Page 66 of Fallen Angel

“Well, I can smell myself, and I can smell you. We’ve been in the same clothes for far too long. Trust me. It’s not alluring at all.”

Callan’s glare pierced Hannah. Her stomach roared with hunger. Callan sighed and slapped his hands against his sides. He nodded. “Fine, but we are to move with haste. No trickery.” Hannah knew that he too hadn’t eaten in a long time. He must have been equally starved.

Though they walked down the cliff in silence, Hannah’s thoughts were as loud as ever. Had she lost Callan for good? How was she going to ditch him? How was she possibly going to defeat Mara? Did it even matter? She was going to die in a few days anyway.

Then a different thought dawned on Hannah: Itdidmatter. She didn’t care what she had to do to succeed. She had nothing to lose.

Chapter Twenty

When they arrived at Hannah’s dorm, part of her longed for the normality she associated with it. Learning to live with a new roommate, getting ready for classes, focusing on her clean slate. But without everything that had happened, Hannah would have died without knowing who she truly was or the story of how she came to exist.

Entering her dorm room, Hannah hoped that Amelia wasn’t there. When she opened the door, however, Amelia threw her arms around Hannah.

“Oh my god,” she screamed. Hannah winced. “Where have you been? I thought you might have died!”

Not yet.

Hannah’s side of the room was untouched, still plagued by unpacked boxes.

Amelia stepped back from her but kept her hands on Hannah’s shoulders. “I left voicemails. Sent you about a hundred texts.”

“I’m sorry,” Hannah said. “My phone died.”

Callan leaned in the doorway.

“Oh, I see.” She offered Hannah a suggestive smile. “You’ve just been…occupied.” She winked.

Hannah feigned a small laugh. “I guess I just lost track of time.”

Amelia put her lips close to Hannah’s ear and whispered, “He must have been good, because you are glowing. Your eyes even seem brighter.” Amelia sniffed. “You even smell incredible. What perfume is that?”

Hannah glanced back at Callan, who gave her atold you solook. “I’ll get you some,” Hannah said.

“Amazing,” Amelia said. Her eyes were glassy, and her smile seemed forced. Her demeanor was less effortless than usual.

“Is everything okay?” Hannah asked.

“Uhhh…” Amelia’s voice cracked. “I was actually on my way out. Bryce is in the infirmary.”

Hannah knew what was wrong with him. He was a Vampire who wasn’t allowed to feed on blood. He was dying. But Amelia didn’t know that. “What’s wrong with him?”

Callan cleared his throat. “We should really be on our way,” he said.

Hannah ignored him.

“They don’t know.” Tears glistened in Amelia’s eyes. “He’s just pale and can’t keep any food down. He’s trying to be brave, but I can tell that he’s in a lot of pain.”

“Amelia, I’m so sorry.”

“Do you want to come with me? Landon is meeting me there.”

“We do have a previous engagement,” Callan interjected.

“I could really use my roommate right now,” Amelia said. Hannah knew that this was another chance to stall and possibly ditch Callan. Maybe she could even help Bryce.

She turned to Callan and gave him a daring stare. “Why don’t you go, and I’ll meet you there. I’d like to see Bryce. See if there is any way I can help.”

“Just being there would help,” Amelia said.

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