“Ditched your boyfriend again, huh?”
Roseline turns to find Nicolae lounging against the school bus. She crinkles her nose with disgust. “I am not in the mood right now. I told you to leave me alone.”
“Afraid that’s not gonna happen.” He pushes off from the bus and saunters forward. “Rumor has it that you left with Gabriel on that fateful snowy afternoon. Trouble is no one can account for your whereabouts after you two ditched school. I find that to be very interesting, don’t you?”
Anger boils in her belly at his unspoken accusations. “Give it a rest, Nicolae. Gabriel is alive so I obviously didn’t hurt him.”
His eyebrow arches. “About that…” He grins, picking a fleck of fluff from his cardigan. “It sure is a miracle how a guy like that could survive such a tragic accident. I hear even the doctors are perplexed. It does seem like there are some strange things happening around here.”
Roseline stomps up to him. “Have you been snooping around his hospital room?”
He tilts his head, offering an amused smirk. “Should I be? Is there something you’re trying to hide?”
She has had about all she can take of his smugness. Glancing around to make sure there aren’t any witnesses, Roseline grabs a fistful of Nicolae’s coat and slams him against the bus. His feet come off the ground, the back of his head pressing against the glass window. Fear flickers in his eye. “Leave. Gabriel. Alone,” she snarls.
With one final shove to rattle the windows of the bus, Roseline lets him drop and stalks away. He picks himself up and stumbles to his feet. “Is that a threat?” he calls.
Glancing back over her shoulder, Roseline drills him with her fierce gaze as she nods. The corner of his eye twitches in response but he says nothing. Nicolae is getting brave. That is not a good thing.
She swings up into the empty bus and storms to the back to wait for Sadie to arrive. Her clomping cowboy boots catch Roseline’s attention a few minutes later and she blows out a breath of relief. Sadie throws herself into the seat and eyes Roseline’s pale complexion.
“Still avoiding him?” Sadie chucks her backpack into the seat to block a cheerleader from sitting next to them. The girl turns with an exaggerated eye roll and heads back up the aisle.
Roseline blinks, confused by Sadie’s take of her mood, and then it hits her. Today is supposed to be Gabriel’s first day back. Maybe this is a good thing. It should be easy enough to duck out of sight once they get to the art museum. Fields trips can obviously have more than one positive aspect.
“I just don’t know what to say to him,” she admits with a genuine sigh. That certainly isn’t a lie. She has barely slept since the accident. Images of Gabriel using her blood to heal have haunted her dreams. “I kept meaning to go by the hospital to visit but I thought that might be awkward with his family and all.”
“Rumor has it Gabriel is officially back at school today but I haven’t seen him yet,” William says as he plops into the seat next to her. “Maybe this field trip will get your mind off things. Apparently, there is a whole section of Romanian art. Won’t that be neat?”
Sadie pops him in the arm. “It’s art, doofus. It’s boring.”
“No, I just meant that it’d be cool to see where Rose is from,” William amends, sneaking a glance at Roseline.
“Whatever,” Sadie mutters, pressing her nose against the window. “I’m just glad to be out of school.”
A little over an hour later, Roseline finds herself inching slowly behind Sadie in a long line at the art gallery. Try as she might, she can’t stop herself from comparing the lifeless paintings on the walls to Gabriel’s stunning charcoal drawings in his attic. It pains her to think that such amazing talent is kept from the world.
Mrs. Smithton’s voice drones on up ahead, informing her students about each artist. From the looks of her classmates, none of them care. Sadie moves on ahead, popping her bubble gum loudly as she goes. Roseline grimaces as her art teacher sends yet another withering glance in her friend’s direction.
A hand clasps around her forearm and yanks her backward. She barely has time to adjust to the motion before she slams into Gabriel’s broad chest. “What are you doing?”
“Just follow me.”
“Like I have any choice,” she grunts, struggling to keep up with his fast pace so he doesn’t rip her arm out of socket. As soon as Roseline spies his target, she grows nervous. A darkened back hallway is not where she wants to be while he chats with her.
How much does he remember about the accident? Will he confront her right here in front of the entire school? Okay, maybe not the whole school, but enough people to set the rumor lines on fire yet again.
“This is perfect,” he says, stopping in the middle of the dark hall. Only one door inhabits the hall at the far end—a nameplate announces the office for the president of the museum.
His brow pinches as he watches Roseline cradle her wrist. “Are you okay?”
“Sure,” she shrugs. She eyes him warily. He has gotten stronger since the game but she isn’t sure if it is of his own nature or the mingling of their blood. “You’ve got quite a grip.”
Gabriel winces, holding his hand aloft as he flexes his fingers. “Apparently.” He lowers his hand to his side. His eyes latch on to hers, pleading. “Do you know what is happening to me?”
She shakes her head. Waves of bronze hair spill over her shoulder, as messy and frazzled as her nerves. “No. I honestly don’t.”
“But you…you saved me. I saw you.”
She drops her gaze. Blood seeps from her face, retracted to her frantically pumping heart. Warmth drains from her body as a disturbing chill attacks her. He knows! “No one will believe you.”
“You think that’s what this is about?” he growls, anger coloring his voice. “I don’t care about exposing you, Rose. I just want to know what is happening to me.”
Her fingers clench into fists by her side. She shifts her weight to her other foot. Her first impulse is to run, to flee Gabriel and his questions, to embrace self-preservation. She is a warrior, taught to rely on her instincts, and right now there is an epic battle taking place in her mind that she’s sure she can lose.
Flee. Remain. Survive. Take a risk.
A finger pulls her chin up to look at Gabriel. His skin is pale and unnaturally drawn. “Please…”
Roseline shakes her head and clamps her eyes shut. She can’t. It is forbidden to tell a human about the existence of immortals. If she allows herself to be weak, both of their lives are forfeit, but he needs to know something. Anything. She can smell his fear.
“I felt you pull me out of my seat. You held me in your arms as the truck…” he gulps, dropping his head. “I saw the truck hit you.”
Roseline looks up at him. Tears swim in his eyes as he pulls her close. “When the doctors told me they didn’t find you I was sure I had lost you. Sure that they thought I was too fragile to accept your death, but after nearly a week in that place I began to realize that they weren’t lying to me. I could see it. I could feel it.”
She winces at the awe and frustration mingled in his voice. His gaze trails over her face. “You don’t have a scratch on you.”
“I heal quickly,” she whispers. The feeling of his fingers lightly tracing her cheek makes her weak in the knees.
“How? Why? Please, tell me something.”
A shadow passes the entrance to the hall. Roseline stiffens as two brilliant green eyes meet hers for the briefest of moments before moving on. Drat. Nicolae is watching. “We can’t talk about this here. It’s not safe.”
“What the heck does that mean?”
She leans in close, lowering her voice. “It means that I’m asking you to trust me. Give me some time to figure things out.”
“Can you? Figure things out, I mean.”
Roseline shrugs. “I honestly don’t know. Just please don’t get y
our hopes up. You’re…different.”
Chips of concrete flutter to the floor as Gabriel’s fist slams into the wall. His hand buries up to his wrists. Gabriel grunts as he yanks his hand free. No blood. No broken bones. “You see? This is what I’m talking about. It’s not normal. I’m not normal.”
“I know,” Roseline sighs.
“No, you don’t,” he cries, shoving his hands through his tousled hair. Concrete dust clings to his sandy strands. “You have no clue.”
Roseline’s chest puffs with indignation. “I’ve been around a heck of a lot longer than you have.”
“Fine. Then tell me what these are.” Gabriel wrenches back his sleeves and shoves his forearms into her face.
Instead of the recognition he hoped for, Roseline’s brow knits with confusion. “When did you get these tattoos?”
“I didn’t.” He grits his teeth. “I woke up with them.”
She leaps back, bracing against the wall. Her teeth gnash subconsciously. Gabriel flinches, shocked by her reaction. “What is it? Do you know these symbols?”
Unable to take her eyes from the markings, Roseline slowly nods. “It’s part of an ancient language, from before man existed.”
“Whoa, that’s deep,” Gabriel blows out a breath. “So what’s with this one?” He holds his arms close together, forming the cross.
Roseline blanches. “It’s not possible.”
Gabriel drops his sleeves. “Rose, tell me what you know.”
She shakes. A trembling begins in her feet and travels up her body. “I don’t know anything,” she insists, struggling to tear her eyes away from his arms.
“Rose…it’s me.”
Gulping hard, Roseline looks up into his troubled face. “I honestly don’t know anything. These markings are sacred. I’ve seen them before, but I can’t read them.”
“Then why are you so frightened?” he asks, ducking his head to meet her eyes.
“Because they are forbidden. There are some things that are not meant to be known. That marking is one of them.” She closes her eyes, fighting through her memory for a time when she saw this cross. It was in the Bran castle library. During her many years of study, she stumbled across a hidden panel in one of the walls. Inside was a torn page, aged and yellowed with time. Strange markings bordered the page. In the center was Gabriel’s cross.
She had never dared to look at it again. When Vladimir discovered her, the punishment was both swift and severe. It was the closest she had ever come to death. That day she learned that some things are better left alone and now it has been thrust back into her life again.
Terror weakens her as she leans back against the wall. What can this mean? How is Gabriel tied to that paper? And why? Is this the reason for his changes? Why his blood calls to her?
Gabriel gently pulls her close. She nestles into his chest, wrapping her arms around his back. Strength and love radiates from him and her trembling slowly abate. “Shh,” he soothes, rubbing his hand up and down her spine. “It’s okay. We just need to figure out what’s going on.”
She places her hand on his chest and leans back. “I promise we will try but I can’t promise answers.”
He nods, raising his hand to cup her cheek. “Can I ask something else?
Her throat closes up. What if he asks her a direct question about her past? Can she really risk answering him?
“Why aren’t you afraid of me?”
“I am,” she whispers, leaning up on her toes. “But not for the reason you think.”
“No?” Gabriel questions softly. He lowers his head to meet her halfway. “Why then?”
Roseline allows him to pull her close, molding his body around hers. “Because I need you too much.”
Gabriel’s throaty chuckle sends electric shockwaves down her spine. “Good.”
The instant his lips touch hers, Roseline’s legs go weak. She slumps against the wall, grateful for its solid embrace. His lips move smoothly over hers, his tongue flicking over her lower lip. A contented sigh escapes her lips as Gabriel’s fiery kisses trail her jaw line, drifting down to her throat. He pauses over her artery, grinning against the fluttering of her heart just under the thin veil of skin.
“You smell amazing,” he coos, nuzzling her neck. “Like cinnamon and vanilla.”
Roseline presses up into him as his hands splay across her back, dipping just under the edge of her sweater to touch her bare skin. Her leg curls around his hip as she lifts up on her tiptoes, fighting to get closer. Every touch feels like living fire on her skin, searing the hidden identity from her body, leaving only her essence laid bare for Gabriel to see.
A wolf whistle draws them back to reality. Her cheeks flame brightly as she notices the crowd that has formed at the hall entrance. Guys hoot and holler, cheering Gabriel on. Oliver stands in the back, grinding his teeth as Claire digs her manicured nails into his arm.
“I guess we just confirmed the rumors,” Gabriel chuckles deeply, setting Roseline back on her feet. She straightens her top and readjusts the hem of her plaid skirt. Her skin is flushed, leaking hormones at an alarming rate.
“Can we get out of here now?”
Gabriel nods, clearing his throat as he takes her hand in his and leads them through the gawking crowd. As they emerge, Gabriel leans in close. “Oh, there’s something else I wanted to say back there.”
From the corner of her eye, she notices a fuming Mrs. Smithton closing in on them.
“I love you,” he whispers in her ear.
Twenty-Seven