A Shade of Doubt (A Shade of Vampire #12)(15)

At least the submarine offered some level of comfort in this situation. There were showers there too—basic amenities that I suspected we would begin to cherish in the days to come.

I shuddered as I realized we might not be any closer to escaping in a week than we were now. We had no communication device. Unless we found someone else on this island, we would be just as stuck here in a week’s time. No closer to escaping.

We had to try not to think about the future and just focus on surviving.

Annora finally stood up and walked over to Caleb, taking his hand in hers. She stood right in front of him, trying to meet his eye. “I’m human now. You don’t need to worry about blood. I can feed you mine.”

I rolled my eyes as Caleb scoffed. “You honestly think I would sink my fangs into you again?”

She took a step back, looking hurt as he brushed her away.

“Once night falls,” he said, “I’ll explore this island while the two of you remain in the submarine. I’ll scope out this place and figure out if it really is uninhabited or if there’s perhaps a town or village somewhere with boats.”

“In the meantime,” I said, noting how red Caleb’s eyes were becoming, “we should return to the cool of the sub.”

Nobody had any objections, not even Annora, so we walked back across the sand toward the sub. Before we climbed onto the roof, Caleb gripped hold of the front railing of the vessel, digging his heels into the sand and pulling the entire vessel with his bare hands until it was fully inland. He lowered himself through the hatch and reappeared moments later. He leapt back down into the water and, holding the vessel’s anchor, dug it into the sand. That would hopefully stop the submarine from getting swept away during the night.

Then he helped both Annora and me onto the roof, and we climbed back inside, sealing the hatch above us.

We headed to the control cabin where we all took a seat. Annora attempted to sit on Caleb’s lap, but he caught her by the waist and sat her down in her own seat. I heaved a sigh, rolling my eyes again. I wanted nothing more at that moment than to have time alone with Caleb. To hold him in my arms, feel his lips against my skin. But it wasn’t to be. Annoying Annora remained with us the whole time. Not many words were exchanged as we sat watching the waves becoming darker and darker.

Eventually Caleb deemed it dark enough for him to leave on his excursion.

I would have given anything to go with Caleb, to have some quality time with him, but I didn’t want to slow him down. It was better he went alone. Besides, if I went, Annora would want to go as well. She wouldn’t want me to ever be alone with Caleb.

It was with a despondent heart that I watched Caleb climb up the stairs toward the exit. Before he left, he looked down at me seriously. “Lock your door when you go to sleep.” As an afterthought, he addressed Annora. “You too.”

I nodded, watching him disappear and close the hatch behind him.

Annora and I stared at each other.

I had no reason to be out here now, so I left her and walked back to my cabin, locking myself inside.

As I flopped down on the bed, Annora’s footsteps approached my door. To my surprise, they stopped outside.

“Good night,” she called.

When I didn’t respond, her footsteps continued along the corridor toward her own cabin.

I wasn’t sure why she’d bothered to say that at the time, as I drifted off to sleep. But when I woke up a few hours later, coughing and spluttering as thick smoke choked my lungs and stung my eyes, I realized.

She was planning to make this a good night for herself. The night she got rid of me.

Chapter 9: Rose

A deafening explosion pierced my eardrums. I rolled out of bed, landing on all fours. I scrambled toward the door, reaching for the handle and pulling it open. A blast of heat scorched my face, stinging my eyes. A wall of flames engulfed the entire corridor to my left and had almost reached my door. I hurled myself out, flattening myself against the floor.

The flames were blocking the route to the exit. There was no way I would make it through there alive. The only direction I could head was right, toward the control room. Although I felt close to suffocating—my head faint—I forced my body forward with all the speed I could muster. I gripped the handle and pushed the door open before closing it behind me.

It felt like there was more oxygen in this room. The door to this room was thicker. I was able to stand. I looked around the room for any plan of the submarine, hoping I could find an emergency exit. I hadn’t noticed one since I boarded. I cursed myself for not making myself aware of all the emergency exits as soon as I boarded. I was unable to find any plan of the vessel and the temperature in the control cabin was rising by the second. It wouldn’t be long now until the flames began licking the door.

I stared at the large glass window and gasped. I had expected to see the moonlit beach. All I saw was a wall of dark water. The anchor had loosened—or been loosened—allowing the tide to claim the vessel.

I began scrambling around for a heavy object. I found a box of tools beneath one of the seats and pulled out a screwdriver. I didn’t know if I would survive the sudden rush of tons of water spilling into this room, mixing with glass. It might cut me to shreds. But it was either this or certain death by burning alive.

I found a pair of goggles in one of the drawers. Donning them, I didn’t hesitate a moment longer. Wielding the tool, I smashed it against the center of the screen.