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Serenity didn’t think she would be able to sleep. How strange to think, after all those nights at the mercy of her master, his cold body pressed against her, his revolting mouth attached to her throat, that she would somehow miss him now that he was gone. It wasn’t that she wanted to be back with him—not at all—but at least then she understood her existence to a certain degree. She’d known the point in her being there—to allow him to feed, to dig his resting place. Now she had no clue as to her purpose; the reason she was in this big house or who the people were with her? They must want something from her, or why else would they have brought her here?
She wished she knew what she provided them with.
The man—or whatever he was—had shown her kindness and affection. He smiled and laughed with the older woman, but Serenity recognized his cold touch, the way he moved, his pale skin. So much of him reminded her of her master; she couldn’t shake the idea that he’d want something from her eventually.
Despite her concerns, something about him drew her. When he was close, she restrained herself from reaching out and tracing her fingertips along the lines of his full lips, the square of his jaw. When he’d held her against him, she’d wanted to meld herself to his body, press herself against him and not let go. Somehow, she thought, when he held her, she could imagine not needing to remember her identity any more. In his arms, she could forget everything else entirely.
The intensity of his green eyes, how he looked at her, made her uncomfortable. It was as though he expected more from her than she knew how to be.
As though he were looking for someone else.
The girl, however, was different. The little girl looked at her with nothing but acceptance. Elizabeth seemed happy just to have her around. That the child with the dark ringlets and the wide, brown eyes meant no more to her than any other child, didn’t seem to affect how the little girl viewed her.
Serenity’s limbs slid against the smooth sheets, her head sank into the feather pillow. A sense of distrust surrounded her like a halo. She didn’t understand the reason she’d been offered such comfort. That these people said they knew her meant little. If they’d spent time with her before, it must have been for a reason. What had they taken from her back then?
She closed her eyes and tried to wipe all thoughts from her mind. Being brought here was a gift. She needed to stop questioning everything and put trust in the people now in her life. They’d shown her more care and affection than her master ever had. Perhaps questioning that luck would only be asking for it to end.
Her thoughts grew foggy, sleep blanketing her consciousness.
A flash of memory speared through her: her lying curled up on her side on a bed, crying so hard every part of her hurt. The man who’d brought her here filled her thoughts, encompassing her in such deep, unfulfilled longing, she wanted to reach inside herself and tear out her own heart. But it seemed her heart had shattered like glass and now every shard pierced her insides, causing her pain.
Sebastian.
Serenity’s eyes sprung open. A memory! A time from before. Yet the memory filled her with unease. Had he been the cause of so much pain?
The strong, compassionate man who’d carried her and the child through the night and had rid her of the horror of her master, conflicted with the recollection of such pain.
It didn’t matter, she decided. She had been someone else once upon a time. She’d not been born on this earth in the arms of her now dead master.
Elizabeth ran through the dark, her small legs pumping beneath her, her bare feet slapping on a cold, smooth floor. Someone was chasing her, but she didn’t know who. A small pinprick of light brightened up ahead, and it was to this she ran.
A man jumped out directly in her path. His long, dark hair swung down his back—almost as long as her mommy’s. She’d never seen a man with such long hair. His black eyes sparkled with a hint of ferocity and she recognized the pale glow to his skin.
“Boo!” he yelled, as though they were playing a game.
But no part of Elizabeth felt as though this were a game. She shrieked and spun on her heels, sprinting off in the opposite direction.
She ran away from the light now, back to the darkness.
“Daddy!” she called out, starting to cry. “Help me!”
Though her legs pumped beneath her, she felt as though she wasn’t getting anywhere. Running into the dark, she had no concept of anything moving past her. She might have just been running in place.
A cold hand reached out of the dark and touched her cheek. She screamed again and spun around, batting out into thin air. “Leave me alone,” she cried. “Just go away!”
From somewhere behind came the sound of laughter.
Elizabeth woke up screaming, and bolted upright in bed. Salty tears wet her cheeks. Her damp bedcovers clung to her skin. She caught her breath, her heart hammering wildly in her chest.
The bedroom door opened and her light flicked on. She blinked in the sudden illumination and lifted her hand to shield her eyes.
Bridget hurried to her side. The nanny sat on the edge of the bed and stroked her hair with a gentle but firm touch.
“It’s okay, Elizabeth. You just had a bad dream. Everything’s all right.”
Elizabeth shook her head. “No, I dreamed about a bad man chasing me.”
“Hush, this whole thing is over now, Elizabeth. We’ve got your mommy home safe and no one else is going to hurt you.”
“This was different,” she said. “It was a different man.”
“You being upset is only normal. You’ve been through so much. But I promise you, you had a nightmare. No one is trying to get you.” She gave Elizabeth a pretend scowl. “And they’d have to get through me first.”
Elizabeth sniffed but felt a bit better. “And Sebastian,” she said.
Bridget pulled the sheets up around her shoulders and she settled back into the big bed. “You know your daddy would never let anything happen to you.”
She wanted to agree with Bridget, but the memory of the dream lingered. Something bad had happened to her in the dream and she worried it wasn’t just a dream but one of those dreams.
But everything Bridget said was true. They had her mommy back now and the bad man was dead. Sebastian killed him; she’d been there when it happened. She had no reason to believe someone else would be after her.
“Will you put the blue blanket over me?” Elizabeth asked.
Bridget smiled down at her. “Of course.”
The blue blanket was Bridget’s specialty and always made her feel better after she’d had a nightmare.
“Ready?” Bridget asked and Elizabeth nodded. Bridget rubbed the palms of her hands together and bent her forehead to the tips of her fingers. She closed her eyes and muttered in low tones, words Elizabeth couldn’t make out.
After a few moments, she lifted her head and smiled down at Elizabeth, though her hands continued the rubbing motion, as though attempting to keep them warm.
“I’m creating a magical blue light in the palms of my hands,” she said. “Can you see the glow?”
Elizabeth nodded, and for the briefest of moments, she thought perhaps she did get a glimpse of the magical light.
Bridget held her hands above Elizabeth, hovering in the air a couple of inches above her body. She began to stroke the air above her, as if smoothing down something Elizabeth couldn’t see.
“I’m spreading out the blue light to cover every part of you,” she continued. “And I’m smoothing it down so there are no creases or wrinkles. The blanket is a perfect blue light.”
“You need to tuck it in,” Elizabeth reminded her.
“Ah, yes, of course.” She began to push Elizabeth’s real blankets in snug around her and then proceeded to tuck the magic blue blanket right over the top of her head.
“Done,” she said, sitting back as though to admire her work. “No bad dreams are getting past that beauty.”
Elizabeth smiled. “So if I put my hand up, will my fingers go right through the blanket?”
“Nope. The blue light bends with your hand so you’ll always be protected.”
Satisfied, Elizabeth snuggled back into her pillow. “Thanks, Bridget.”
Her nanny leaned over and kissed her forehead. “You’re welcome, angel. Now get some more sleep. Your mommy’s going to need you wide awake and fighting fit.”
Bridget backed out of the room and flicked the light switch, plunging the room back into a darkness that was the result of the perfect fitting blinds. Outside of the window, the rest of the city was already several hours into morning.
Elizabeth shut her eyes again. She tried to picture the magical blue light surrounding her, the one that was supposed to keep out bad thoughts, but all she could make out on the backs of her eyelids was the face of the man from her dreams. The man with the long dark hair and black-as-midnight eyes.
Who are you? She threw the question out with her mind, as though the atmosphere could conjure up the answer. Just leave us alone. Go away and leave us alone.