“Pretty sure I saw her mist her way into her room.”
“Please, no Dracula jokes.”
“I gotta get them out while I can. We might not see each other again.” It was quiet, but there was a small stutter in that last sentence. She sounded like she was actually gonna miss me.
“This isn’t goodbye. It’s a see you later.”
“Well, it better be. Who am I going to verbally abuse if you’re not around?”
“Aren’t you prepping Daggett to be my replacement?”
“Would you shut up about him?” Priscilla said and then kicked me in the shin. She had the vaguest smile on her face. “Come have a drink with me when you guys are done talking.”
“Won’t you be in Daggett’s room?”
She groaned. “I’m warning you, Cora Rash.”
I involuntarily laughed. “How did it take you this long to call me that?”
“Impending doom sharpens my wit, what can I say?”
“Maybe I should hold a blowtorch to your face the next time conversations get dull.”
“Ugh, hold it to my face regardless. Put me out of my misery.”
I scoffed. “Don’t say that too loud. Molly might take you up on that.”
“Please, whatever you do, don’t give her the satisfaction of killing me. Throw me in front of a bus if you have to.”
I chuckled. I was going to miss this. I was going to miss her.
Priscilla walked away, and despite knowing she was only downstairs pouring herself a drink, I felt like we weren’t going to see each other again.
I knocked on Melanie’s door, and immediately she called for me to come in. She stood by the window, cautiously pulling back the curtains and peeking through the glass. She was on guard.
“Sense anything?” I asked.
“Not yet. It’s crazy that we’re sitting here like this.”
“It’s only until the rest of the group leave. Max doesn’t want to abandon them. Just in case.”
“Do you really think that’s a good idea? Making your friends leave like that?”
I threw out my arms and shrugged. “To be honest, I don’t know. I do know they’re more likely to die if they stay.”
Melanie shut her eyes and nodded. “Fair enough.”
I sat down on the edge of the bed as she remained by the window. “How are you feeling?”
“Better. The blood really helped give me back a bit of strength. Your cuts are barely bothering me now.”
I glanced down at my bandages and frowned. I’m not sure how, but the wounds had nearly slipped my mind. “I’m glad at least one problem is solved,” I said. “That was really courageous of Dana to do that for you.”
Melanie’s voice went soft. “I know. She’s actually been helping me a lot. We may have only spoken a few times, but they’re good chats. She understands.”
“Better than me, no doubt.”
“She gets it differently, is all.”
“So, she likes you.”
Melanie shrugged. “I guess so.”
I was implying that Dana’s admiration was a bit more than platonic, but Melanie didn’t get it. I loved my cousin, but she could be dense like that.
“Where is everyone now? Have they left yet?” Her hands clutched onto the curtains, while her eyes stared into the darkness outside the window.
“We’re waiting for the taxi. They should be gone within the hour.”
Melanie nodded and then said, “When it does show up, I want you and Max to go with them.”
This floored me. “You’re kidding.”
“No.” She closed the curtains and faced me. “I can’t let you two throw your life away to protect me. I’m dead, you’re not.”
“Protecting someone I love isn’t my idea of throwing my life away. It’s what I want to do. You really think I’d be able to have a normal life knowing you were somewhere out there in danger?”
“Or I could give him what he wants. You and Max will be safe, and my fate won’t be up in the air. You can live your life.”
“Don’t do that. Don’t act like you dying would somehow make any of our lives easier or better. I already know what it’s like to lose you. Remember? I felt that torturous pain and deep regret, and I’m not doing it again.”
“I’m not trying to hurt you,” she said innocently.
“I know you’re not. Which makes it worse.”
“You have to admit that I might not be wrong.”
“No, you are completely wrong. You sacrificing your life and giving a momentous amount of power to this…Master guy? It’s the worst imaginable ending to this story.”
“Us all dying is the worst ending imaginable.”
I took a deep breath inward. “It’s too late, Melanie. I’m in this. Max said…Molly is after me, all right? She has a vendetta against me for what I did to her brother, and she wants me dead. You might be the shiny prize they’re all looking for, but I’m the bonus. Even if you hand yourself over, she’ll still be after me. Your way will only make sure we both end up dead.”
The expression on her face and the way her shoulders slumped let me know my words had deflated her. There was no argument left to be made on her end.
I climbed off the bed and headed toward her. “You and I are both wanted women, but at least we’ll have each other. We can do this. Together.”
There was belief and determination behind my words, none of which I even had to put on because I had to believe in them. It was how I was going to fight to stay alive and to keep her alive. But Melanie? She looked like every ounce of drive and hope had been drained from her crystal blue eyes. She stared at me like I was already a dead woman walking.
“You’ll see,” I told her. “Everything’s gonna be alright. We’ll make
