Page 18

I think I’ve had quite enough of this entire thing—I’ll be going now.

I swing my legs over and plant my feet on the ground, and go to stand. As soon as I take a couple steps, I’m jerked back toward the bed.

Which is the moment I realize I’m not only handcuffed, but I’m also shackled to the headboard.

If this isn’t some awful and morbid déjà vu…

Attempting to keep a level head, I take a deep breath and try to think.

Unfortunately, I’m irritated as hell and starting to panic, so that’s not going to work.

And it’s why I start yelling while I tug on my chain.

“Hello! Hey! Is anyone there? Roger!” Not that he could do anything if he heard me, but not knowing if he’s okay is only adding to my stress. “Hey!” I yank on the cuffs so hard they dig into my wrists. “Goddamnit, where are you, you psycho?”

With another hard pull, there’s a crack, and I turn around to see the middle of the headboard splintering.

Yes.

I back up toward the mattress and take another breath before I run away from it, ignoring the way my shoulders scream over the position of my arms as the chain splits a little more of the wooden slab.

Repeating my previous action, I gear up to take a flying leap, but just when I’m about to launch myself across the room, the door opens and a stream of light splits the darkness.

“You’re finally awake,” the girl beams.

I stop dead in my tracks as that sweet voice floats through the void, trying desperately to make out the smallish figure standing in front of me. She’s backlit though, and even my acute night vision can’t see the face it belongs to.

“How long have you been up? I didn’t hear you call out until now. I hope I didn’t keep you waiting.”

Frowning, I watch as the small shadow moves deeper into the room, nothing but a glimmer of something shining from where I imagine her eyes must be.

Which means this woman is the one who was trying to break into the studio because that strange reflective thing they’re doing is exactly what I saw when I was leaving.

“You kept me waiting, though. A lot longer than I thought you would,” she says as she stays just out of the dark where I could see her clearer. “I waited for you to wake up, waited for you to leave work.” She pauses and her eyes twinkle as I catch a flash of white. “And I waited for you to use one of my words.”

“Zia?” The realization is instant, one I think I knew deep down because it was obvious this was coming. “You’re Zia?”

Her eyes practically glow and I feel her excitement vibrating off her. “Oh, the way you say my name, it’s better than I imagined it would be. Say it again.” Uhm… no? Because this is getting weirder than it already was. Which is why I simply shake my head at her. “Please, say it again.”

A lamp clicks on and I squint, my light sensitivity more intense than most of my kind, so much so I have to wear tinted glasses. But they’re gone, probably lost in the…

“Oh, here,” Zia says as she quickly comes toward me in a blur of color and movement. “At first I thought you were just a really hot nerdy guy, but once I realized you were a vampire, well, the tinted glasses made sense.”

She grabs the front of my shirt and yanks me down toward her before cramming my glasses on my face—thankfully without poking me in the eye.

“Thanks,” I say slowly while I blink repeatedly, trying to adjust my vision. Then what she said sinks in, and my stare snaps to hers. “Wait, what did you just say?”

“That you’re a really hot nerdy guy?”

“No. No, the thing about…” Wow.

Holy shit, Zia is pretty.

Her eyes are dark, dark like I fantasized they’d be, but they have that silvery reflective quality, giving them an unusual sparkle. It’s captivating, really, the way that almost silver light dances across the darkest brown I’ve ever seen. And with those full lips and a rather adorable button nose, her jet black hair falling in loose waves to her shoulders… she’s more than pretty—Zia is beautiful.

While I’m glad I wasn’t kidnapped by a bridge troll, finding myself attracted to Zia is dangerous.

And probably misplaced.