In one smooth motion, he tore the gold chain that held my nightwalker curse at bay off my neck and then shoved me into the room with Veronique.
The door slammed behind me.
I clamped my hand over my throat and felt for the chain that wasn’t there anymore.
Gideon had taken it from me. No, he hadn’t just taken it. He’d ripped it off. He’d broken it.
Oh, shit.
According to what Veronique had told me yesterday, even if I got it back, it wouldn’t work for me anymore. And I no longer had the promise of the witch’s grimoire to break my nightwalker curse.
Veronique’s eyes were filled with worry. “Sarah, my dear. Are you all right?”
For a moment I felt completely fine, figuratively speaking, of course. But after I took in my next deep breath, I realized I didn’t need it anymore. I pressed my hand against the wall as my heart came to a slow, commanding stop.
“I’m not so good, actually,” I admitted.
I quickly moved toward her to inspect her bindings. It was a set of silver handcuffs that locked her in place. Her left wrist was already red and raw from the contact with the metal, which was also attached to the shelving unit. Vampires and silver didn’t go together very well. While we might have the strength to break the metal, especially a master vampire like Veronique, silver was dangerous to us. If she pulled against the cuff, she ran the risk of severing her hand. Even the slightest contact with it hurt like hell.
I felt that pain as I tugged on the cuffs and pulled my hand away to shake it out. “I don’t know how to get you loose.”
She sighed. “I wish you could have felt comfortable enough to tell me the truth about you and my husband. I feel that it’s something I had the right to know about.”
Frustration rose up inside me. “Why do you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Always have to call him your husband?”
She looked confused. “Because that’s what he is. What difference does it make right now what I call him?”
“It’s just…” I exhaled shakily, thinking about the fact that she’d never recognized that her
“husband” was the Red Devil. “Whenever you say that you just remind me that he can never be mine and it hurts. A lot. I guess we’re having a camel-and-straw situation here, and I’m close to having a broken back.”
“It’s only a word.”
“No, it’s more than that. It’s… it’s a title. A brand. He’s ‘your husband.’ ” I even made air quotes. “You won’t sign the annulment because he’s yours and that’s all there is to it.”
“I don’t think this is the time or place to discuss this.”
“You’re absolutely right.”
She studied me for a long moment. “Do you hate me for not signing the papers?”
I raised my gaze to hers. “I wish I did sometimes, but I don’t. Having this nightwalker curse has taught me a lot. It’s taught me to value the times when I do have control over my life. And obviously now that my chain is gone those times are about to come to a stuttering end in the next few minutes.” I fought against the sting of tears. But I couldn’t lose it right now—I had to stay calm. “I don’t know what to do.”
Her expression turned fiercer. “You will do what I have always done and what I continue to do. You will survive. You will do whatever it takes to see another sunrise.”
“Nightwalkers don’t get to see sunrises.”
Her expression fell. “Oh, my dear—”
“And stop calling me dear.” A dark wave of violence swelled inside me.
Uh oh. That was not a good sign. I had to remain calm. I didn’t want to go Dark Sarah on
Veronique. Like I said, I didn’t hate her. I didn’t want to hurt her. And she was currently in a very precarious position—trapped in a room with a potential monster thirsty for the blood of a master vampire.
Her blood would be so sweet and rich, my nightwalker commented excitedly. Filled with power… running down my throat… delicious and nutritious… yum!
Thoughts like that were sooo not going to be very helpful at all at the moment.
“Did I ever tell you the story of how I met my true love, Marcellus?” Veronique asked.
That was the vamp Thierry told me was the original Red Devil before he became the man behind the mask. “Do you really think this is the best moment for a random stroll down memory lane?”
“I think this story is relevant to this particular situation, so if you will permit me to continue.”
I glanced back at the locked door. I couldn’t hear anything beyond it even if I strained my vampire ears. I figured Gideon was waiting patiently outside while I chowed down. I was still in shock from losing my gold chain. How would I ever be normal again? I hadn’t realized just how much I counted on getting that grimoire until it was no longer an option.
Geez, forget the grimoire, would you? my nightwalker said. You never wanted to break the curse in the first place. It’s too much fun being me.
I would not think about blood. And I would not notice the slow but steady pulse at
Veronique’s throat.
Admitting you had a problem was part of the solution, right? It was. I had a problem and I didn’t think hearing Veronique yap wistfully about her dead lover was going to help very much.
“Before I met Marcellus,” she began when I didn’t say anything to stop her, “I lived a privileged, but boring life with my mother and father and many servants in France. I was thought to be a great beauty and my hand was sought after by many.”
Here we go. “Sounds pretty good to me.”
“My parents had arranged for me to marry a wealthy man but he was very old and ugly. I told them I wanted to marry for love, but people didn’t marry for love until relatively recently. They married for much more practical reasons such as fortune or title. But then I met Marcellus.”
“Wasn’t he rich, too?” I asked. I wouldn’t look at her throat and the promise of master vampire blood beneath her skin. I wouldn’t.
“Oh, yes. He was very wealthy and handsome. I fell deeply in love with him at first sight and ran away with him. This wasn’t something proper young women did back then. I knew there would be no returning to my family, but that was all right. As long as I was with Marcellus I feared nothing.”
The flawless white length of her neck was becoming more distracting the longer she spoke, and she must have noticed my shifting attention because she cleared her throat.
“Sorry,” I said. “I… I’m having a hard time concentrating. Any way you can get to the point so we can deal with the problem at hand?”
“You truly have no control over your nightwalker?”
I guess we’ll find out soon enough, won’t we? my nightwalker snarled inside me.