But seeing as I was planning to get straight into bed and fall asleep, I didn’t bother relighting it. I felt my way to my mattress, and lifted back the sheets.
I let out a scream.
I’d just attempted to sit on a cold body. A corpse, I was sure of it. But then, as if I wasn’t already shaken enough, the corpse began to stir and blood-red eyes shot open in the darkness.
I ran out of the room, slamming the door behind me, screaming my lungs out.
“Saira!”
I blazed through the corridors, bellowing Saira’s name. Some crew members hushed me, but I couldn’t contain myself. The fright of finding that monster in my bed mixed with all the implications that now came with his presence on board caused me to lose control.
Saira came walking down a corridor toward me, her face quite expressionless.
“Why?” I panted, clutching her by the shoulders. “Why?”
“Why what?” she asked, an innocent expression on her face.
“Why is there a monster in my bed?”
“Oh, that. He was injured, dear. And he’s a vampire. I needed somewhere dark and comfortable where he could recover. As you know, most of the rooms with beds on this ship have windows.”
“Why couldn’t you take him to one of the other rooms below deck? Or hell, I don’t know, just draw the blinds of one of the rooms in the upper deck!”
Saira shook her head. “All the other bedrooms were occupied at the time. And I was panicking. I just needed to get him somewhere dark and safe as soon as possible. He was in a dreadful state when I found him. I’m sorry, Mona. I didn’t know it would upset you so much…”
“Why did you save him and bring him here?” I spluttered. “I told you already, he’s not my friend!”
“My decision to save him had nothing to do with you, contrary to what you might think. As a founding member of this crew, I have a right to recruit others.” She glared at me. “And I thought leaving him to be killed would be a waste of a perfectly capable crew member.”
Her answers infuriated me. She was lying to my face. She had done this deliberately to throw the vampire in my way. Having lost a daughter made her do the most erratic things.
“And now what?” I hissed. “I need my room back!”
“You’ll get it back,” she said. “Just give him a few more hours of rest to let his body finish healing. Then I’ll remove him and put him up in another room. Okay?”
The situation couldn’t have been further from okay. But she sped off before I had a chance to protest again. By now, a group of new crew members—both vampires and werewolves—were listening in from a distance. Hating to be the center of attention, I hurried away from them.
I found myself walking back toward my cabin. When I reached the door, I placed my ear against it, hoping to hear that he had woken up. But from the gentle breathing, he had fallen asleep again.
Comforted that at least he wouldn’t be staring at me again through the darkness, I dared open the door. I fumbled for the lantern and turned it on. He still didn’t stir.
I stepped toward the bed and hovered over him, examining his face and body. I didn’t notice any injuries. His skin looked totally smooth. I didn’t understand why he had to sleep more, least of all in my bed.
I sat down in the chair a few feet away and continued glaring at him.
Watching Kiev sleeping on my bed was starting to make me feel sleepy. I wished he would wake up and leave so I could have my bed back. Now I’ll have to make a trip to the laundry room and change the sheets, I reminded myself, scowling.
Despite myself, my breath hitched a little as he stirred on the mattress, causing the sheet to slide off him and reveal more of his almost na**d form. He had fabric wrapped around his waist, but otherwise the people of The Tavern had stripped him bare. There wasn’t a part of his toned body that didn’t exude strength.
Why is this happening?
And why the hell did I have to ask him those stupid questions?
Now that he had been officially recruited by Saira as a crew member, worry filled me as I thought of the worst-case scenario: I might never see the back of him. I might forever be plagued with his presence. Unless I abandoned my crew, which I couldn’t do easily.
My skin tingled as I watched him sleep.
And I felt nervous.
More nervous than I had in years.
Chapter 17: Kiev
As I lay in bed, the old oak door to my room creaked open.
Clara, the woman my Elder forced me to call sister, appeared in the doorway. She wore nothing but thin silk lingerie.
“Get up,” she hissed. “Did I give you permission to sleep at this time?”
Unwilling to acknowledge her presence, I let my exhausted body remain still on the mattress. The bed shook as she climbed onto it. Cold hands closed around my ankles as she pulled at my legs. I held on to the headboard and kicked her away. I should have known that would only infuriate her further.
“I called you to my bed an hour ago. Why are you still here?”
She climbed onto my back and tore off my nightshirt with her claws, ripping my skin in the process. I winced as her lips pressed against the back of my neck, her legs spread out on either side of my waist.
Then came the lashes. Brandishing a whip, she cut into my flesh until blood soaked the sheets.
“Father gave you to me for a hundred years. Barely twenty have passed. It’s time you stopped fighting me, Kiev…”
I woke to see Mona sitting at the opposite end of the room. She looked daggers at me.
“Is… Is this your cabin?” I rubbed my eyes, attempting to brush away any memory of the nightmare I’d just had.
“Yes.” The tone of her voice was traced with irritation, yet she was attempting to keep her face expressionless. She stood up, handing me a set of fresh clothes. “These were brought for you. You probably want to wear them now.” Her eyes roamed the length of my body. “You should leave.”
I took them from her and pulled them on. No sooner had I pulled the shirt on than she opened the cabin door.
“Where should I go?”
“Ask Saira.”
I stepped out of the cabin. She slammed the door behind me.
I walked along the corridor toward a door that led to the stairs I had climbed down with Saira. I pushed it open and ascended the stairs, looking around as I did. A few vampires and werewolves bustled about on the second deck, but it was quieter now than when I had first arrived.
I approached a female vampire carrying a large bundle of sheets and asked, “Where can I find Saira?”