Chapter 26

I laidon the bed fully clothed just to rest for a bit, to get my thoughts in order, to breathe before I went back out there and tried my luck at finding an exit from this damn castle.

Sleep took me instantly.

When I woke up, I felt like I’d been out of it for a whole day, and I could have sworn someone was watching me through the window, even though I didn’t see anything in the dark.

Had Grey and his dragon returned? Were they out there, flying in front of my window?

No idea, but at that point I didn’t even want to find out.

Panic had me reaching for the door right away. My clothes and my boots were still on, so I was good to go. Memory after memory of the past two days flashed before my eyes as if my own mind wanted to get me as scared as possible, my instincts fired up, so that I didn’t spend another second in this place without running.

The hallway was empty, the stairs were empty, and all the floors below mine in the tower were blissfully empty, too. My heart was racing, and I knew that Valentine could hear it if he was close enough. I knew his brothers would hear it, too, but I couldn’t help myself. I couldn’t control how fast it beat when I was expecting to be stopped with every step I took down the maze of hallways and corridors of the castle.

It must have been at least twenty minutes before I stumbled into a round hall with two large doors to the right, doors that were bigger than the others I’d gone through until now. Their design was different, though they were black as well.

Outside. Those doors had to lead outside, and I wasn’t going to hesitate. No clue what time it was because the few windows I’d passed by had showed me nothing but the dark sky, but it didn’t matter. I made my way to those doors as fast as I could without making noise, and I stopped in front of them with my eyes squeezed shut, waiting for someone to shout my name or just grab me and pull me back.

Nobody did.

All I heard was the faint sound of wings beating I’d come to recognize, and sure enough, when I turned around, I found the tiny black dragon landing on top of a painting across the hall, watching me.

Tiny. He was small enough that I could grab him and throw him off me with my bare hands. He was so small that there was no way he could carry me from or to anywhere. No, he couldn’t stop me, even if he insisted on playing my shadow.

So, I ignored him and I pulled one of the doors open.

By some miracle, it gave. It was so big and heavy that I managed to only open it a slit, just enough so I could fit through—and get outside.

Those doors really led out of this castle, and the colder air filling my nostrils and the sounds of nature filling my ears proved it.

Before the second was over, I was looking up at the black sky and the large surrounding wall in the distance, and the trees in between it and the castle, starting ten feet away from the doors.

The two torches mounted on the sides of them gave off little light. Leaves rustled. Owls hooted nearby. No footsteps and no sign of anyone anywhere that I could see, though I couldn’t really see much. But the trees had opened into a tunnel ahead of me, like they’d twisted and turned to make space for people to pass through, then meet again higher up to create a thick canopy overhead.

I went for it—what was the worst that could happen? Death?

Yeah, I’d already come to terms with that. Death was better than living under the same roof as creatures of myth and folklore that shouldn’t even exist, with a bunch of women who adored them, hoping one day one of them didn’t suck me completely dry.

So, I made for the trees, praying they would take me all the way to the surrounding wall, and from there I could either climb it, or I could search for the gates I’d seen through the balcony. That was the plan, and I was going to see it through no matter what.

But the second I stepped onto the wet soil and was about to start running, something moved fast to my right—something that looked an awful lot like a snake.

Impossible, my mind insisted, despite what my eyes were telling me. I was stunned, completely paralyzed to watch the way it slithered away from the tree trunk—it had been wrapped around the base of it, its color a deep dark brown almost identical to the bark, impossible to tell if you weren’t looking for a difference.

And now the snake, its body easily twice as thick as my head, was hissing and unwrapping itself from around the trunk, opening its square jaws and showing me fangs as big as my fucking pinkie—and I couldn’t move. I couldn’t scream. I couldn’t do anything but stand there and watch it coming to eat me whole.

Suddenly, something locked around me, something invisible in the air, almost pressing against my skin, but I couldn’t focus on it to understand what it was.

It all happened so fast that I had yet to believe the snake was real when it jumped.

A scream finally built up inside me. By some miracle, I moved to the side and I raised my arms to protect myself for when it slammed into me. For when those teeth bit into me and tore me apart. For when I fucking died at the jaws of a goddamn snake.

But…I didn’t.

The snake was maybe two feet away from me, jaws wide open, aimed at my throat. But then something moved to my side fast, almost too fast for the eye to see, and it went right through the snake’s body like a damn bullet. It went through it, and it cut offthe snake’s head like a fucking blade would.

The world could have stopped spinning for all I knew because the snake’s body slammed against the ground, and the head, separate, rolled and rolled to the other side with the jaws still open, the teeth on full display.

Meanwhile the tiny dragon who’d killed it flew forward another few feet like that—arms and wings wrapped around itself tightly, head and tail perfectly straight so that he looked like an arrow as he spun around fast enough to make me dizzy.

Fast enough to cut off a snake’s head.

Then he spread his wings to the sides and stopped in place like he had a parachute on, before he beat them lightly, gently, and turned toward the doors of the castle like nothing at all had happened.

I felt his eyes on me, black and small but his attention big, and I followed him until he landed on the floor near the open door, tail swirling to the side, calm. Perfectly calm.

Meanwhile every inch of my body was covered in goose bumps, my mind chaotic, full of disbelief still.

Eventually, when the world started spinning again, I thought to look at the snake, what was left of it, all over the ground, blood oozing from where its head had been cut off—and the head a few feet away near the tree line, perfectly motionless, almost fading into the muddy ground already.

Don’t throw up, don’t throw up, don’t throw up…

My hands closed around my mouth, but?—

“You’re up early,” said a male voice I’d heard before. “I knew you couldn’t wait to see me, darling. I can’t wait to taste you, either.”

I looked ahead into the darkness between the trees, only able to make out a silhouette as he came closer, slowly, each step steady, until I could see his face. It was one of the Evernight brothers wearing nothing but a pair of jeans that hung low on his hips, blood on his chin and naked chest as he smiled widely at me, fangs in full display.

I was too stunned to even collapse. Sheer terror kept my muscles locked in place and my body upright as I took in the face of the predator prowling toward me slowly, head low and eyes on me, never blinking. I couldn’t even move back, couldn’t look at the tiny dragon by the door, couldn’t ask him for help.

He could kill snakes, apparently, just fine, even really big ones, but this man coming toward me was no snake. In fact, he wasn’t a man at all, even though by the time I could see his face more clearly, the fangs had retreated and his eyes were less red.

Fuck, he was so beautiful that if it wasn’t for that blood, it would have been easy to forget he was a monster, a million times worse than a giant snake.

“What’s the matter, bride? Does the sight of a little blood scare you?” He stopped five feet away from me, then reached for the blood covering his chin, swiped some and licked it off his finger. “I’d have expected you to like me covered in blood. Women like to know their man can protect them against any monster, even if it means getting dirty and bloody, do they not?”

What about when you’re the monster? I wanted to say, but thank God, I had the good sense to bite my tongue. My body was coming back to me slowly. I was moving backward, toward the castle where there were thick stone walls and big doors I could close and lock and keep between this monster and myself. Inside, where it was safe.

Except… “You won’t find a vampire more in love with the sound of his own voice than Emil.”

I turned to the side so fast it was a miracle my neck didn’t snap. Another one of the brothers was standing right by the open door with his arms crossed, fully clothed as he looked at me with a smug smile on his face. He was one of the bigger ones, with the thick dark beard covering half his face, his skin fair and smooth, dark eyes glistening, just as breathtaking as his brother.

“Piss off, Tristian. I found her first,” the other said, taking a step closer, making me move farther to the side, reminding myself to breathe. Reminding myself that these men were not going to tear me apart limb by limb then eat me and lick my blood off their fingers when they were done. They weren’t going to kill me.

So, so hard to trust myself right now…

“Your dragon didn’t pick her. Doesn’t matter if you found her first,” the one by the door said and began to walk toward me slowly. “I haven’t had the chance to introduce myself yet. Tristian Evernight, at your service.” And he actually bowed his head deeply when he stopped in front of me, as if he couldn’t tell that I was scared shitless.

Get it together! I shouted at myself in my head.

“See? Now you scared her,” the other—Emil—said as he came closer, shaking his head.

“I’m not the one wearing blood, brother,” said Tristian, his eyes scrolling down my body like he was hoping to peel off my clothes and skin and see all of me.

Inside. I needed to get inside, up to the fifth tower, disappear in that room, hide under the bed until the end of times. That’s all I needed to do—get inside.

“Are you telling me you’re complaining about that heart?” Emil laughed a little, then closed his eyes and threw his head back. “Aaah, so pleasant…”

I moved.

The dragon was still there, still by the door, and as ridiculous as it sounded, I was hoping it would continue to follow me. I was hoping it would be there, just in case another fucking snake jumped for my throat again.

But before I could take the third step, Tristian was suddenly in front of me, impossibly fast.

“Whoa, whoa, wait a minute. That’s awfully rude of you,” he said, not as amused as a second ago. “When someone introduces themselves to you, you tell them, It’s nice to meet you, and you give them your name in return.”

“So, what is it? What’s your name?” said Emil, and I was trying so hard to appear calm. So, so hard to move closer to those doors without them following me.

“Autumn,” I choked. “M-my name is Autumn.”

Tristian seemed disappointed. “Autumn? That’s my least favorite season.”

Emil smacked him on the back of the head. “We don’t have seasons here, dipshit.”

Tristian flinched. “Yes, I know, you ape. Go learn how to eat properly.”

Eat, he said.

Then he turned to me, and I’d already walked another couple steps closer to the doors.

“It’s-it’s-it’s nice to meet you. Both of you. But I have to go. I have to?—”

Even so, Emil was in front of me, all bloody still. “Wait a minute, Autumn. Wait, hold on. Let us see you. Let us talk to you.”

“Oh, I really can’t. I have to?—”

“After all,” Tristian said as he approached. “Either one of us could be your master soon. The man you look up to for everything. The man whose child you bear in that beautiful body.”

DON’T YOU DARE THROW UP!

“I think she’s the one,” Emil said, nodding his head. “I really think this time we got it right.”

“Me, too,” said Tristian. “I think she’s it. She’s going to give us an heir.”

I would rather cut off my own arm and eat it, I thought, and moved around Emil again. “I’m really sorry, but I must use the bathroom right now,” I said, and it was clear to see how terrified I was. My voice was shaking and breaking and barely a scratchy whisper, but they heard the words just fine.

That’s why they were smiling.

“Can’t you wait a second longer? Let me smell you,” Tristian said, raising his hand toward me, and?—

“Fall.”

Valentine’s voice vibrated throughout me. I had never—never before in my life felt more relieved. It was completely senseless and silly and reckless of me, but in those moments, I wasn’t thinking. It was pure instinct that moved me, and before I knew it, I was running the few feet to get to him, to the door, to fucking hide behind him, as if he was going to be my goddamn shield.

The look in Valentine’s eyes was murderous. The way he stared at his brothers right now, he was not the same guy who sat with me on the piano bench and asked to feel my heart while I played. It was notthe same guy.

But even so, he was the lesser evil. The devil I knew. The devil that was probably going to eat me just as well as the others, but right now I was in survival mode, and all I cared about was that I got inside those doors with my head on my shoulders and my heart still beating.

“Fall? What do you mean, Fall? She said her name is Autumn,” said Tristian.

“What’s the matter, little brother? Why are you up so early?” said Emil grinning ear to ear as he licked the blood off his bottom lip, just to taunt him.

“I like Fall even less,” Tristian was saying. “And it’s incredibly disrespectful to walk away from your master like that.”

Oh, God, the way he was looking at me…

“You’re not her Master,” Valentine said.

“But I might be,” said Tristian, waving his index finger at Valentine as he approached us, too.

“You won’t. Back off,” Valentine said, and though his voice was low and he pretended to be calm, we could all feel the energy radiating off him in waves like heat from the sun.

“Oh—is that an order, little brother?” said Emil, smiling still but I could have sworn this one didn’t quite reach those crazy eyes. Crazy beautiful eyes, a brown so rich it looked like melted chocolate.

“I know you’ve never done this before, Val,” said Tristian, “but just because your hatchling picked her doesn’t mean her blood will choose you. We’ve been over this, haven’t we? Emil’s dragon picked up Mariposa for me just last year. Remember that?”

A loaded moment of silence stretched between them, and I had somehow forced myself to calm down enough that my heart didn’t beat in my ears as loudly. I didn’t shake as badly, and I could stand straighter.

It occurred to me that by showing so much fear in front of these men, I was giving them more power, which was stupid.

Because this was it—they couldn’t kill me. They were trying to get to know me because they were hoping I’d be the next bride in their fucking harem. They would not be tearing me apart anytime soon.

The power was mine, at least for now.

The realization dawned on me as Emil and Tristian looked at Valentine like they were both unfazed and also expecting him to jump at their throats any second.

Then Valentine said, “It’s five-thirty in the morning. The first full day isn’t over yet officially. Back off and stay away.”

He said the words slowly, separately, and when he turned around to walk into the castle, he didn’t hesitate. His step didn’t falter. He didn’t wait for them to reply, either—he just pulled me along by the arm and pushed the door closed like it weighed nothing at all.

We didn’t stop walking until we were up the stairs to the fifth tower.

“You’re okay.”

It was the third time he was saying it, and I had yet to believe him. Valentine didn’t look like he believed it himself, to be honest—the way he looked at me said he was searching for a wound on my face and body and just waiting for my legs to give up.

“I’m fine,” I said, only for the first time.

“Why were you outside, Sunshine?”

The edges of his face had smoothed out and his eyes weren’t bloodshot or as dark—so different from how he’d looked in front of his brothers.

“You know why,” I muttered, squeezing my eyes shut for a moment.

“You can’t leave the castle. Even if my brothers didn’t hear you—which isn’t going to happen—you can’t leave,” he said with a deep sigh. “Was that snake coming for you?” Shivers all over me in a second. I only nodded. “Did Emil kill it?”

I shook my head. “No, it was your dragon. He was following me around like a damn shadow.” And thank God he was. I pretended to be bitter, but I was so thankful for that tiny dragon. If it wasn’t for him, I’d have been in a snake’s belly right now.

“Good,” Valentine said, but it wasn’t good at all. None of this was good—it was a goddamn disaster.

“I just want to go home,” I said through gritted teeth, fighting back the tears pricking my eyes. Must have been all the trauma of almost being eaten by a snake—and two vampires.

Suddenly, Valentine had his arms around me and pulled me to his chest. I had no chance of stopping it, no chance of even telling him to keep his hands to himself right now. All I could do was hold on to his shirt while he held on to me, pressed his lips to the top of my head and just let me be for a moment. He just rubbed circles on my back and kept me there.

“When is the full day officially over?” I asked when I finally gathered courage to move away and stand straight again.

“Technically speaking, this is your second. But since you spent the first sleeping, Romin allowed us to consider it your first. It ends less than two hours,” he explained. “The vampire whose dragon chooses the offering gets the first twenty-four hours exclusively with the new bride. After that…”

I flinched. “I’m fair game to all of them.”

“Yes,” he said.

Damn. “Well, then I guess I’ll be in there for the rest of my existence.” And I pushed open the door behind me.

“Sunshine, you need to learn how to control your heartbeat,” Valentine said. “You need to understand that there is no way out of this place. It’s all just a big trap designed to devour the weak, and right now, that’s what you are.”

“Weak.” My biggest horror. What I’d always been my whole life—just a weak person falling in whatever line life decided to put me in.

“And that’s not something to be ashamed of. You’re living among the world’s most sophisticated predators. Strength can be taught and gathered. You won’t be weak forever,” he said, and he seemed almost desperate for me to believe it.

His dragon suddenly flew soundlessly and landed on his shoulder. This time, Valentine actually acknowledged him, raised his hand and touched his grey chest for a second.

“But I will. Of course, I will—I’m human,” I reminded him. They were predators, and I was the easiest prey in history.

“No, you’re not,” said Valentine. “You’re an Enchanted now. There’s magic in you already, but the rest of it will awaken with the Blood Call.”

Magic. Actual magic, like the woods at the Blood Burrow or what Vera did at lunch the day before.

Such a beautiful, deadly temptation.

I wanted to tell him that I wasn’t going to be here for the Blood Call and that I didn’t want their fucking magic. They could keep all of it—I didn’t want anything to do with this place at all. I was going to leave the first chance I got.

Instead, I moved back into the room and pulled the door halfway closed, eyes on the tiny dragon relaxing on Valentine’s shoulder.

God, I was really fucking glad I wasn’t in a snake’s belly right now.

“Thanks, Shadow,” I whispered.

Valentine said nothing so I closed the door, rested my forehead on the cold wood, and breathed. My body was so, so weak. My hands were still shaking a bit with the aftermath of all that fear and all that panic.

The only thing I knew how to do was crawl back in that bed, wrap myself up with the illusion of safety, and close my eyes.