub.

"Are you just going to watch me get naked?" Lyn cries. Apparently, crying is all Lyn does. Yikes.

"We want to be on hand in case you have any injuries we need to know about."

"Oh. That makes sense, I guess." Sniffling, she strips her filthy cover-up and bikini off. Bruises mottle her back and side. I bite my lip. I don't blame her for crying anymore.

"Dani, do you have any of that healing cream? We can patch them up once they get out."

"Oh, that sounds nice," Cassie agrees.

Danielle presses her hands against the sides, superheating it with her fire power. Literal fire power. Steam begins curling out of the tub.

"Yeah," she says. "I have a lot. Gisele, was that your name? Why don't you come with me and we can find clothes for you all to change into? Ali, the cream is in the other cabinet." Her brow furrows, concern evident on her face.

"Cassie, why don't you find the men and ask Dabin to cook a big dinner? Then come back and you can bathe and we'll get you fixed up, too, okay?" Danielle is using her ultra calm voice, too, the one she used on me after she and my sister saved me from the tower Lesath trapped me in. Saved me from being carried off by the harbingers, too. My hands clench at my sides. Can't forget them, no matter how much I wish I could.

No matter how much I wish the memories of that night didn't haunt my dreams, sending me from sleep with screams.

"Ali," Danielle says, and from the concerned tilt of her head, I gather it's not the first time she's called my name. "Why don't you see if Lyn can tell you more about what they experienced with the vampires?" She puts an extra emphasis on experienced, and I scrunch my nose, trying to figure out what she's asking me to do.

Danielle raises her eyebrows at me, and I echo the expression.

"Try to figure out if they overheard anything," she finally mouths at me, Gisele and Cassie busy sniffing and sorting through the soaps in the armoire. "About the vampire's plans."

"Oh," I mouth back, and then nod. For some reason, I also wink at her, then immediately feel like an idiot.

Good lord. I am so not the right person for this.

"Come on Gisele, let's go find some clothes. Cassie, just go straight through that hall to the kitchen and let them know what sounds good to eat. Trust me, Dabin knows what he's doing." With that, she pulls Gisele behind her, and Cassie scurries back through the door too, an intent expression on her face. The same one she had when she stared down Lesath after he —we— rescued them.

For some odd reason, that irritates me, and I glare after her as the door shuts.

Which leaves me alone with Lyn, who's sunk up to her chin in the hot water, puffy eyes closed. A pang of sympathy thrums through me.

"Hey," I say softly. "Want to talk about it? Did you leave a family behind?" Gah, how awful would that be?

"No. And no." The water sloshes as she sinks beneath the surface, her curly hair floating in a cloud on top of the water.

"Ugh." I roll my eyes at the ceiling. "Okay, well I'll talk at you then. I'll tell you about what happened to me, and you can tell me what happened to you, if you want." Yeah, maybe that will work. Good ole share session. Group therapy for girls traveling dimensions. Or something.

I'm rewarded by her resurfacing, and I throw a fluffy washrag at her, which plops into the water. I look away when she grabs it and picks through the soaps Danielle's been hard at work making as I start talking.

"When I woke up, I was locked in a tower. Lesath, that guy y'all think is so hot? He is also a giant scorpion. As in, he can turn into one. It's super freaky." Goosebumps pebble over my skin at the memory, and I shiver. "He forgot to feed me. He says he was cursed." Honestly, I'm starting to think maybe there's something to that part, considering he's been an asshole, but he hasn't been a murderous asshole in human form. Maybe I've been too hard on him. I twist my lips to the side, running my fingers over one of the rosemary scented soaps.

The sound of washing stops, and when I glance back at Lyn, she's watching me with wide eyes, waiting for me to go on.

"I had to catch desert lizards to eat and drink rainwater out of a dirty urn. I was feverish after a few days, and so hungry. It was fucking horrible. I thought I was going to die." A lump forms in my throat. "And then my sister and her mate, who turns into a really ridiculously huge lion, and Danielle and Dabin, busted me out… except these nasty things showed up and tried to take me away…" I squeeze my eyes shut, like that will stop the flood of memories, of clawed hands digging into my skin, of falling, falling so far and fast, the ground rising up to break my body.

"They fed on us." Lyn's voice is small, but it tears me from the grip of my nightmares. I crack one eye open, but she's not looking at me, her hands working soap through her hair. "We didn't know where we were, or if we were dreaming, but we weren't. It was real. It hurt. I'll never see my friends again. My life… everything I worked for… it's gone."

She pauses, dunking her head, and guilt washes through me. Bubbles float on the surface of the tub. My heart hurts for her.

"We thought we were going to die, too. They weren't supposed to feed on us, the one that was in charge always was angry when they did, but he didn't stop them. They said they were taking us to the king, that we'd be his." She swallows hard, her throat bobbing and voice shaky.

"That's not going to happen," I say, sick to my stomach. "You're safe now."

"But you said that guy turns into a scorpion. The other one has horns. What the fuck is going on?" Lyn's whispering, her eyes huge with terror.

"Er." I'm not exactly sure how to soothe her, considering I've been ready to run from Lesath this whole time too. I think fast, changing tactics.

"My sister is happy here. She loves her mate. The lion guy I told you about? His name is Ras, and he's totally whipped for her. They're cute. It's gross. My other sister, Mina, is somewhere out there too, and Lana and Ras are going to find Mina and her mate. I'm hoping they're just shacked up together, banging it out. Ew." I wrinkle my nose, and Lyn chokes out a laugh. "I have to believe that, because if I don't, I'll lose my mind with worry for her. But I know Ras looks at Lana like she hung the moon, or moons, if you haven't noticed?—"

"Three," she interrupts, holding up three fingers. "Three moons!"

I shrug, raising my eyebrow in my best what the fuck face, and Lyn gives me a small smile.

I sigh. "I don't know how to make you feel all better. This place isn't like home. It's nothing like it. But what Lesath said is true. My sister has powers. Danielle has powers. They said we're from here, originally, that we've just now come home. I… I don't know how, or why, but we're here now, and they do seem to want to protect us." The last part comes out from between gritted teeth, and I'm all the more frustrated because I know, deep down, it's true. He hasn't tried anything with me. He's just let me be. He hasn't drunk my blood or tied me up or tortured me or anything awful like these women have been through.

Nope. Since he's been human, he's hired me servants and kept me in a castle and bought me nice clothes and put up with my bullshit attitude towards him. I blow out a breath, leaning my forehead against the armoire.

Goddammit.

Lesath is overly protective. If I admit to Lyn that he's wanted to keep me safe this whole time, that he has acted okay towards me, besides being insufferable, then I might have to admit the truth to the whole curse thing.

I bite my lower lip, returning to the multitude of soaps stacked neatly in the wooden armoire.

And if I start believing the whole curse thing?

I might have to admit I've been a total bitch to him.

"Fuck," I exhale the word.

"So you haven't then, have you?" Lyn's eyes are narrowed, a shrewd expression on her face. "Fucked him, I mean."

"Dude, I just met you."

She shrugs. "They made you sit with me while I bathe. It's only fair to get the good gossip."

I scrunch my lips to the side and tilt my head. "Good point."

"I mean, you did make those birds attack the vampires, so I thought maybe you two did bang it out."

"Okay, first of all, no, I didn't. That was some freak accident. Maybe those birds just don't like vampires. And secondly, no, I didn't. Have sex, I mean. With Lesath." My cheeks are burning.

"Did you have sex with someone else here?"

"No! I haven't had sex in months." And the last time wasn't great, either. The guy couldn't have found my clit even if he'd had a map and a compass.

"This is so weird. We have like, a forever love out there somewhere. Maybe Cassie's right. Maybe this is romantic."

"Yeah, a forever love you get no choice in. It's not romantic." I slam the armoire door shut, a little harder than I meant.

"It is so romantic." The door closes, and Cassie enters the room, breathless, her pale cheeks rosy and her green eyes sparkling.

"I'm done," Lyn announces, pulling the drain. "You can go next, Cassie."

Cassie ignores her, staring at me. "Lesath is like, the most handsome man I've ever seen."

A headache spikes behind my temple. Ah. I'm grinding my teeth again. Slowly, I loosen my jaw.

"Kaus and Dabin are too. This is like magical Love Island. It's incredible." Her hands clasp over her chest, her eyelashes fluttering. "I can't wait to meet my mate. Lesath is so head-over-heels for you, too, my goodness, you are the luckiest."

"He's also a giant bug some of the time."

Cassie continues talking, handing Lyn a towel like I haven't even spoken. "And the way he killed all those vampires? Wow. I mean, WOW."

I narrow my eyes at her, my jaw clenching.

"I think it's been even longer since Cassie got laid than you," Gisele opens the opposite door, which leads into a big bedroom.

"You heard that?" I ask.

She shrugs. "Was I not supposed to? You weren't quiet about it. I was digging through here for clothes."

"It's nobody's business how long it's been," Cassie clears her throat, "for me. Ali, on the other hand, has a super fine man who wants to get in her pants."

I'm gonna kill her.

"And," she continues, oblivious to my irritation, "then she'll get superpowers and live happily ever after. I don't get it. I just don't get it. Have you even thought about it? What it would be like?"

Lyn and Gisele turn to me expectantly, Gisele's lips curve up in a sly smile.

I blow out a breath, frustrated. "Of course I've thought about it! I have a pulse! And besides, there's this weird pull between us, like an itch I can't scratch, it's… it's weird." Gah, just thinking about him has sent a pulse of desire winding through me, my body clenching up and heat swirling low.

"I think I know how you can scratch that itch," Gisele points out. If she hadn't been throwing vampire arms around mere hours ago, I might be tempted to do something violent to her.

"Gisele's right, you know," Cassie adds. "If you don't want him, though, maybe I could take him on a test drive?"

I stare at her, my pulse pounding against my throat, anger building deep inside, replacing the burning lust. Which makes no sense. Maybe she should take him on a test drive. A vision of them sears through me, his hands in her red hair, his lips on hers. My rage intensifies.

"She's going to murder you." Gisele sounds like she might laugh.

"I'm just saying," Cassie adds, spreading her hands wide.

I hold up my hands, palms out. If I don't, I might punch her.

"Fine. Whatever. Everybody bathe and get dressed." I turn back to the armoire, remembering the ointment and pulling it out. "Here, slap this on your bruises and cuts. Magic Neosporin. Better than Icy Hot. Enjoy."

"Where are you going?" Gisele asks, frowning at me. "Don't be a prude. It's just girl talk."

I turn on my heel before I slam the bathroom door behind me, finding myself face to face with Lesath.