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I didn’t say much during the rest of the opera. James seemed happier, more relaxed, after getting that weight off his shoulders. Lucky him. When we got to the lobby at intermission, he had decided to pretend as if this was the age of chaperones and stolen kisses. He stood close to me, but not too close, and every so often he’d hold my hand when he thought no one was looking, and let it go again if someone noticed. As intermission ended, I half expected him to bring a chaperone back into the box with us, but he didn’t. He did, however, giggle and say he felt wicked being alone in the dark with me.
I really wanted to facepalm myself hard enough to punch a hole in my face.
He was always weird. That wasn’t new. But he was usually mature weird. This was putting him to bed with no dinner weird. And I was so sick of it, I wanted to jump off the balcony and be impaled on something sharp.
When the opera ended, he insisted on walking me home. He nodded his head to everyone who passed, his face never losing that giddy grin. When we finally rounded the corner to Sara’s hotel, Drake was standing next to a limo waiting out front for James, and my feet had gone bloody from walking in the heels I was wearing.
James took me to the door and everything giddy wiped away, as if it had never happened. He looked completely serious, the way he normally did. “Thank you for the lovely evening, Lisbeth.” He took my hand and kissed it. “I will expect your answer soon.” I nodded, and he turned around, walked stiff-backed to the limo as Drake opened the door for him, and got in. The limo drove away in silence.
Thank god.
I took off my heels and stepped into the hotel. The lobby was empty, no Sara to greet me as usual and no Knight to help put me back together. I sank down and leaned against the floor, the poufy skirt of my dress all around me. I sat there for a long time, mulling over everything that had led me to this moment. I didn’t want to cry about this. Crying meant I was stretched too thin. I felt more like I’d just been broken, and I was too destroyed to cry about it.
I’d been there for over an hour when Knight appeared. He handed me a glass of water and sat down in front of me. I wanted to ask where he’d been this whole time, but he wasn’t my servant. He could do whatever he wanted. Including leave, which he would when he found out I was stuck here forever.
“Sara,” he said quietly. “Sara said I couldn’t come out until now. She was quite adamant. She even made tacos to bribe me.” I smiled, but it faded quickly. “She also said he was going to do something that would, and I quote, ‘Break the camel’s back.’ So, spill.”
I took a sip of my water and stared at the perfect ice cubes. “He proposed.”
“Eww.”
“But he said I could say no.”
“Not as eww.”
“Saying no would mean relocating me to the edge of town, and having his child at some point.”
“Okay, eww again.”
“Also kicking you out.”
“His loss.”
“And...” I swallowed and set my glass down on the tile floor. “He said I can’t leave. Ever.”
Knight went silent and serious. A rare combo with him. “Lis.” I looked up at him and stared into his deep brown eyes. “If there was ever a time to break free from him, now is the time to do it.”
My eyes started stinging in defeat. “I don’t know how. I barely knew this type of control existed, I have no idea how to get free.”
“So you spent all your time walled up in that castle and you didn’t bother to learn anything about how your own kind work?” he snapped in irritation.
“It’s forbidden,” I said feebly. It was the excuse I’d been saying for a long time, over a lot of different things. He looked frustrated and scrubbed a hand down his face.
“Being informed shouldn’t be forbidden, Lis. You have to know how to combat what’s not allowed instead of just ignoring it.”
Then I remembered who’d told me about this type of mind control in the first place. “Hunters know. Olivier would know.”
He looked hopeful. Much more hopeful than I was. “Can you contact her?”
“I’m not sure,” I said. “It’d be dangerous, for me at least. Maybe Sara could help.”
“Already on it!” Sara shouted from the kitchen.
We made a plan and got to work.
I SLEPT WITH DREAMS of the French Revolution and woke up to Olivier sitting at the end of my bed wearing Hunter gear. She was eyeing Knight like he'd gotten dirt on her shoes. I gasped and sat up, looking around for Arthur.
“He's not here,” she said in a weary tone. “I'm alone. Which is good news for the dog. I think. I got your message.” Sara had left a message with Renard, who then got in touch with Olivier and told her we needed to meet with her.
“Why isn't-”
She put up a hand to interrupt me. “No. No time for questions. I have to be quick, though I wasted time just letting you sleep. Your weird human friend said I had to. Lisbeth, you can't stay in this town. We're so close to catching you, and if you stay still, we'll find you. You'll be executed.”
It pained me, but I had to tell her. “I can't.”
“What are you talking about? Did you not hear me say EXECUTED?”
I pulled my shirt aside to show the bite. Her face was worse than Sara's. She brought her hands to her mouth in utter horror and then worried her fingers around the bite like a mother trying to make a skinned knee feel better. Worse still, she hugged me so tightly I could feel my chest creak. When she pulled back she had tears in her eyes, and she touched the bite again with a mournful look. Then she breathed deeply to shake it off and took my shoulders.
“You have to fight back.”
“I don’t know how. That’s why we contacted you.”
She shook me a little. “Focus. You can break free. But...”
I gave her a questioning look. “But what?”
“It means breaking some rules. But you're already on the run, so what the hell. Let's go crazy.” She looked over at Knight on the floor, then back at me. “Are you drinking from him regularly? I can smell you on him.” I shrugged one shoulder, non-committal, almost ashamed. She leaned forward to whisper in my ear, “Was it gross?” I playfully shoved her away and thought I heard a noise coming from Knight's pillow. “Okay, business talk. Whether you drink from the dog, eww, or from a human, you need to be drinking several times per day. Four at the least.”
“Four? The side effects-”
She cut me off again. “I don't have much time, please don't interrupt me.” I was shocked at her manner, but it was warranted in this instance. “I know the side effects. I've lived the side effects. It has to be done. Unless you feel like being captured by us, or staying here to be this James’s lady friend until you die. Or both.”
“Not really.”
“Good girl.” She glanced at Knight again and reached out with one heavily buckled boot to lightly kick his leg. “You. Get up. I know you're not sleeping.” He rolled over and sat up, wide awake.
“She can drink from me,” he affirmed, without any prompting. He locked eyes with me. That would mean helping me in a way he had only done once, and that time had been an emergency. At least we were friends now.
“I didn't ask,” Olivier said back, even though she'd definitely not excluded his blood as a possibility a mere moment ago.
His eyes narrowed at her. “And I wasn't offering. I'm telling.”
Olivier's nails started to grow from where they sat on her shorts, scratching her dark brown legs slightly. With a measured sigh, she looked back at me. “I don't like your mutt.” This made Knight growl loudly and I was worried he might get a boot to the face. But, Olivier stood, her nails retracted, and she gave me another hug with a slight glance towards the bite. “Do what I said. I’ll do what I can to deter Arthur until you can break free. And when you do, keep running. Next time you see me, I hope you're not in trouble anymore.” She jumped into the windowsill, then she turned back and grinned. “Oh. I almost forgot. Your evasion methods are impeccable. If I wasn't the one hunting you, they'd be chasing their tails for a century.” Then she was gone.
“Nice friend,” Knight commented dryly.
“She's an acquired taste.”
“I have a feeling it takes a few centuries to acquire that particular taste.” He stood up, popped his shoulders, and ran a hand through his long locks. “Well. Let's get this party started. Though I'll need some breakfast afterward. Not because I need it to grow new blood, I'm just hungry enough to eat my blanket. And maybe yours too.”
I wanted to refuse his offer. I really did. I’d seen what the extra blood did to James, and it scared me. I didn't want to lose myself, but I was almost beyond caring. I was tired of being James’s puppet. And drinking from Knight was the only way to get away.
“I'm scared,” I told him. No use in hiding it. “You saw James. That's what happens when we drink more than once a day. We become like addicts. Except it's the power we crave. I'll become uncontrollable. And weird.”
“I won't let that happen.”
I stared at his face, saw the determination he was trying to convey to me, and wished that it was true. “It will happen. It doesn't matter how much you try.”
His eyes traveled around the room in thought and a muscle ticked in his jaw. “Okay. Then I'll monitor you. If I say you've had enough, then we stop. Agreed?” I nodded. As long as he could keep me in check, I could do this. He walked over to the bed and sat next to me, almost touching my arm. I could feel the warmth of his skin. The pulsing of his veins. His scent drifted to my nose and it again registered as slightly different. “Are you starting, or are we going to sit here while my stomach rumbles?”
I got off the bed and stood in front of his legs. The most comfortable position would be in his lap, as I'm sure he noticed before, so I grabbed his shoulders and straddled him. I bit into his neck quickly, before either of us could feel uncomfortable. His arms came up to cradle me, like he'd done the last time, so many weeks ago. And I felt...warm. It was a feeling I'd never felt while feeding. And considering my age, that was a long basis for comparison.
I drank for a long time. Normal feedings only took about two minutes. I stayed on Knight's neck until my stomach started hurting from being so full, and my stomach can hold a lot of blood. He never pulled away. As soon as my teeth retracted, he slumped his head against my shoulder and brought his arms closer around me to hold me in place.
“Sorry,” he said softly. “Just need something to lean against.”
I smiled and resisted the urge to stroke his hair. “I’ve held you often enough. Now we’re even.”
A knock at the door made us both jump.
