Page 31 of Crimson Shadows
Smiling when a glowing red dot appears, I nod. Not far from here, fortunately. I didn’t relish the fact of parading my dirtyclothes halfway across campus. Placing the map back down, I straighten up in just my bra and then my breath hitches. The urge from deep inside rises, the urge that I try to keep at bay so as not to scare my mother or the people around me. But my mother isn’t here, and neither is anyone else. Without even thinking about it, I reach for my holdall, which is still half packed, and stick my hand to the very bottom, under the plastic covered insert that keeps the bottom sturdy and pull out the knife that I have hidden there. Glaring at it, I hesitate.
“Wait,” I murmur and fling it on the bed, crossing over to the open book on vampires. “Speed healing…”
I’ve never had that before, just regular old scabs and scars. I’ve drunk a cup of blood today and eaten that rare steak… could this be something that will kick in now that I’m here and doing things vampires do?
“Only one way to find out, and kill two birds with one stone,” I mutter as I go back to the knife and pick it up. A small hunting knife, which is all I could afford, it’s nothing special, but it does the job. The blade glints in the moonlight as I hold it up. My heart races with anticipation and a hint of fear. I’ve done this before, but never with the possibility of rapid healing.
Taking a deep breath, I press the tip of the knife to my forearm. The familiar sting as it breaks the skin sends a rush through me. I drag the blade slowly, watching the blood well up in its wake.
The pain is exquisite, appeasing my ragged edges in a way nothing else can. For a moment, all my worries about this strange new world fade away. There’s only this - the sharp bite of the blade, the warmth of my blood.
I wait, watching intently. At first, nothing seems different. The cut bleeds steadily, droplets rolling down my arm. I swallow and then jump a fucking mile when something hits my bedroom with a loud thump, scaring me half to death.
“What the fuck?” I snap, glaring at Orby as if he is meant to know what is going on, as I march over to the door and peer through the peephole. I can’t see anything, so I open the door a crack and stare at the giant bat on the floor, which before my very eyes shifts into a well-dressed man with a face that could launch a thousand ships and a wicked smile that gleams when he looks down at me.
“Adelaide,” Corvus says. “I smelt blood. Everything okay in there?”
I gulp and make sure the door is covering my arm as much as possible, forgetting for one second that I’m standing in my bra. When that realisation hits me, I freeze like a deer in headlights.
“Adelaide?” Corvus presses, his face falling into a frown.
To his credit, he doesn’t stare at my breasts, just my eyes with a laser-like focus that is unnerving, and I get the feeling he is trying to compel me into saying something. Dragging my gaze from his is like trying to push a mountain up a bigger mountain. It makes me pant with the effort, and I feel my knees buckle.
Corvus reaches out and grabs me to steady me before his face goes stony. He lets go of me, hands up, and steps back. But how did he enter my room in the first place? Aren’t vampires supposed to get an invite? Now that I think about it, I haven’t seen anything that has mentioned this yet and I, clearly, can go wherever I like.
Hmm.
“Thank you,” I croak, as he did stop me from hitting the deck, despite laying his hands on me. I stumble back and drop my arm, which is aching now from being sliced into and held at an unnatural angle as I tried to hide it.
Corvus’s gaze lands on the gaping wound in my arm, and he freezes like a stunned rabbit.
We are quite the pair tonight.
“I see,” he says. “May I?”
He reaches out, holding his hand up slowly so as not to startle me.
“Why?” I whisper.Does he want to drink from me?
“I can help heal it,” he murmurs, his eyes narrowed in curiosity.
Well, I guess I’ve blown my cover. No regular vampire girl here. “How?” I murmur.
He raises his hand higher, and I nod once, giving him permission to touch me. It’s like my will is stripped away, but I don’t think he is compelling me this time. His chilly hand grasps my arm behind my elbow, and he raises it to his lips. He lets out a whimper that I can see by the mortified expression on his face, he didn’t mean to let escape.
Lowering his mouth to the cut, I gasp when his tongue flicks out, and he tastes my blood. But then he stops and lifts his head with a slow smile. “Doesn’t look like you need me after all,” he murmurs.
I glance down and see the cut is healing. Slowly knitting itself back together until my skin is whole with no scar in sight.
“Fuck,” I mutter.
“So definitely half vampire,” Corvus murmurs. “And your other half is… human, yes? You are a Vesperidae.”
It’s not a question, but a blunt statement. I don’t answer him. I was told that this should be a secret. I don’t know Corvus; I sure as shit don’t trust him. The big but is though, he is being gentle with me now, like a, what was it that Zephyr called me… a porcelain doll.
I take a deep breath, trying to steady myself. Corvus is still standing there, his intense blue eyes fixed on me. I’m acutely aware that I’m half-naked, but somehow, that seems less important than the fact that he now knows what I am.
“You can’t tell anyone,” I say, my voice low and urgent. “About... what I am. It’s supposed to be a secret.”
