Anathema (Causal Enchantment #1)(44)

I thought back to that night, tucked into the alcove with Caden … those deep pools that were his eyes, pulling me in. I remembered, alright.

“I know; it’s hard not to like me,” Amelie said, throwing her arm around my shoulder. “I’m extremely charming.”

“And so modest,” Fiona murmured, dipping her hand into the water to splash Amelie. Smiling, she put her hand on my arm. “Don’t worry. We’ll keep you safe. Nothing will happen to you.” Her smile suddenly faded as her eyes dropped to my pendant.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, a second before I noticed the constant burning against my chest begin to fade. I looked down in time to see the fire in my pendant blink out, leaving the heart its original dull black.

Fiona quickly slid away from me, pulling her hand back as if I’d just admitted that I had a communicable disease. Amelie’s arm dropped from my shoulder as well, but it was to grasp my hand tightly in hers.

“Let go of her,” a voice shouted behind us. I turned to see Caden rush in, Rachel on his heels.

“It might work,” Amelie murmured.

She’s trying to come back with me, I realized.

“That’s not the issue, Amelie,” Caden yelled.

“I won’t hurt her,” she snapped.

“You have no way of knowing that.”

I didn’t hear the rest of the argument.

13. Bribery

The first thing I saw was the clock on the bedside table. Two in the afternoon. The second thing was Max’s giant snout, welcoming me with a rub against my cheek.

Amelie.

I rolled over to find the other side of my bed was empty. It hadn’t worked. I exhaled slowly, feeling a twinge of disappointment. If only it could be that easy.

“What happened last night?”

I yelped in surprise at the sound of Sofie’s voice, and bolted upright. She was standing at the end of my bed, along with Viggo and Mortimer.

“You’re a jumpy girl, aren’t you?” Mortimer observed, smirking.

“Do you blame her, with everything that’s happened to her?” Viggo retorted.

“What happened last night?” Sofie repeated, ignoring them.

“Nothing.”

“Did you learn anything new?” she continued.

“Yes … they’re all vampires,” I sneered, hoping that being unpleasant would give me some level of satisfaction. It didn’t.

Viggo smiled warmly. “You’re still angry with Sofie. We understand.” He walked over to sit on the edge of my bed, reaching for my hand.

Max growled.

“Okay, okay, I understand, Max. You’re worried about her.” He smiled soothingly at the dog and placed his hands in his lap. “Tell us about your night. And why are you wearing those dreadful rags?”

I eyed him suspiciously. Is Caden right? Am I a naïve fool, falling for the act of a psychopath in disguise?

Glancing down, I saw the dark clothes Caden had given me to protect me from the army of vampires ready to tear me apart. “All the humans are gone. Extinct. Killed by vampires over seven hundred years ago,” I said flatly. “Apparently they have more bad vampires than good.”

“What?” Viggo’s brow furrowed. “Tell us everything.”

When I finished recapping the war on Ratheus, Mortimer and Sofie’s expressions were beyond grim. Only Viggo smiled. “Well, this is good news!” he exclaimed.

My brow furrowed. “How is this good news?”

“They’ll be more than willing to help you get out of there! What does this world look like?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t see much of it. They’re hiding me in this mountain cave with this amazing oasis that you can swim in, except they don’t have bathing suits because they don’t have anything. No electricity, no books, no nice clothes—”

Mortimer interrupted my rambling. “So they’re all seven hundred years old?”

I nodded. “At least. And there’s a council of vampires who dictate everything. They’re thousands of years old. They’ll kill me if they get hold of me, according to Caden.”

“Oh, this Caden is smart. It’s best you stay away from them. We don’t want one of them coming back here.”

Is Caden smart enough to see through your mask, Viggo?

“What’s wrong, Viggo, feeling threatened by someone older than you?” Sofie said, smiling haughtily.

He responded with a tight–lipped smile of his own.

Leo entered silently then, carrying a steaming cup of coffee for me. I wanted to throw my arms around the sweet old butler.

“Did the necklace tell you anything?”

I shook my head, my eyes darting briefly to Sofie as I took a sip from the mug, remembering her warning.

“That’s too bad,” Viggo said.

“What does she need to do?” Mortimer demanded of Sofie.

She thought for a moment. “Not sure. This makes things a little more complicated. She may only be able to bring one back, so how can she choose …”

“I don’t care if the rest of them rot alone there, as long as one comes back.” Mortimer’s teeth were clenched in anger.

“Mortimer!” Viggo chastised. “A little compassion!”