Chapter 21

I did wake up again—andI was lying on a bed this time, not the floor of a forest. There were no whispering leaves over my head, no twigs and no trees anywhere around me, but the darkness was almost the same. The only light was coming in through the floor-to-ceiling windows across from the bed I lay in. Orange light—like there was a fire burning out there because the sky was black as far as I could see. No sun or moon in sight, just darkness.

I sat up in the middle of the bed, just as big as the one I’d slept in at the Paradise. Except here the sheets were black, the curtains were a see-through black, the walls were black, the baseboards grey, the hardwood floor so dark it looked black as well. The doors on the walls were black, embroidered with silver vines around the corners, and the dressers and the wardrobe and the nightstand—even the lamp! There was a big lamp right there on the nightstand to my left, and it was black.

I’d never moved so fast as when I did to try to turn it on, convinced it wasn’t going to work.

It did.

Light spilled from the bulb, casting shadows all over the cold room, making it even scarier than it had been a second ago, but it also revealed that I was the only one here. Nobody else was between these walls with me, and for now, I took comfort in that.

Then I sat in the middle of the bed, hugged my knees to my chest as chills broke down my back, and I forced myself to just breathe.

The Whispering Woods. The small dragon. The man—Valentine Evernight. The vampire.

My eyes squeezed shut. I’d passed out in his arms when I saw those fangs. Actual fangs coming out of his upper lip—had he bitten me? I raised both hands to the sides of my neck but there was no fresh blood, just the dried one from the dragon bite.

A dragon had bitten me.

Vampires are real.

And Mama Si was a fucking succubi, a creature I’d only ever read about—a creature who fed on people’s lust to gain magical power. Real.

It felt like I should have been laughing at that point. I should have been laughing my heart out because this was my life, because I was in a black room God knew where and I was somehow alive even though a vampire had had his lips on my fucking neck.

Everyone knew what happened when vampires craved blood. Everyone had seen at least one damn movie about it.

My eyes closed, and that face was right in front of me again, his hand on my neck, his eyes bloodshot when he sniffed me, his lips pressed to the vein right below my ear… Every inch of my body broke out in goose bumps. It felt like I was there in that woods all over again, and he was whispering those words in my ear—Your body belongs to me. Your heart will be mine soon.

“When I die,” I whispered to the empty room, and my own voice surprised me. Terrified me.

I was doomed—that was clear to me the moment Mama Si told me the truth. I had no doubt about it when that dragon grabbed me and flew me to the Whispering Woods. Or when I woke up. When I met that man.

Yes, I was absolutely doomed, but somehow, in some fucked up way, I was still hoping. I was still prepared to fight, even if my fate was already sealed.

I could run. I could still find my way out of whatever house they’d put me in, get to the shore and swimall the way to the real world. I would do it, no matter what.

My dress was still on, my feet a bit sore, skin covered in scratches and dried blood, but when I stood up, they didn’t hurt nearly as badly as I thought they would—or maybe it was just my fear. No idea what was around me, what was outside those doors, but hopefully it was the middle of the night and everyone was asleep and I could sneak outside without anybody hearing.

What a brilliant fucking plan—sneak away from a goddamn vampire.

But who was to say they were anything like what I’d read about? Normal vampires didn’t have dragon pets that hung out on their shoulders, so maybe I had a chance. That’s why I walked on my tiptoes all the way to the doors, and I pressed my ear to the strange material—it didn’t look like wood or metal, though the vines decorating the corners could have been iron.

Nothing. No sound came from the other side of the doors. Nobody was there.

My heart skipped a beat, and I actually felt really hopeful that I could pull this off. It was silent, too silent, and there was no way anybody was awake in this house. So, taking in a deep breath, I pulled the handle down and the door open just an inch.

A hallway twice as wide as the ones at the Paradise greeted me. I slipped my head out just to see better, to see the black walls and curtains, the nearly black wooden floor. This was definitely a bigger house than I thought. Maybe even a mansion, like the Paradise, which could serve me. More places to hide and sneak out of.

But just as I was about to step outside, I heard something moving to the left.

My instincts took over and I pushed the door closed again lightning fast.

As if I wasn’t scared enough already, a tapping sound suddenly started coming from the windows to my left. My heart almost leaped right out of me.

Rain. It had just started to rain. Nobody was coming to kill me…yet.

In the time it took me to go to the windows, it was already pouring.

Darkness outside. I grabbed the handles and pulled the window up as far as I could. The sound of the downpour filled my head, and it was like I’d stepped into a different world. The front of my dress was soaked again, but the rain was warm so I didn’t mind. Holding onto the frame, I leaned out as far as I could just to catch a few drops on my tongue and to try to see where I was.

High.

I was very, very high, and the building I was in was made of stone blocks.

“Oh, my God…” I whispered into the night. It was a castle. I was in a goddamn castle, standing by the window of one of its towers.

There were another four of them to my side that seemed to be just as tall as the one I was in, with windows the same as the ones I was looking out of. No light was coming from any of them. Below, a large yard surrounded the castle, and another wall made of the same blocks circled it.

My stomach fell. That wall was almost as tall as the towers. How in the hell was I ever going to climb it to get to the other side?!

Raising my head, I looked at the sky, surprised all over again to find the black clouds that made it. Not a single hint of blue or stars or a moon. Nothing—just darkness and rain.

And eyes.

I saw the small light eyes as if they were hiding behind a thin layer of that darkness, but they were on me. I don’t know how I recognized them right away, but it was the dragon—the first one that had been about to eat me in the ocean, the one who’d flown me into the Whispering Woods. It was him, and I barely breathed as he came a little closer, and I saw him a little better, those massive wings beating the darkness away like it was dust.

Worse yet, I could have sworn that a man was riding him. A man was sitting on the dragon’s back.

Whiteeyes flashed in front of me—probably just my imagination, but the fear was real. He saw me, too, whoever he was, and he was fucking coming.

Pulling back inside the room, I closed the window before I allowed myself to even breathe. Wet and panicked, I went to the door again and opened it. The hallway was empty.

I gave my heart just a moment to slow down, reminded myself that dragons that size couldn’t just get into towers like the one I was in. It was okay. The dragon and his rider were outside, and I had no time to sit and dwell on the reason why they’d been by the window, watching me through the rain. No time.

With that thought in mind, I moved, sure the hallway was empty still, so I almost had a fucking heart attack when I noticed the silhouette standing at the far right, where there had been no one just three seconds ago.

Now, Valentine Evernight was leaning his shoulder against the wall, arms crossed in front of his chest, like he’d just materialized out of thin air.

A miracle I didn’t scream.

“Going somewhere?”

For the second time, I stepped back inside the room, slammed the door shut and pressed my back to it without ever breathing.

Fuck, he was there. He had probably come from around the corner, and I hadn’t heard a single thing!

“Shit, shit, shit!”

A dragon-riding man outside the window. Another with a dragon on his fucking shoulder outside the door—did I even want to know what waited for me down the fucking stairs?!

A knock on the door.

My heart tripped all over itself and my eyes closed, pressing my back to the door as if I really had any hopes of keeping it closed against that man.

The silence that stretched into the room suffocated me. I looked at the windows again—was it too late to try and climb out right now? Maybe the dragon rider was gone.

And so what if I slipped and fell and died? I was as good as dead anyway.

Another knock—soft, not urgent. Knock-knock-knock. Gently.

“May I come in?” His muffled voice sent ice-cold chills down my back.

If that guy wanted to come in here, there was nothing I could do to stop him. But if I opened this door, maybe I could convince him to leave?

Unfortunately for me, that was my best shot.

Taking in a deep breath, I didn’t let myself overthink. I just opened the door, praying once more that my legs didn’t let go of me.

Valentine was leaning against the frame just like he’d been doing with the wall, and he was smiling. Black jacket, black hair, a bit on the longish side, those eyes that could be a reflection of the sky over us right now, and those red lips perfectly outlined, the Cupid’s Bow a V so sharp it could cut me.

He inhaled deeply. “Are you drooling, human?”

My jaw about hit the floor.

Didn’t he know what he was? Did he think I’d forgotten his fangs?

He was a vampire! A fucking vampire—and he thought I would be drooling?

“You’re disgusting.” And maybe I was drooling a little bit, but on the inside, which he couldn’t see.

His smile slipped a little. “Aren’t you a little ray of sunshine.” Suddenly, he stepped inside the room without waiting for an invitation. “Exactly what we needed in this dark, dark place.”

I moved to the side, all my instincts on high alert. “What the hell do you want from me?”

“I want you to answer a question,” he said, hands behind his back as he looked down at me. So curious. So fucking fascinated by the horrified look on my face.

“What question?”

“You’ve slept the whole day and night. Have you rested well enough?”

I blinked and blinked and blinked, but he didn’t burst out laughing, just waited for me to answer.

“Yes?” I did feel well rested.

In fact, now that I thought about it, my muscles weren’t even aching anymore. After all that swimming, and then the fall in the woods, all that running…

Shit, was that why nothing hurt as it should have?

Suddenly, he raised his hand toward me, and I leaned away on instinct but not fast enough. He moved like he was on fast-forward mode, so he already had his fingers in my hair, pulling it in front of me, looking at the strands in his palm as he slowly moved his hand back.

“Sunshine,” he whispered before he let go. “Join me for breakfast. Your wardrobe will be ready by the time you return.”

Goose bumps on my forearms. “I am not staying here.”

He pretended he hadn’t even heard me as he looked around the room for a moment, then turned those eyes on me again, like he was afraid I would disappear if he wasn’t looking at me.

“This floor will be yours for now. You will sleep alone until the Blood Call. The rest of the Fifth Tower is mine. There are three more floors below you, just in case you’re thinking about running away.”

My brain malfunctioned. “Wait, wait, wait—Blood Call? What the hell is that? And why am I in a tower? And why…why…what…” I shook my head, so terrified so suddenly it felt like someone had zapped my energy.

Or maybe it was the fact that I hadn’t eaten anything in possibly twenty-four hours.

Anxiety tightened my throat. “Why am I here, Valentine? What is this place?” I said in barely a whisper.

“You need food. Your body is weak,” he said, looking concerned now, which was worse. He stepped to the side and waved at the open door. “Shall we?”

“I—”

“If you eat with me, I will answer your questions.”

My mouth clamped shut. “And then?”

“And then you can do whatever you want.”

“I can?”

“Yes. Until the Blood Call.”

I did not like those two words together at all, but I needed my questions answered. I needed to know what the hell was going on around me, where I was, who lived in this place—and most importantly, what were my odds of escaping here for real?

“I won’t accept no for an answer, Sunshine. After you,” Valentine said, waving at the door.

My choices were really, really limited. “Such a gentleman,” I muttered, and started for the door. The sooner I had food in my system, the clearer I’d think.

Then… “Only when you’re not in my bed.”

Shivers ran down my back. I stopped walking, and so did he. “I will never be in your bed.” And I’d say it a million more times if I had to, to get it through his head.

“Oh, but you will. All tied up and wide open for me. Very soon.”

Oh, God. He meant it. He spoke like he knew it for a fact.

I forced myself to laugh. “I’ve dealt with men like you before, Mr. Evernight. Your arrogance just makes you a dick—that’s it. You don’t scare me.”

“Of course, I do.” He grinned. “But I don’t just scare you.” Again, with that same certainty.

I shook my head—did he think that the fact I found him hot meant anything? “You’re delusional.” I’d found plenty of people hot before. Nobody near his caliber, but I had.

“And you’re more beautiful than the idea of stars in the sky. I can’t wait to see how bright I can make you shine.”

The alphabet had a way of evading me sometimes, and this was one of those times. My mouth opened and closed, but I couldn’t think of a single thing to say.

The asshole chuckled, running a single finger down my cheek before I could jerk away.

“Come, Sunshine.” And he started walking down the hallway.

Unfortunately for me, I had no other choice but to follow.

It was a castle,all right. A really, really big castle, possibly three times the size of the Paradise, if not more.

Valentine took me down a set of wide wooden stairs, the railing black and decorated with silver, and we went down another three stories before the view around me changed.

The open hall at the bottom was gigantic, with over ten doors on its walls, silver armor pieces by them, and dim yellow lights coming from the flower-shaped lamps every few feet.

Then I looked up at the crystal chandelier, and my hands flew to my mouth before the scream left my lips—the tiny dragon was standing atop it, its long tail swooshing from side to side like a slithering snake.

“He scares you. He shouldn’t,” Valentine said, and I had no idea how he even noticed when he was a step ahead of me.

“He bit me on the neck. He’s an actual dragon. Dragons exist in Game of Thrones, not the real world. And again—he bit me,” I said in a breath.

He turned to look at me. “He bit you because I asked him to. And Game of Thrones is overrated.”

The ah-dacity. “How dare you. That’s one of my favorite shows,” I spit, but he just shrugged his shoulders like he didn’t care. “Do you always send your pet dragon to bite helpless humans, or am I just special?”

He did not get the sarcasm in my voice at all. “You are very special.” I rolled my eyes slowly so he wouldn’t miss it—and so what if it got me killed? “And, no—you’re the first person he’s bitten. He’s actually new. I just got him.”

There went my curiosity—rearing its head like a siren out of water…

Ouch. Too soon, Fall. Way too soon.

I cleared my throat. “What’s his name?” My eyes were on the way that tail kept swooshing from one side to the other, so long.

“I don’t know. I haven’t named him yet,” Valentine said, and that surprised me even more.

“Why not?”

“I don’t know. No name feels right.”

My brows rose. “A name has to feel right?” I mean, I never really had pet dragons to speak of, so I could be mistaken, but…

Again, he gave me that look and said, “Yours did.”

“How do you even know my name?” I hadn’t told him, had I? Had Mama Si spoken to this guy already?

But… “I don’t know yourname. I know the name I gave you.” Again, he reached out his hand too fast for me to actually see it, and I only noticed when he pushed a strand of my hair behind my shoulder. “You have all the colors of what the sun setting behind a forest looks like in my dreams. It feels exactly right.”

For a moment, I was unable to look away as he analyzed my hair, then lips, then eyes.

For a moment, it was like he wasn’t a stranger at all. He knew all my colors, and I knew his—black. An all-consuming black that devoured you and left nothing behind.

“So, what is it?” he finally said. “What is your name?”

I probably should have kept my mouth shut. “Fall.” I flinched. “It’s Autumn, actually. People just call me Fall.”

“Last name?” I threw him a look. “It’s only fair. You know mine,” he added.

“Hayes,” I spit, because so what if he knew my name? It wasn’t going to make any difference, anyway.

He raised his brows. “Why Fall—because of the season?”

No, actually. Because Missy had started calling me that when I was a toddler, even before my mother died. Her downfall, she called me, but I wasn’t going to tell him that. “Yep.”

“It’s actually perfect,” he muttered, like he was surprised at his own assessment. I said nothing. “Shall we?”

He waved his hand right, and a set of doors opened even though we were at least twenty feet away, and there was nobody else there that I could see.

I still looked. I still searched, and then my eyes fell back on the nameless dragon, still swooshing his tail like a damn cat.

Releasing a long breath, I walked with Valentine to the doors, arms around myself to rub away the goose bumps on my skin. It was cold out here, I realized. And much darker than usual. And so…silent.

The more my instincts relaxed and I wasn’t fearing for my life so much anymore, the more I noticed how unusual the feel in the air here was. Not like in the Paradise, where it smelled of roses and cupcakes and gave you warm, fuzzy feelings. Here, it was more like rain in the forest. More like moonlight. More like the reflection of stars on the surface of a lake.

We went through two more doors, into hallways just as dark and cold and silent, before we finally reached a warmer, brighter space. A dining room with a long black table in the middle, and paintings—portraits of headless men and women decorating the walls. Black roses in the vases, which were possibly made out of plastic. Black cushions on the chairs as well.

“This is the dining room,” Valentine said as he watched me take in all the details, the gorgeous black and silver plates, the drawer stands at the corners, the silver candleholders, the lamps. “You will eat all your meals here for now.”

For now.

“So…gothic. So dark,” I muttered without really meaning to. But it was all so very beautiful I couldn’t get enough of looking at it. So much better than the white and pink aesthetic of the Paradise.

“It’s the Whispering Woods,” Valentine said, like that was supposed to answer all my questions.

“Why the headless people?” I wondered.

“Because they all died before their time.”

Shivers washed down my arms instantly.

The next second, something fell over my shoulders. Something warm and soft that chased the cold away as if by magic.

It was a jacket—the same leather jacket he’d had on a second ago. “You’ll be wearing thicker clothing later. The dark is always colder than the light. Come.”

Slowly moving toward the right of the table, he went around it and pulled out the first chair. The maids at the Paradise did that for me all the time, but a man never had before.

Fuck, this guy was really getting to my head. The way he moved. The feel of him, so dark and gloomy, had developed an itch deep in my curiosity that only knowing more about him could scratch.

Holding onto the jacket he put over my shoulders that smelled like the rain outside, I moved around the table as well. I bit my tongue before I could say thank you—this guy was still keeping me here against my will no matter how he behaved.

But before I could sit down, something moved on the other side of the table.

Four someones.

The men must have materialized out of thin air in front of the open door I’d been by just a second ago, and all their eyes were on me.

My body froze in place, my heart still, my mind suddenly blank because my instincts already knew.

Out of all the people in the world I’d ever met, including Mama Si, these were far, far deadlier predators—and I was their completely helpless prey.