My eyes found the water bottle and the bagged sandwich that he’d left on the far side of the room. I swallowed uneasily, pain biting at my shoulder and side.
“I don’t like rye bread, if that’s what you’ve brought me,” I grumbled as the manacles fell free.
Elias stared at me, clearly dumbfounded. He shook his head and pulled me roughly to my feet.
“You have got to be the stupidest human I have ever met,” he said under his breath as he dragged me toward the door.
There was nothing but darkness beyond the door, and he shoved me into a nearby room before I had time to even think about escaping.
“Two minutes,” he said before a door closed in front of me.
I quickly groped around for a light switch. Turning it on, I looked around the small bathroom.
There was nothing inside the cabinets. There wasn’t even any soap. There was nothing but a roll of toilet paper sitting on the counter.
What had I been expecting? Him to leave me a stake inside the tub?
There was no water, not even inside the toilet. Not a single drop came out of the sink or bathtub faucets when I twisted the knobs in desperation.
I did my business and then examined myself in the mirror, instantly regretting the decision to look at my appearance.
I was alarmingly pale. My pupils were dilated, and my hair was tangled and stiff with blood. My shoulder wound was worse than I had imagined, and I knew I needed antibiotics to help prevent infection. My wrists were an angry, raw red. I raised my tank top and looked at my side; it was already turning a deep purple.
“Time’s up,” Elias said, opening the door.
Maybe it was the sight of myself so battered. Maybe Gabriel’s vampiric nature had rubbed off on me. Or maybe I had finally reached my breaking point and was starting to taste the waters of insanity.
I threw myself at Elias, punching him in the face. The bone in my right middle finger cracked on the impact, and if my punch had hurt Elias, I could not tell.
He threw me against the wall. I fell against the floor, stunned, the breath knocked from me.
He dragged me back to the wooden room. I couldn’t draw in enough air to scream.
He closed the manacles around my wrists and went to where he had left the water and food. He brought them to me, confusing me, until he dropped both the water bottle and the sandwich just inches from my reach.
He left, turning the light off and leaving me in darkness once more.
After my breathing became normal, I crawled toward the items essential for my survival. I stretched as much as I could, but to no avail. I crumpled on the floor, defeated.
***
I didn’t try to hurt Elias again. I was too weak and in too much pain.
Eventually, the bathroom trips were no longer needed. I didn’t know how much time had passed, but I knew it had to have been at least two days since I’d first woken.
I needed water; I was beyond thirsty. My mouth was a desert, and my head was pounding like crazy. I was dizzy and could hardly stay awake. Muscle cramps made my arms and legs lock up in pain. My heart flip-flopped between skipping beats and racing at an unimaginable pace.
Longing to escape from the agony, I allowed myself to fall asleep whenever possible. My dreams were broken and strange, many times only whirls of color that couldn’t take shape.
Once when I awoke, I was not surprised to see the light on and Elias sitting on the far side of the room next to the door. He had the audacity to look bored, but I couldn’t seem to summon any anger.
I sat up and leaned back against the wall, my movements very slow. Worry trickled through me; sitting up should not have drained me of so much energy.
A few minutes went by before he spoke. “Feeling well?” he asked, his voice mocking.
My throat and mouth were ridiculously dry, but I managed to reply, “Just peachy. Thank you for your concern.”
He shook his head. “I do not understand you. Instead of begging me, you goad me. You worry not for yourself, but for Thomas and Inola. Is it pride, or are you simple-minded? Don’t you want to live?”
I figured honesty wouldn’t hurt me at this point. These were my final hours. Why not be truthful?
“I lost my parents when I was a senior in high school. It fell on me to take care of someone who could hardly remember my name. Then I was attacked and kidnapped by the one who would grow to love me more than anything, and the most screwed up part is I came to love him as well. That isn’t conflicting at all. Now enter you and your misplaced revenge. Does any of that sound like a girl who’s going to get a happily ever after? I’m involved with vampires. It doesn’t matter if Gabriel loves me. It doesn’t matter that we are Eternals. I know now that whenever a human crosses paths with a vampire, it ends in blood.”
Elias looked at me strangely. “You are . . . insightful for a human. More than I gave you credit for, anyway.”
I shrugged, agony piercing my skin. I winced, hissing. Talking was becoming difficult, and my voice was hoarse and cracked. “I’m not insightful. Insightful people don’t fall in love with vampires.”
He was quiet for a few minutes. I began to drift into blissful unconsciousness, but his voice jolted me awake, surprising me that he was still bothering to converse with me.
“Perhaps you say that only because you do not want to understand all of the reasons why you are in love with Gabriel.”
I sighed. “In all honesty, I suppose I don’t know all the reasons.”
“You do. You just do not want to admit the whole truth to yourself.”
I closed my eyes again,
