I stopped at the edgeof the breakfast bar, my gaze wandering around the room. It wasimmaculate. Almost as if it had never been used. There were noplates or cups out to indicate a meal had been eaten in hererecently. No heap of mail sitting on the side. Nothing.
I tried to imagineSofia and Heather sitting at this bar having breakfast. Sittingopposite each other. Sofia with a coffee and Heather with a glassof her mixture.
My focus moved to theright, to the large archway that led into a small dining room. Themedium table with four chairs placed around it sat in the dark. HadAlexis and Dorian ever sat there and shared a meal together? Thethird seat occupied by Sofia and that fourth was to eventuallybecome Heather’s?
I rubbed at my eyes asthey became irritated by stray tears. Christ, what was wrong withme?
“Hello, my bonnylass.”
My heart stopped.Everything inside me seized up at the sound of the familiar femalevoice.
“This was my idea,the recorded message, and yet, I find myself speechless. I supposeI should start with the obvious.”
“Erm, Elle?” Nathancalled.
I turned toward thedining room, which was now a little less dark, highlighted by apale light coming in through another archway that sat to theright.
“The only way youare watching this is if I am dead and you have decided to stay inLondon, instead of going back to Ireland.”
“Elle?” Nathan calledagain.
I forced my feet tomove toward that melodic voice, toward that soft, cold light, notstopping until I stood before the TV in the living room.
“Isn’t that—?”
“My aunt,” I murmured,my gaze fixated to the screen. This was it. The beyond the gravemessage.
“The choice isyours, but all I can say is, I am sorry you’re on your own. Knowingthis day was coming so long before it arrived wasn’t easy, and I amsorry I have left you, my darling.”
Sofia had sorted thedeed to the house, which meant either Nathan was a super specialboy or Heather had seen this and gone off and got herselfkilled.
“What is this?” Nathanasked, the confusion in his voice loud and clear.
“Now, the charmingman who is hanging around is Brendan. You won’t kill him. At least,I hope you won’t.”
“Whose Brendan?”
“Must be theWerewolf.”
“I’m sorry you haveto meet each other like this. Waking up one morning and finding himin the house, but he saved your life, didn’t he? He’s a goodladdie, so please, I know how difficult it is for you to trust. Iam to blame for that, but Brendan is there to help, so try to beeasy on him. He is mainly there because of me and Carter, hisAlpha.”
“Alpha?”
I shushed him, needingto hear what Sofia was saying.
“You will belooking at the screen wondering why I have sent him and the answerto the question is the one he has probably already given you.Brendan is there to guard you. Well, to help you. I know you aremore than capable of looking after yourself, my dear, but— Thingsare about to change for the worst, pet. And they will strike whilethe iron is hot, while you are distracted.”
I squeezed the hilt ofmy blade. My focus transfixed on this younger version of the womanwho had had a hand in raising me. A mixture of confusion andanxiety battled in the pit of my stomach. Why send a stranger,Auntie S? If things are getting worse, why didn’t you tell me, sendfor me?
“I know you aregrieving, my darling, but you must focus. You are more important tothem than you realize, Heather. For years, they have watched youcarefully; you became a threat only once we completed yourtraining. Maybe it is my fault entirely. Maybe I shouldn’t havetrained you. Maybe I ...”
I had never seen myaunt like this. Sofia never questioned her choices. Especially whenit came to Heather and what was best for her, when it came to ourfamily’s duty.
“Elle, what t’hell isthis?”
“Please shutup,” I snapped, not daring to pull my focus from the screen.
“I had to do what Iknew was best for you, my dear. And, because of my choice, youbecame a subject of great interest to them. Your survival has beena great interest to them. You are rare, Heather. Strong. Unique.And, because of that, some will want to change you. Some willsimply want you dead. And others ... the others will want to useyou.”
Use her. How wouldVampires use Heather? Change her and wanting her dead, Iunderstood. She was an Infected, after all. She was a VampireSlayer, and all Vampires wanted our family dead. Simple. ButHeather was unique as she was a born Infected, which was why theVampires followed her to Ireland, why they left when she did.
“Elle, seriously, thisis freaking me out. What t’hell is she going on about?”
“Heather is different,special. I told you that.”
“Yeah, but this … thisis crazy.”
“Heather is the onlyone of her kind. She’s unique.” I turned to him. The cold light ofthe television screen seemed to reach out to him in the darkness;his skin looked translucent. His eyes were dark and wide, his browfurrowed in confusion. The tips of his small fangs pressed againsthis pale lips. “As are you.”
His eyes locked withmine.
He was different,unique. The Vampires had kidnapped him and his friend and used themto experiment on. Was that what Sofia meant? Were the Vampiresplanning on using Heather in similar ways? If they wereexperimenting on random humans … What would it mean to experimenton her, the only born Infected they knew of?
Did Sofia know aboutNathan? Did she know he would be back and that he would be aVampire?
A tiny pop of hopetickled my insides as my focus turned back to the screen.
If she knew … well,maybe she had figured out a way to let Nathan in? Maybe Heather wasokay?
“I can’t tell youany more than that. I want to. God, how I want to tell you, but ifyou know, you might change everything, Heather, and you can’t. No.I mean you must not. It is vital that you do not change the pathbefore you. I have told you, many times,
