"No. No, no, no," I said, shaking my head and backing away from him. "We can't be soul mates because it is my duty in life to eradicate all vampires, or as many as I can. So, you see? We can't be soul mates. Either you have to kill me or I have to kill you. It's just the way things are."
"You can't tell me that you don't love me," he said.
Oh yes, I could tell him that, but it would be a lie. I opened my mouth to say as much when we were interrupted by an eerily calm voice.
"Good evening," Alana said. I could hear a slight smile in her voice. My back was turned to her so I couldn't see her face but I could imagine her hazel eyes were blazing with intensity.
Raidyn pulled me close and I tried to wiggle out of his grip. He didn't fight me and I whirled around to face her. She wore a strapless, silk, green gown that hugged her torso, accentuating her voluptuous body. It belled out slightly at her hips. Her long, auburn hair hung perfectly straight around her pallid shoulders. She had that wicked smile plastered on her lips.
"You shouldn't play with your food. It's not polite," she said.
"What do you want?" Raidyn growled.
"Blane wants to see you," she said. "Don't worry. I'll keep an eye on your little pet there." She laughed and the sound sent shivers down my spine.
Raidyn glared at Alana for a long moment before releasing me. He strode past her giving her a wide berth and disappeared behind the bushes.
"It's good to see you Persephany," Alana said once we were alone.
"Not really," I mumbled.
"You don't sound happy to see me."
"Is it that obvious?"
"I'm still the same person. I'm still your best friend," she said.
I shook my head. "No. You stopped being anything to me the moment your heart stopped beating."
She sighed. "You know, it's a shame I can't turn you. We could be like sisters."
"So why don't you?" I asked, an idea forming in my head.
She shrugged. "Because Blane wants you for himself."
I took a deep breath and couldn't believe the words that came out of my mouth next. "Since you can't turn me, how about a taste? Nobody ever has to know about it." I kept my voice as steady as I could.
I saw her eyes widen at my suggestion. I knew she wanted too and badly. The question was: would she?
She took a step forward and another and another until she was standing only a few inches away. I brushed my hair back and pulled it over one shoulder, baring my neck to her. Raidyn hadn't bound my powers and I was thankful he didn't. I would only get one shot at this.
"Come on," I urged. "Just. One. Taste."
She wrapped her arms around me, pulling me close. She bared her fangs and leaned down. She inhaled deeply before sinking her fangs deep into my throat. I'm not going to lie. It hurt like a mother fucker. She wasn't trying to make this easy.
The pain made it hard to concentrate. It made it hard to draw on my powers. I struggled against her but she only tightened her grip. I screamed, it hurt so much. I knew what I had to do.
I closed my eyes and fought against the pain. I drew on the magic that flowed through my veins. It wasn't the easiest thing to do but I did it. I imagined a silver knife forming in my hand. It had a solid black handle and was extremely sharp. I imagined it was real and suddenly it was. I felt the cool handle in my hand and squeezed. Now, when a vampire is sucking the life out of you and they're making it as painful as possible, it was kind of hard to move. I had to focus on moving my arm and only my arm. I would only get one shot at this.
I took a deep breath, tried not to scream, and swung my arm. I plunged the knife deep into her back, making sure I pierced her heart. She broke away from my neck and shrieked. She stumbled back, releasing me and fell to her knees. I collapsed to the ground and my hand automatically went up to the bite on my neck.
Alana's shrieks grew quieter and quieter until she was completely silent. She lay on the ground, face down, not moving, the knife sticking out of her back. I had to get out of here. It was only a matter of time before they came out to see what had just gone down.
I stood slowly. Once my vision stopped swimming, I ran. I felt woozy and still a little dizzy, but I ignored it and kept running past the hundreds of trees. I heard yelling behind me and it only made me push myself that much faster. Their voices were getting closer the faster I ran. I had no idea where I was so I had no idea where I was going. All I could do was keep running.
I was running one minute and the next I was being tackled to the ground.
"You think you could really escape me?" a hard voice growled in my ear. He grabbed a handful of my hair and pulled.
"AHH!" I screamed.
He pulled my hair again, baring my neck. There was a sharp sting and then more pain. He only took a little bit of blood but it was enough to make me feel lightheaded. I was going to die and there was nothing I could do and no one was around to stop it.
He pulled back suddenly and released me. "Take her back to her room. She'll be out cold until sunset tomorrow night. When she wakes up, you know what to do," he said to someone I couldn't see. The ground disappeared from underneath me and darkness consumed me once again.
