He placed me down again once we reached the bottom of the mountain. Feeling more confident on this flat surface, I didn’t reach for his arm again as we walked toward the entrance of the woods.
“So,” I said. “I take it that you don’t have a girlfriend?”
No duh, Captain Obvious. Unless she doesn’t mind taking a bedtime beating alongside him every night when the witch comes to visit.
“You’d be correct in assuming that.”
Change the subject.
“So how did you know about me?”
He glanced down at me, an eyebrow raised.
“You seemed to know who I was the moment I mentioned my name back on the beach.”
He ran a hand through his hair and clenched his jaw. “Most vampires have heard of you,” he muttered. “You’re princess of The Shade. That place is a legend.”
“Have you ever visited The Shade?”
He shook his head.
“It’s beautiful. Much nicer than this bleak place. Why don’t you come live with us there instead? We could leave now. I’d make sure that my parents welcomed you and—”
Exhaling sharply, he broke away from me and ran to a nearby tree. Ripping off a thick branch, he snapped it in two over his knee. Then he rested his arm against the tree, his back still turned to me, his whole body heaving.
“Caleb?” I whispered.
He turned back round to face me, composing himself again and standing up straight, his face once again unreadable.
“We should return.”
Chapter 26: Rose
Annora.
I need to understand what’s going on between her and Caleb. I don’t know how or why, but I’m certain that she’s what’s preventing Caleb from helping me escape this island.
I lay awake in bed late that night once again, expecting to hear the commotion start upstairs as soon as midnight struck. But there was nothing. I waited until one o’clock, and when I still heard nothing, I climbed out of bed, pulled on my coat and slippers, and crept out of the door.
What does this mean? She’s visited him every single evening ever since I got here. Why not tonight?
I crept up to Caleb’s floor and stood outside his apartment. Placing my ear to the door, I tried to catch any indication that the witch could be in there.
But the whole castle was deathly silent.
Instead of returning to my room, I took the staircase leading up to the witch’s apartment. As I reached the red-carpeted landing, I was taken aback to see that her front door was open. Looking around me, my breathing quickening, I peeked inside. The entrance hall appeared empty, so I stepped in. I walked around the room, running a hand along the dusty wooden furniture as I looked around.
Finding nothing of interest, I moved into the adjoining room. Again empty.
This appeared to be a dining room. Shelves lined the walls, mostly containing books with a strange language scrawled down their spines.
Glass clinked. Dropping to the floor, I crawled toward the door at the opposite end of the room. It was ajar, light emanating through, along with a chilly draft.
Barely daring to breathe, I peeked through the crack. I was expecting to see the witch. Instead, sitting on the carpet in the center of the room was Caleb.
The window was wide open, an icy breeze blowing through the room. He had a glass of blood by his side and an old oak chest open in front of him on the floor. He was sifting through it slowly, lifting out a few random objects—a white pearl necklace, a gold ring, and what appeared to be a dried-up bouquet of flowers.
He placed them all down in front of him on the carpet. His eyes were distant as he gazed down at them, as though lost in thought.
He picked up the ring again and rolled it between his thumb and forefinger. As if it had just burnt him, he dashed it against the floor and, picking up his glass of blood, hurled it against the mirror. It shattered, blood dripping down the mirror onto the wooden cabinet beneath it.
I sneezed.
The chilly breeze had gotten to me. I swore beneath my breath.
When he turned toward me, I slid away from the door and climbed under the table.
The door creaked open, and his feet paced along the edge of the table. He sniffed the air.
Oh, no.
He can smell my blood.
I scrambled further back, careful to keep beneath the tablecloth.
His footsteps approached closer and closer until I could crawl back no further. I held my breath as his feet stopped just inches away from where I was curled up.
His hand reached down and pulled up the tablecloth.
His face didn’t appear, but the game was over because my legs were now visible.
He drew in a deep breath. Then he reached down once again, this time gripping my arm as he yanked me out from under the table and pulled me to my feet.
“What are you doing here?” he growled, his dark brown eyes narrowing on me.
I averted my eyes to the floor. He gripped me harder and shook me.
“Answer me!”
“I-I saw the witch crying the other day. And I just—”
He slammed my back against a wooden cabinet.
“It’s none of your business what goes on here. Do you hear me?” he shouted, pressing me so hard against the wood that it was a struggle to breathe.
When I didn’t answer, he released me, though his glare didn’t let up.
Trembling, I ran back through the rooms until I reached the exit. I didn’t look back as I hurried back down to my apartment.
Tears formed in my eyes as I swung my door open and rushed out onto my balcony. I stood staring out at the starry sky, trying to calm my nerves.
I stood there for far too long in the cold. But as I closed my eyes, the fresh air felt like it was transporting me somewhere else. Somewhere other than this godforsaken place.
After about half an hour, the front doors to the castle creaked open. I looked down and watched as a lone figure stepped out onto the icy entrance steps and sat down. Breathing heavily. Head in his hands.
Chapter 27: Rose
I didn’t see Caleb again for the next few days. Even if I hadn’t come down with the flu and been forced to stay in bed, I would have still avoided him as he avoided me.
I guessed that the flu had been brought on by standing too long on the balcony. I had a headache and didn’t feel like eating anything.
When I showed no signs of getting better after the fifth day in bed, I began to worry. It wasn’t like there were any doctors on call here. Normally when we got sick, Corrine took care of us. I was too shaken by our last encounter to want to approach Caleb for anything.
So I lay in bed, getting up to stoke the fire every once in a while, and wearing the coat wrapped tightly around me beneath the blanket.
By the seventh day, Caleb must have suspected that something was wrong. Frieda entered my room and walked over to my bed. One look at me, and she hurried back out.
Do I really look that awful?
She returned half an hour later with Caleb. His face appeared hazy as I looked up at him. His cold hand touched my forehead. I experienced some relief the moment his skin touched me. His hand was better than any cold towel.
“She has a fever,” he muttered to Frieda. “A very high fever. Stay in this room until I get back. Make sure the fireplace remains hot. This room still feels too cold. Also make sure all the windows are shut tightly.”
He walked out of the room and Frieda went about her duties.
I must have drifted off by the time he returned. But I was woken by his cool palm on my forehead once again.
“Sit up,” he said.
Frieda propped up cushions behind me and he reached around me as he pulled me into a sitting position. He sat down on the bed next to me and held a metal cup out in front of me.
“You need to drink this.”
I stared at it. A strange dark brown substance. Clasping it in my hands, I sniffed it.
“Ugh,” I gr
oaned, nauseated by its pungent smell.
“Drink.”
He pushed the cup against my lips, and, supporting the back of my head with his hand, tipped some of the liquid into my mouth.
It burnt the inside of my mouth as soon as it entered, and singed my throat as I swallowed it.
“Ah!” I cried out. “No. No any more. Please don’t make me—”
But he was already gripping the back of my head and tipping more of the liquid through my lips.
I choked and complained again, but he ignored all my protests, forcing me to continue drinking until I had downed the very last drop.
“Give her some water now,” he said to Frieda.
She handed me a glass of water. I drank it down in a few gulps. Still the foul taste lingered on my tongue. I slid back down beneath the covers and glared up at Caleb.
“What the hell was that?“
“A potion,” he said.
“The witch made it?”
He shook his head.
“The witch isn’t here right now.”
Hm. That would explain a lot.
“Then who?”
“I made it.”
I stared up at him. Dancer. Musician. Potion-maker. The more time I spent with this man, the less I felt I knew about him.
“So can you do spells too?”
He shook his head again. “I’ve just spent enough time around witches to have picked up a trick or two.”
He forced me to drink that foul liquid three times a day. He personally made sure that I swallowed every last drop. As revolting as it was, I couldn’t deny that each time I drank it, I felt better. By the third evening, my appetite had returned to normal and I was able to walk around again.
He sat in the chair in the corner of my room, watching me stretch my legs.
“Rose,” he said, breaking the silence after Frieda had left us. “I apologize if I hurt you the other night.”
My hands reached instinctively for my shoulders as I recalled the incident. He had not so much hurt me as shaken me.
I nodded.
“All right.”
He stood up and headed toward the door. Before opening it, he turned around to me.
“You need to understand that there are things that I cannot and will not talk about with you. There are many things about me, the witch, and this place that you cannot know. So you need to stop pressing me for answers. But you have my word that I will do what I can to get you out of here as soon as the next opportunity presents itself. I want you out from under my skin just as much as you want out of here. I can’t tell you when or how it will happen, but you have my word: I will be waiting and watching for that time.”
With that, he left and shut the door behind him.
Chapter 28: Rose
With Caleb’s assurance, it felt as though a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I still had no idea when or how I would escape, but somehow I trusted Caleb. Despite his mood swings and unpredictable nature, there was something in his eyes that was sincere.
I also couldn’t deny that all along he had shown no signs of wanting to keep me trapped here. Indeed, he had left me behind on the beach when he could have easily taken me. Even though I didn’t understand why he couldn’t help me escape now, he had gone out of his way to try to save both Ben and I. He’d risked his life and those of his men in ambushing Stellan and trying to save us. I was quite certain that he would have returned us immediately to The Shade.
The witch deserved my resentment. But not Caleb. The man seemed to be bearing enough weight on his shoulders without my resentment.
No, he deserved more than that from me.
I had tried to pry but it had just earned me his ire. I just had to trust that he would help me to escape as soon as he could.
The following evening as I was getting out of the shower and drying my hair, the oak doors creaked open below my balcony. I wrapped the coat around me and looked down over the banister.
Caleb sat on the stone steps, staring out over the frozen dark island and the sea beyond.
I hurriedly got dressed, dried my hair as best as I could, and left the room. I rushed down the stairs until I hurried across the entrance hall.
“Caleb,” I said, placing a hand on his shoulder as I reached the snow-covered steps.
He didn’t flinch at my touch as I had expected him to. I sat down next to him in the snow.
“Thank you,” I said softly.
He stared at me, his expression hard to read, as though he wasn’t sure how he should be reacting to my expression of gratitude.
He cleared his throat. “I don’t know why you would thank me.”
I sighed, averting my eyes to the beautiful view surrounding us.
“You tried to save Ben and I from Stellan,” I said. “You’ve looked out for me ever since I got here. You just nursed me back to health. Look, I don’t know what this place is, Caleb. But it honestly feels like you’re the only light I have here. Guiding me. Making me believe that there’s still hope I might escape. Just thinking about what I’d do if you weren’t here…” I shuddered and turned to face him again. “Just thank you, okay? For being my light during this long, dark night.”
His eyes widened and his lips parted, as though he was going to say something. But then he glanced away from me and looked back out at the view.
I moved closer to him on the step and, lifting his arm up, placed it around my waist. He tensed up, but I didn’t move away. I rested my head against his shoulder, settling myself in closer against the contours of his body.
“A vampire has never felt warmer to me than you do right now,” I whispered.
Chapter 29: Caleb
For being my light during this long, dark night.
Her words replayed in my mind long after she had spoken them.
Me? Her light?
The words sounded so preposterous, at first I’d thought that she was joking. But when I’d looked down into those beautiful green eyes of hers, I’d seen earnestness behind them.
I hadn’t known what to do or say as she wrapped my arm around her small waist. And when her warm body pressed closer against me, my muscles tensed as her nearness overwhelmed my senses.
After she showed no signs of moving from her position, I felt concerned that my coldness was starting to drain the warmth from her.
“I don’t want you getting sick again,” I muttered.
I removed my arm from her waist and, taking both her hands in mine, pulled her to her feet.
Still holding her hand, I led her inside the hall. I reached into my pocket and locked the doors.
When I turned around, she reached her arms up around my neck, requesting that I carry her. I obliged, swallowing hard as I glanced down at her soft neck, mere inches from my mouth.
I placed her down outside her room and turned to leave, but she caught my hand and tugged on it.
“I never asked you to return me to my room,” she said, a shy smile lighting up her face. “It’s not my bedtime yet.”
My stomach writhed as she started running up the stairs toward my room, pulling me along behind her.
Once we reached my level, she ran along the corridor and pushed open my unlocked door. Still holding my hand, she pulled me through the hallway until we reached my bedroom.
She slipped off her coat, revealing an emerald-green dress that clung to her delicate curves. Still wearing her slippers, she walked over to the CD player in my lounge.
“Rose?”
She glanced back over her shoulder innocently, looking up at me through her long dark lashes.
“Yes?”
“What are you doing?”
She didn’t answer until she’d pushed a CD into the machine and turned up the volume. She walked over to me and, grabbing my hands once again, tugged at me to join her in the center of the living room.
“Being your light.” She smiled.
If only you knew how much you already are.
“Dance with me,” sh
e said, laughing. “Come on.”
I hesitated, staring down at her.
“You were never this shy before when I asked you to dance.” She wrapped her arms around my shoulders, drawing herself closer against me. I tensed again at her closeness.
“Come on, Mr Achilles,” she whispered, gazing up at me. “You know I’m hopeless without you.” She brushed her fingers through my hair.
Slowly, I allowed my hands to slide down her back and settle on her waist. I felt goosebumps as I touched her.
“Teach me,” she coaxed.
She began moving against me. I went slow at first, watching her as she moved her feet, making sure I wasn’t going too fast. But as the music picked up, I stopped being so concerned since she seemed to be coping with my speed just fine. I raised my eyes to her smiling face. That drew out a smile from my own lips.
“You make me look like I’ve been dancing all my life,” she laughed.
“I do?”
She nodded.
Then she pulled herself up toward me.
Her soft lips caressed my cheek.
My cold, pale cheek.
Chapter 30: Rose
I couldn’t keep the smile off of my face as Caleb led me into a dance. He was so gentle. So hesitant at first. I found it endearing.
I wasn’t sure what made me reach up and kiss his cheek. It was almost as if I wanted to reassure him, to set him free from whatever doubts were holding him back.
He didn’t deserve the life he’d been dealt with. Caleb was a good man. That much was clear to me by now. I wanted to warm him as he’d warmed me.
Once we’d finished dancing, I withdrew my arms from his shoulders. He stepped away from me, though his eyes were still fixed on me. I smiled at his seriousness.
Turning around, I scanned the rest of his apartment. I looked at the ripped wallpaper, the damaged furniture, the smashed mirrors. I walked up to the wall and ran my finger over a torn oil painting.
I turned back to face him, his eyes still following me. I cleared my throat, steeling myself for his response. “You don’t have to live like this, you know.”