“I know what it means,” Saira snapped. “But why? And where?”
“Why the hell are you asking me?” I said.
“You became close to her,” Saira said, looking at me pointedly.
“Let’s get one thing straight, wolf.” I glared back. “I finished that stupid task you asked of me. Now I don’t know where the witch is. And I couldn’t care less.”
The wolf looked taken aback, and opened her mouth to argue. But Matteo, although he also looked surprised at my words, caught hold of Saira and tugged at her. I shut the door as they left.
The last words the witch had said to me replayed in my mind.
“I don’t want to ever see your face again.”
I’d sworn at that moment that I wouldn’t waste any more of my time on that impossible woman. Her erratic behavior was driving me crazy. And my inability to understand what was going through that twisted mind of hers was an endless cause of aggravation.
She was clearly insane.
And I already had my own insanity to deal with.
Now that I thought about it, I wasn’t even sure what had drawn me to her in the first place. Perhaps, because of Saira’s demand, I’d spent too much time thinking about her and that had let her get to me. I felt embarrassed and angry at what a fool I’d been to spend as much time with her as I had. At how low I’d stooped in catering to her demands.
Maybe it was all just my ego wanting to conquer the challenge.
Well, Mona isn’t a challenge. She’s a jumbled-up puzzle with missing pieces: a waste of time.
At least, after all that had happened, Saira would never argue about my place on this island. Which, of course, was the only reason I’d befriended Mona in the first place. So in that respect, the time I’d spent with her hadn’t been a complete waste.
Now, the first thing I had to do to was get the witch’s bitter taste out of my mouth.
As soon as Saira and Matteo had disappeared down the corridor, I ran toward Lorena’s room and knocked.
When there was no answer, I forced the door open. It was empty. I exited the tunnels and headed toward the wall. Since it was nighttime, most of the vampires would be outside.
“Is Lorena on duty tonight?” I asked the first vampire I came across.
“No, I don’t think so,” he said. “You’ll probably find her in the witch’s cabin. I heard Lorena claimed it for herself soon after the witch left.”
I turned and made my way toward the lake. Indeed, the lanterns in the lake house were lit. I jumped into the lake and swam toward the cabin.
I realized as soon as I flung the door open and saw the beautiful vampire standing in the middle of the room, wearing Mona’s deep blue dress and earrings, that I was going to relish every moment of this evening.
There was no better place to put all thoughts of Mona to rest than with a different woman in Mona’s own cabin. It was as if Mona never existed and Lorena had lived here all along—even her clothes now belonged to Lorena.
Lorena’s lips parted in surprise. Then she scowled and crossed her arms over her chest.
“I thought you didn’t want me.”
I looked at her with heat in my eyes. I walked to her and pulled her lips against mine, tasting them hungrily. There was barely a moment of resistance from her once I’d gripped her waist. She reached for my clothes and ripped them off, as I did hers. Lowering her down on the mattress, I touched and tasted every part of her.
We made love until morning.
Pushing her off me, I rolled over on my stomach. It was only then that I noticed the faint smell of blood. Witch blood. A patch of blood stained the floor about two feet away from the mattress. Perhaps Mona was injured when she left me and I just didn’t notice at the time.
Lorena said, “There was quite a lot more of that when I first got here. I licked most of it off the floor. Ugh. Her blood tastes bland. Just like the rest of her. I really have no idea what ever attracted you to her.”
I ran my hands along Lorena’s hips and caressed her neck with my lips.
“I don’t know why either,” I whispered. “Perhaps the witch isn’t so powerless after all. Because I have no idea why I’d reject you for that little wench.”
Lorena smiled from ear to ear and drew my head down toward her, her tongue pushing between my lips. As her heat intensified, I found myself coughing.
Startled, she drew away.
My throat went dry all of a sudden, and a sharp pain throbbed in my head—the likes of which I hadn’t felt since I was a human. It was like an intense migraine. I sat up in bed.
“What’s wrong?” Lorena asked, squeezing my shoulder.
She pulled herself upright next to me and placed a palm over my forehead. She withdrew it instantly, as though I’d given her an electric shock.
“Kiev, your forehead! It’s… it’s warm.”
I brushed her hand aside and turned away from her as I coughed again. This time, specks of blood sprayed out of my mouth, landing next to Mona’s dried blood on the floor.
What is going on?
Chapter 2: Mona
I’d lost count of how many days I’d been traveling. I’d begun to believe that I might perish in the ocean before arriving at my destination. But finally, in the early morning hours, I caught sight of it in the distance.
I inhaled sharply. The ogres’ kingdom appeared even more terrifying than the rumors had made it out to be. I pulled my shawl closer around my shoulders as a gust of sea wind chilled me to the bone.
The island consisted almost entirely of black mountain ranges. A towering stone wall surrounded the island. As I drew nearer, screams and shouts rang in the distance, and the beating of ceremonial drums.
There were countless rumors about this place. But one was agreed upon by everyone:
He who ventures in doesn’t venture out.
I pulled the dolphins to a stop once we approached the beach, unpacked the small bundle of personal belongings I’d taken with me, and jumped out of the boat into the shallow water. I cut the dolphins free from the boat and they swam away.
I would have no more use for them.
Shaking, I walked across the sand until I reached the giant iron gate, spiked with what appeared to be human skulls. I knocked with all the force I could muster, yet it sounded pathetic against the thick metal.
I knocked again.
When there was still no answer, I shouted out, my voice trembling:
“Open the gate!”
I shouted for several minutes until eventually, there was a deafening crack—the sound of a large bolt being drawn—and the gates swung open.