Page 82 of The Vampire's Seduction

After Andrea returned her tablet, they said their goodbyes. Olivia checked with Tristan that the balcony from last night was empty before returning to work there.

She tried not to check the clock or her phone as she worked, but her eyes betrayed her. A sense of sickening dread hung over her, entangling her in its shadowy embrace as time passed, and still no news from Marek.

Stop being stupid. It’s not like he left on good terms or said he’ll call.

She’d made her opinion about his visit to Denver perfectly clear. He was out there killing people. Olivia rubbed the goosebumps on her arms. Yet, no matter how hard she clung to her horror, her concern for him won. At that moment, she didn’t care how many people died if Marek returned to her safe and sound.

Lost in thought, Olivia flipped the page. In a distant fog, her brain registered the drawing of two people standing face to face, a stream of light blue lines connecting them. Her insides stilled.

Hope reignited within her, the first good feeling she’d had for hours. She refocused on the task at hand and jotted down the title in quick strokes.

Tap. Tap. Tap of her stylus against the tablet while the translation processed.

The screen refreshed.

“Life transference: a spell to channel one’s life to another.”

This is it!Olivia’s lips stretched into a giddy smile, everything else forgotten. “Yes!” She hugged the book like a mother who’d found her missing toddler. “Yes! Finally!”

She texted Marek.I found it! I found the spell!Then Andrea.

Andrea responded immediately with three thumbs-up emojis.Awesome! I told you it was there!

For several seconds, Olivia twirled around with the grimoire to her chest, humming a silly tune to herself.

Betsy, almost there. You’ll be awake soon.

Once the euphoria abated, Olivia checked her phone again. She’d texted Marek in the heat of the moment. He’d wish to know. After all, he’d done most of the work going through the grimoire.

No response.

He’s probably in the middle of something.Shit. What if her text exposed him? She had an image of Marek hiding from patrolling guards and his phone beeping.

She giggled nervously.It’s not a movie. Marek’s smarter than that. He won’t bring his phone.Vampires were telepaths. They didn’t need a phone to communicate.

Olivia paced around the balcony and cafeteria a few times before she was able to settle down and focus on translating the spell. It was the longest one so far, spanning four pages. Similar to the spell diluting the mating bond, it started with a few paragraphs on the background, moved on to the instructions for casting, with the ingredient lists at the end. Based on the scribbles on the margin of the page, her ancestors also had a lot of comments.

When she looked up again after finishing the background section, it was almost four a.m. She stood up, stretched, and checked her phone.

No updates from Marek.

An elephant-sized stone of dread squatted in the pit of her stomach, so heavy and real it might show up in an X-ray. Her skin flushed painfully hot, her lungs squeezed for air for a second before the sensations vanished.

He’ll be fine. He’s a vampire.

If only she believed her own reassurances.

Chapter Eighteen

Pain.Somuchpain,to the point where she forgot if anything else ever existed. It dominated her world, her very essence. Her body was on fire. Unbearable heat charring her skin to ash. Olivia writhed, her limbs tangled in the sheets. Acid tunneled through her veins, leaving behind rivers of agony. Her back arched, her mouth opening in a silent scream while her insides melted.

Stop. Someone please make it stop.

She couldn’t take this anymore.Please. Please. Kill me. Make it stop.

Thud.

Bang.