Page 15 of This Violent Light
Rather than saying anything, I lift my head slowly. We’ve somehow traveledmilesin a matter of minutes. We’re on the opposite side of town now, in the park across from Aberlena University. We’re tucked against a thick patch of trees, but surely people can see us.
I’m still too dizzy to stand.
“Fuck,” Sebastian says. He scrunches his entire face, even pinching his eyes. He looks like he wants to say more, but I don’t give him the chance.
“What. Was. That?” I demand. “How did you do that?”
“It doesn’t matter,” he says.
I shift to sit on my butt, scooting as far as I can from my own puke. Sebastian blinks a few times, hard, as if forcing himself to be in the present. He looks unsettled, but despite running several miles just now, he doesn’t look tired.
He should be exhausted.
No, he should be dead.
No amount of tiredness would make this logical. You can’t run ten second miles. That’s not how the world works.
“You are Grace Pruce,” he says. His fists clench and release at his sides, but his attention bores into me. He sounds almost angry as he continues. “I need you to come with me.”
“First of all, my name is Grace Renolds. Second of all, if you needed help, you should have just asked. I probably would have said yes. You didn’t have to…do whatever that was. I’m a nice person. Ilikehelping people.”
“You are Grace Pruce,” he repeats, and now, I’m positive he’s angry. There’s nothing to distract from the blazing fury in his eyes. “You are a filthy, sour-blooded witch, and I am not asking for your help. I am taking it, whether you permit it or not.”
My heart beats in my throat.
Oh god.
Oh god.This man is crazy. He thinks I’m a witch. He’s going to take me to his basement to sacrifice me in some sort of freaky ritual.
“You promised to let me go,” I say. “Youpromisedif I told you my dad’s name, you’d let me go.”
Sebastian’s mouth twists into a brutal grin. He stalks forward, slow but intent. I shove to my feet, ignoring the way my head spins at the movement. I stumble back, making it only two steps before he lunges.
I scream. It’s high-pitched and piercing, cutting through the darkness like a new blade. I didn’t know I could scream like this, but I force every drop of air out of my lungs and into the universe.
Help me, I beg no one and everyone.Don’t let him hurt me.
Sebastian’s hand clamps over my mouth. His palm smashes my lips, and his nails dig into my cheek.
“I am not fae,” he whispers. His chest presses against my back, his lips tickling my ear with each word. “I am a vampire, Grace, and I am a fucking liar.”
With one hand still over my mouth, the other tightens across my chest, fingers clenching my shoulder. He’s got me pinned, trapped, and the second he starts moving, this will be over. He’ll take me somewhere out of sight, and nobody will ever know what happened to me.
How long before Tessa reports me missing? Before Libby wonders why I’m not answering her calls?
This man is crazy.
He thinks he’s a vampire.
He’s going to kill me.
My thoughts whirl faster and sharper, and in less than two seconds, a sharp panic shoots up my spine.
I need to get away. I have to get away.
Get away. Get away. Go!
I’ve never felt panic like this. Raw and sharp and all-consuming. It grows into a physical, biting pain, until it bursts out of me like an exploded grenade. It’s an instant relief, like taking a breath after you dive too deep in the water.
