An End of Night (A Shade of Vampire #16)(51)

I waited in line for my turn, and then lay down on Corrine’s kitchen table, which she had turned into a treatment bed. She applied a cold compress to my chest and shoulders that stung momentarily.

“Nothing serious,” she said.

After five minutes, she allowed me to sit up. I looked down at my skin. It was tinged slightly pink, but otherwise it was pretty close to its usual color.

“Thank you,” I said.

“Caleb, how about you?” she asked. “You don’t need any help?”

“I will be all right,” he said. “The injuries I sustained have mostly healed themselves already.”

“All right. The two of you should go and get some rest,” she said, even as she yawned.

Caleb and I left the Sanctuary and began making our way through the forest. As we neared the Residences, we came across my parents standing with Vivienne and Xavier in the middle of the path.

I ran up and flung my arms around my aunt.

“Rose!” she said, hugging me back tightly. I felt the bump in her stomach.

Then I hugged my uncle.

“Your parents have just been telling us about your adventures,” Vivienne said, smiling.

Adventures. Huh. That’s one way to put it.

“Let’s return to our apartment,” my mother said, “where we can all sit comfortably and catch up.”

Although I was exhausted, and my body wanted nothing more than to fall into bed and sleep, I was too curious to find out what had been happening around the island since we had been gone. So Caleb and I joined them in returning to my parents’ penthouse. We all gathered in the living room, taking seats on the sofa.

We spent the next three hours recounting everything from our visit to the Blood Keep to our battle with the black witches. Once we had told all there was to tell, my father asked, “How have things been around here?”

“Suspiciously peaceful,” Xavier said. “There is nothing much to report at all.”

“What about the dragons?” I asked, still anxious about our newly arrived residents.

“They’ve kept to themselves mostly,” Vivienne said. “At least, none of them have come to see us. But I’ve heard through the grapevine—from Becky, that is—that they have all chosen girls now… except for the prince.”

“Huh?” I jolted in my seat. “Theon still hasn’t chosen a girl?”

Vivienne shook her head. “Nope.”

“But… the main purpose of their stay was to find a partner for him, to continue their royal lineage. The other dragons’ finding mates was supposed to be secondary.”

Vivienne shrugged. “I’m not sure why he hasn’t hooked up with anyone. Becky didn’t seem to know either.”

I wondered what this meant for us. If the prince saw nobody fit for him here, would they all leave?

“Don’t worry about it now, honey,” my mother said, squeezing my knee. “We’ll find out what the situation is soon enough.”

We talked for about an hour more, by which point I was no longer able to keep my eyelids open. They began to droop without me even realizing it. Caleb scooped me up in his strong arms and moved toward the door.

“Excuse us,” he said.

“Good night,” my family called after us as we left the apartment.

More like good morning, I thought groggily, before falling asleep in Caleb’s arms.

Chapter 35: Rose

I woke to the sound of Caleb’s light breathing next to me. I opened my eyes slowly, turning to face him on the pillow. He was still fast asleep.

Trying not to wake him, I gently lifted his right arm from over my waist and placed it down on the bed. Then I slid out from beneath the sheets and headed straight to the bathroom. I washed my face and brushed my teeth, then took a shower and washed my hair. It was shocking how much gunk had managed to stick in it. The pool of water forming on the shower floor was a murky brown.

After I’d finished in the shower, I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around me before heading back into the bedroom to get dressed. I was about to open my closet when the digital alarm clock on the windowsill caught my attention.

11.34 AM.

But it wasn’t those blinking figures that made me stop. It was the date beneath them. I dropped my towel and picked up the clock, looking at it more closely in case I’d misread it.

I hadn’t.

Wow. I’d completely lost track of time.

In just one day, it would be my birthday. My and Ben’s birthday.

I had not been aware of the date for a while now, since so many things had happened one after the other. I just could not believe an entire year had gone by since Ben and I had plotted our escape to Hawaii.

“Nice view…” Caleb spoke huskily from the bed.

He’d woken up. Propping up his head with one hand, he was leaning on his elbow as his brown eyes roamed me.

I smirked, motioning to pick up my towel from the floor, but he grabbed me before I had the chance.

Trailing his hands from beneath my shoulders down to the base of my spine, he gathered me to him. His legs entwined with mine as he ran his nose down the bridge of mine before tasting my lips.

“What are you looking so surprised about, beautiful?” he asked in a whisper.

“I didn’t realize how much time has passed… It’s my birthday tomorrow.”