Apparently, being turned by my Eternal who happened to already be a member made me qualify.
I eyed the few dresses I had bought on the shopping trip with Inola months ago, the only clothes I hadn’t bothered bringing home. I knew not knowing what to wear would have made me laugh before, but now?
Now I truly understood how Gabriel had felt for most of his life. No wonder he’d nearly killed himself. Why live when you just didn’t care?
I grabbed a knee-length, purple dress with black flowers from the hanger and slipped it on. I completed the look with gray leggings and black ballet flats.
“I’m ready,” I said, stepping out of the closet.
Inola was examining her flawless makeup. She had on a one-strap dress the color of blood, and it flowed to the floor like a waterfall. I wasn’t familiar with designer clothing, but it looked ridiculously expensive. Her long black hair was threaded with pearls.
The color of her gorgeous dress made me swallow hard, and the motion made my dry throat scream in protest.
Inola turned to me. Her eyes went wide, and I didn’t blame her. Compared to her, I looked like a teenager going on her first date. Inola looked like a queen.
“Um . . .” I could see her searching for the right words. “Perhaps I have a dress in my closet you would like better than that.”
I held my hands up. “Does it really matter? I’m already dressed.”
She tapped her fingers against her glossed lips. “I suppose not, but can you at least brush your hair?”
I sighed and went to the vanity. The mirror was encrusted with rubies. I ignored the color as best as I could and sat down, extending the brush to her.
She rolled her eyes, but smiled. “Spoiled child,” she whispered, her hands gentle as they combed through my curls. After a few minutes, she held my shoulders firmly. “Sit still. You are always fidgeting.”
I ignored the jab. “My mom used to brush my hair, even when I was a teenager. Both of us knew I was too old for her to be doing it, but it was our way of bonding, I guess. It was one of the few things we did together without arguing.”
Inola’s eyes softened in the mirror. “I suppose that would explain all the requests you made of me during your last stay here. I always wondered why you wanted me to brush your hair so often.”
My throat flared with pain. If I still wanted Inola to brush my hair tonight, perhaps my numbness was only an illusion. I wondered how long the dam would keep the panic at bay. My eyes were lifeless as they locked with hers.
“Would you like me to put some makeup on you?” she offered.
“I don’t care,” I answered honestly. Before my parents’ death, I’d worn makeup religiously. After the plane crash, I’d quickly gone from full face makeup to lip balm and the occasional application of waterproof mascara.
Inola put a little eyeliner and lip gloss on me. She kissed the top of my head.
“You look beautiful. Are you ready?” she asked.
I nodded. What choice did I have, anyway?
A knock sounded at the door.
“Come in,” Inola said.
Thomas came inside, kissing Inola on the cheek before looking at me. He was wearing a suit.
“You both look great,” he said.
“And you look ridiculous,” I replied. Thomas always dressed nice, but I’d never seen him in a suit.
I smelled Gabriel before I saw him. I tensed, glancing at his reflection in the mirror.
He wore a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, and the first few buttons at his throat were undone. Instead of his usual dark jeans, he wore black slacks. He still wore his usual black boots; I could smell mud and dried blood on them. He was underdressed like me, and I wondered if he had done it on purpose.
A wave of fire that had nothing to do with my thirst swept through me.
“Are you ready?” Gabriel asked.
I closed my eyes. It was the first time I’d heard his voice in days. I hadn’t expected his voice or his appearance to impact me so strongly.
But as soon as the fire cascaded through me, it faded, dissolved by the numbing wall.
I braced myself and opened my eyes, fixing him with my gaze in the mirror.
“Yes, I’m ready, but I don’t want you here.” My words were smooth and emotionless.
“Too bad,” he said, his tone almost mocking. He tilted his head toward the hallway. “After you, dearest heart.”
“Don’t call me that.” I tried to make the words sharp, but they came out dull.
I could almost feel the heat coming from his eyes. “You are still my heart regardless of how you feel about me right now. You cannot change that.”
I tried to give him my best sarcastic smile. Tried to argue with him that I could certainly try to make him hate me just as much as I hated him, but I found I was unable to muster the energy.
I sighed and looked away from Gabriel, but not before I saw his raised eyebrows. Inola gave Thomas a worried glance.
I obviously wasn’t the only one who had expected me to put up more of a fight.
I stood up and walked past Gabriel, holding my breath as I did so. I was scared if I got too close, I would do what every instinct in my body was screaming at me to do.
I wanted to bite him. I wanted his blood. I wanted to kiss him.
I didn’t need them to show me the way. There was no one else inside the hallways. I listened as I walked, hearing dozens of slow-pounding heartbeats. They were already in the basement.
I wished I
