Rhys must have noticed my discomfort. He rubbed my shoulders and asked, “Are you all right?”
I nodded weakly.
An old bearded man approached us—a vampire.
“Damion,” Rhys said, reaching out his hand.
Damion smiled faintly and shook it. We followed him away from the beach and through a dark wood. We all walked in silence until we reached the end of the path, leading out into a clearing.
I was taken aback by what I saw: a tall black castle, almost identical to the one the witches had erected back in our little island.
Rhys, who seemed to still be watching me closely, nodded toward the castle and said, “My sisters’ work.”
We passed through the courtyard and were greeted by Julisse, Arielle and Celice on the doorsteps. They motioned to fling their arms around their brother, but then they caught sight of me standing behind him. Arielle and Julisse’s mouths dropped open.
“Her?” Julisse exclaimed.
I groaned internally.
Here we go again.
“Yes.” Rhys gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. “Mona returned to me. But we can discuss her later. We have more pressing matters to attend to now.”
Although the two elder sisters appeared reluctant to drop the matter, they nodded and wrapped their arms around Rhys. He kissed their heads one by one. They withdrew from him and Julisse surveyed the crowd.
“Tiarni,” she called. “Come with us and bring those three with you. Everyone else, go into the castle and take your seats at the table.” She looked at Efren. “You know where to put the other humans.”
The group split. Myself, Julisse, Arielle, Tiarni, Celice and Rhys went in one direction, while everyone else walked up the steps to the castle. I kept close to Rhys and wrapped my arm through his as we walked around the castle. Although I wasn’t in danger so long as Rhys was by my side, this place still gave me the creeps after all that Matteo had warned me about these vampires.
We stopped in the middle of the lawn. Arielle got on her knees and fumbled in the tall grass until her hands closed around a large ring. She pulled it upward to reveal a wooden staircase leading down to a dimly lit underground chamber.
Once we were all inside, she took the humans’ leashes from Tiarni and fastened them to the wall. She looked up and called Rhys over. I was going to follow, but Rhys shot me a glance that said I should stay put.
He exchanged a few words with his sisters in private. I assumed that they probably weren’t talking about me at that particular moment. Rhys just didn’t want me to overhear for whatever reason.
Jars of potions lined the shelves on the wall. This was a spell room. I now realized why they kept it hidden from the vampires—only a witch could set foot inside a spell room. If anyone else entered, they would have to be sacrificed, otherwise the room would become impotent. Or so the Scrolls said.
A few minutes later, Rhys returned to me and caught my hand, leading me back up the steps. Julisse and Celice followed us, but Arielle stayed behind.
“Arielle needs to start preparing one of the humans for later on,” Rhys explained.
I dreaded to think what kind of preparation they would undergo in Arielle’s hands. Once we were back out in the open, Celice closed the hidden trapdoor behind us.
“Let’s join the others in the dining hall now,” Julisse said.
We walked back round the side of the castle and climbed up the steps up to the entrance. Rhys pushed the doors open and allowed us all in before him. We crossed the giant hall and entered through another set of tall doors.
The chattering that had filled the air came to a standstill as we entered. Before I even had time to cast my eyes around the crowded table, two vampires holding trays of glasses filled with blood immediately came up to us.
Everyone took a glass but me. When Julisse saw this, she made a point of walking over to me.
“Lost your appetite for blood since you’ve been away?” she asked, deliberately loud enough for Rhys to hear.
I looked at Rhys, and he nodded toward the glass. Feeling the pressure, I picked up the glass, though I had no intention of drinking it. I would slowly vanish it while nobody was looking and pretend to have drunk it.
Chairs had been reserved for us—the ones closest to the entrance, at the head of the table. I took a seat between Rhys and Celice. Candles lined the table between the trays of food. They’d cooked up a feast especially for the witches, since vampires only drank blood.
As I cast my eyes around the vampires dining with us, a glint of redness caught my eye at the opposite end of the table.
Celice squealed as the glass slipped from my hand, blood soaking the tablecloth and staining our dresses.
“What’s wrong with you this evening?” Rhys whispered.
“I… I think I need some fresh air.”
Chapter 22: Kiev
She looked so different, I barely recognized her. Deathly pale skin, black shadows beneath her eyes, a much thinner face. Everything about her appeared darker—even the color of her hair. But when her blue eyes fixed on mine, and I witnessed her violent reaction to our eyes locking, any doubts I might have had about her identity were allayed.
That girl was Mona.
All conversation around me faded into background noise. Confusion shrouded me as question after question fought to the forefront of my mind.
Why has her appearance changed so drastically? What is she doing here? Who is that man next to her?
Most of all, I found myself asking: Why did she leave?
I turned to Helina who was sitting beside me.
“Do you know anything about that witch—the one sitting next to the man with wavy hair?”
“No idea. Never seen her before. Maybe a relative?” My sister shrugged. “And by the way, that man is Rhys. The brother of the three sisters and one of the main leaders of the coven.” She followed my gaze toward his direction. “If there’s one person in this room you don’t want to mess with, it’s him. I know him well enough by now, but I still find myself feeling unsettled in his presence.”
Erik gripped my shoulder. “I can attest to that,” he said. “Stay out of his way.”
I continued watching Rhys until his pitch-black eyes moved toward me.
“Hm,” I muttered, taking a swig of blood from my glass. “I’m going to, uh, use the restroom.”
Chapter 23: Mona
Is it possible he has a twin brother?
I was aware of how ludicrous a notion it was, but so desperate was I for my eyes to have deceived me that I was willing to entertain it.
I ran through the hall and out the entrance. I didn’t stop running until I’d sped past the courtyard, through the woods and reached the beach. I walked to the edge and dipped my feet in the cool waters, hoping to calm my nerves.