Page 91 of Bite The Terror That Feeds

I jerked awake and gasped, my eyes wide open. I sat up and looked at a dark bedroom with mahogany furniture. I wasn’t in my tree house. I was somewhere far away, in the vampire territory of Grayson. Despite understanding my reality, I continued to breathe hard, continued to see his goddamn face.

Cobra placed his steady hand on my arm. “Just a dream.”

Not only was the vision still in my mind, but so was the feeling. The feeling of betrayal. The feeling of heartbreak. Sheer stupidity. He’d made a fool out of me, and everyone judged me for it, including my own father. I threw off the sheets and got out of bed.

“What are you doing?”

“I need some fresh air.” I grabbed my clothes and quickly put them on.

“Clara—”

“Just give me some space, alright?” I flung the door open and stormed out, memorizing the hallways from when he’d marched me here in the first place. I made it to the main entryway of the palace, the guards stationed at every door. They looked at me but did nothing, which told me Cobra was right behind me.

I stepped out of the palace to the stairs, and finally, moonlight hit my face. The air was cool and a reprieve against my hot skin. It combated the warm tears that sat behind my eyes, ready to unleash.

Cobra stood beside me, but he kept several feet between us.

“You think this is some ploy so I can run away?”

His deep voice came from beside me. “No.”

“Then why are you here? Go back to bed.”

He continued to stand there, looking at the torches in the distance. “The moon is bright tonight. You can probably see the ocean.”

I ignored him.

“I can show it to you, if you want.”

I gave a nod.

“Follow me.” He headed back into the palace, but instead of taking me back into his bedchambers, he took me into Kingsnake’s room. When I saw it was empty, I realized he really wasn’t in Grayson—and neither was his pet. Cobra opened the door to the balcony, which had a spectacular view of the ocean down below.

I could see it clearly because the moonlight reflected off the body of water. I could hear it too, hear the waves crash against the shore.

Cobra grabbed a chair and placed it behind me. “Take a seat.”

I sat down.

A blanket was draped over my shoulders a moment later.

I tightened the blanket around me and got comfortable, the dream becoming more distant the longer I remained awake. The feelings of anguish began to fade. The pain dimmed from a throb to a wince.

He pulled up a chair beside me and took a seat. He was in his trousers without a shirt, barefoot too. Didn’t have time to get fully dressed and keep up with me at the same time. “Do you have a view of the ocean at home?”

“You can’t see it from our city.”

“I’m used to living in stone. I’m used to my own echo. But that view…it’s really something.”

“Yeah…”

We sat in silence for a long time, and slowly, the tendrils of the nightmare finally left my mind. I’d had to live through that horror once, and that was enough. These dreams were barbaric. They still came to me, as if I needed a reminder of my stupidity. I reflected on what had happened after I woke up, and then I realized something horrible. “You called me Clara.”

He was quiet.

“How long have you known?”

“From the start.”