Page 24

Or… could she?

It’s obvious Zia isn’t a human or vampire. There’s her scent, for one. I definitely know it from somewhere, but I can’t quite place it. The reflectiveness in her eyes, that’s not a characteristic of either species and since she’s not a cat, she has to be something else. Then you throw in the fact that she immediately knew what I was and how to feed me, the bare minimum basics of my kind, and that could mean…

No.

No, it isn’t possible, is it? That Zia is working for Davina and that’s why she kidnapped me? And why she was trying to force-feed me fresh blood?

I shake my head with a frown.

The look on Zia’s face, there was a level of genuineness there that can’t be faked. She isn’t working for that she-devil, and she’s not a vampire, so it wouldn’t benefit Zia to help Davina out anyway. Not to mention, I have no idea what purpose kidnapping me would serve for Davina. Exiling me here was as far as she was willing to barter for, and she made that clear. The bitch screamed it at me while she implanted that thing.

All of which confirms nothing but the fact that Zia is some crazed fan of The Word Nerd, and she took me because of it.

Leaving me with far more questions than answers.

With a groan, I roll to my side and push myself up to somewhat sitting, my entire body aching with hunger.

I’m not sure coconut water is going to cut it, but I’m stuck here and probably will be for a while. Since I won’t have a choice, I’m going to have to ask Zia to get me some unless she wants me to do one of two things I won’t be very proud of. Because dying of starvation isn’t really the way I’d like to go out, and feeding from whatever the hell Zia is until I drain her dry—while most likely trying to fuck her—isn’t a good idea.

Probably.

Who knows at this point?

I shrug to myself as I swing my feet over the edge of the bed, lifting my hands to my face to rub my eyes before pushing my fingers through my disheveled hair.

Which is the exact moment I realize I’m no longer cuffed and shackled to the bed.

I bring my hands back in front of me, turning them over to look at my palms before noticing the slowly healing marks around my wrists. I rub them gingerly, knowing damn well they should have healed by now but haven’t because I haven’t eaten in god knows how long.

My stomach growls again and just when I go to stand, a voice from behind me makes me jump sky high.

“I’m surprised your stomach didn’t wake you up sooner.”

I go ass over elbow right off the edge of the mattress as I turn to face Zia, no fucking clue how I didn’t know she was laying in bed with me until she spoke.

Scrambling backward, I try to get my bearings again, blinking rapidly as I take a deep breath. “Where the hell did you come from?”

Zia smiles wide in the low light of the room, her full lips curled up at the corners while her dark eyes sparkle. “I’ve been here the whole time.”

“Okay…” I watch her stretch her arms above her head, then sit up and scoot forward until she’s sitting where I was a moment ago. “You’ve been lying next to me for…”

“A while,” Zia says with a tilt of her head. “Ever since you rejected the dinner I brought you.”

For some reason, that makes me flinch, but I ignore it as I get to my feet. “I wasn’t rejecting her, Zia. I just… I’m, well, Silas calls me a vegan.”

“A vegan?”

I nod.

“What does that mean?”

“I…” I’ve never had to explain this before. Silas knows why I can’t feed the way we’re supposed to, it’s why he brings me the blood bags I never drink because Davina’s device won’t detect the processed shit and I still get nervous, but I’ve never had to break it down for anyone. Mainly because no one fucking knows. “I don’t drink blood.”

Zia blinks at me before she bursts into laughter, but when I don’t join her, her perfectly shaped eyebrows shoot up to her hairline. “You’re serious?”

I nod again as I cautiously walk over and sit with ample space between us. I’m lightheaded still, but I’m not going to pass out. “Very.”

“I thought that was how vampires survived.”