When I woke up, my head was pounding. Even worse than the headache was the burning itch coming from my neck. Realizing none of this was a dream, I blinked to focus on where I was. I saw that I was still on the rooftop. Our special place to escape from my crazy life—how ironic.
I tugged at my hands, which were bound to the brick wall high above my head. This was where the beautiful trellis had been. Austin had hidden my prison behind the gorgeous pink roses I loved. Next, I tried to move my feet, but they were chained to a metal ring clamped into the foot of the wall. I yanked and pulled, but nothing budged.
“Pulling on the chains will only make your skin more and more irritated,” the familiar voice called out from the doorway. Austin walked over.
“What are you doing?” I asked, trying to find the boy who had told me he loved me only a few days ago.
“I, my dear, am getting my revenge,” he said. He ran his fingernail down the side of my cheek, piercing it just enough to allow a bit of blood to drip down.
“Revenge for what my father did? The father I didn’t even know? What’s wrong with that picture?” I pulled at the chains again, trying to reach him. If I could get him locked in on my eyes, I could compel him to let me go.
“Naughty girl.” He ran his fingernail down the other cheek, piercing that one as well. “I know you can use compulsion. I watched Jelena give you that book, and I was looking for a chance to take it. Your stroll outside was the perfect opportunity. By the way, it was irresponsible of you to leave it on your nightstand. No, I won’t let you compel me. I’m going to have fun today. I’ll make you suffer the way Madeline suffered, and I don’t care if you have personal daddy issues. You’ll pay for what he did to her, and when I’m done with you, it’ll be your sister’s turn.”
I kicked my foot out as hard as I could, only to come up short and feel the shackle cut deep into my ankle. Wetness pooled in my shoe. The way this was going, I would end up committing suicide before he could torture me.
That’s when I heard footsteps climbing the stairs. Another person was here. When he stepped onto the roof, I recognized him immediately.
“Cas, help me!” I yelled. The younger boy who had become so close to Emily had wandered up the stairs. When he saw me, his face turned pale.
“I thought you said she was unconscious.” Cas’s attention lay directly on Austin, almost as if he was too scared to look at me. He placed a large box on the floor across the way and sat on the bench.
“No, not you too,” I said, squeezing my eyes shut. “Who else is in on this? Who else is stupid enough to risk helping you?” I stared out into the city. Was this how my life would end?
“Poor Tasi—she’s still trying to get used to the fact that the guy she thought loved her is not too fond of her after all.” The crazed look on Austin’s face was back. He walked over closer to me and licked the blood off the side of my cheek. “Tasty. I may have to drink you before I rip you into pieces . . . finger by finger . . . hair by hair.”
His shimmery black eyes grew hungry. He wet his lips and chuckled.
“You won’t get away with this,” I argued. My tongue got stuck in the dryness of my throat. “I’m going to kill you. I swear it, Austin, you will die.”
Austin’s laugh made my skin crawl.
“Cas, grab the scalpel. I want to show Tasi how much she means to me.” His thumb caressed my cheek.
“Gladly,” Cas said. “You know, Tasi, Austin said that if I help him with you, I’d have first dibs on your sister. I can’t seem to get the amazing smell of dhampyr blood out of my mind ever since we found you in the alley. I’m going to enjoy her.” He waggled his eyebrows, which boiled the blood inside me.
I jerked at the chains again, thrashing around as hard as I could. The pain in my wrists was excruciating, but the thought of these two hurting Emily made me push harder to get free.
Austin closed in on me, his lips touching my ear. The touch I once desired now made me feel dirty. The hairs on my neck stood on end.
“By the way, thanks for telling me you were leaving. I wasn’t planning on doing this until I made you fall in love with me, so when I finally ripped your heart out, you would know what it was like for me.”
I turned my head, and my teeth tore at his cheek, ripping flesh. He snapped back and punched me in my face. The impact made me gasp for air. Why did this keep happening to me? That’s when I noticed the warm liquid running down my chest. My head fell forward. Austin had used the scalpel to cut me along my collarbone, and his eyes told me what to expect next. It would be a matter of seconds before he pushed his mouth against my glistening red skin. He wanted to drink my blood, but I wouldn’t die without a fight.
Before I could do anything, Austin flew backward.
“Ethan!”
I shook off the dizzy feeling and looked up to see Cas and Lizzie also fighting. I pulled on my chains again—but nothing. Ethan and Austin grappled, baring teeth and repeatedly slamming each other into the wall.
“Tasi!” screamed Emily. She ran to me and pulled on the chains.
“They won’t budge,” I said as I yanked at them again.
“Pull with me, Tasi. We can do it. One, two, three!” The chains loosened from the wall. “One more time—one, two, three!” They snapped off, and pieces of metal flew everywhere.
I was free. I was also still a little woozy from the blood loss, but that meant little to me right this second. Kick ass now, pass out later.
“Go help Lizzie, Em. I’ll help Ethan.”
I couldn’t tell who was winning, Ethan or Austin. They both had multiple bruises forming on their faces, and Ethan had a cut on his cheek, probably from that damn scalpel. Austin grabbed Ethan and threw him against the wall next to where I now stood. Ethan fell to the floor.
Austin narrowed his eyes, trying hard to hide his surprise. Seeing me free from my shackles was definitely not in his plan. He went to backhand me, but I grabbed his arm and kneed him in the stomach. In one swift movement, I slammed him straight to the ground. My foot found his neck as I stood over him.
“Did I not tell you I was going to kill you?” I placed more pressure on his neck, but he grabbed my leg and twisted it, dropping me to the floor. He punched me in the mouth, and my head bounced off the cement. My eyes fluttered, and black spots invaded my sight. I blinked them away.
Ethan was now back up. He grabbed Austin, but Austin was too fast. He quickly snaked out of Ethan’s grip and pressed Ethan’s chest against the bricks, crushing him into the wall.
The scuffle that had been going on in the distance ended with a yelp. It distracted me for one moment to make sure Emily was okay.
“Tasi!” Emily yelled to me as I picked myself up off the ground. I watched as she pulled the stake from Cas’s ashen body and tossed it to me.
Knowing Emily was safe made it easier to concentrate solely on my own fight. I had to save Ethan. Austin’s back was to me—big mistake. Before Austin could stab, slice, or do anything else, I leaned into his ear and whispered, “Told you.” Shoving my stake as far into his back as I could, I watched as he let go of Ethan. I pushed harder, finally making it through to his heart. He dropped to his knees before turning into a pile of ash.
I fell to the ground as the adrenaline left my body, replaced by pain and dizziness. Emily would always be there for me, but if it were not for Lizzie and Ethan, I wouldn’t be alive right now. Emily would not be alive right now. These were the people I knew I could trust. They were my family.
Ethan scooped me into his arms. I leaned into his shoulder as he carried me down the stairs and into my room. None of us said much as the understanding of what we had done washed over us.
“I’m going to get a first aid kit,” Lizzie said.
“I’ll come.” Emily followed.
Ethan sat with me on the bed, still cradling me as my tears soaked into his shirt. When I finally could look at him, my hand reached up to the cut on his cheek. He flinched but held me steady. My eyes, still blurry with tears, watched him. Pushing the hair from my eyes, he leaned in and kissed my lips.
“Twice in two days, Tasi,” he said. “I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if something happened to you. Not after the way I left things last night.”
“Don’t take my hesitation last night as me not wanting you to come with me, Ethan. I hope you know that. If the decision were up to me, you would be with me always. I just . . . don’t want to get my hopes up and then have you ripped away from me.”
Lizzie and Emily came rushing back in. Lizzie pulled Ethan from me to clean up his cheek, and Emily sat beside me. “You’re going to be okay, Tasi.” She tilted my head to the side, getting a better look at the cut along my collarbone. “We don’t even need to stitch this up. I’ll just clean it. By tomorrow it should go away.” She continued inspecting my wounds. “Your cheeks are healing, and your nose is fine. Wrists and ankles are okay as well, but between your fight with the Deity and Austin, I think you could use a break.”
The corners of my mouth turned upward. “I can’t believe how much you remind me of Mom. The more mature you get, the more like her you are.” I reached around, squeezing her tight.
She squeezed me back.
“Sorry to break up the party,” Sonya said as she entered the room. Here we go—it was the scolding that I knew was eventually going to come. I wondered if, because we were related, she would ground me too. Instead, she surprised me by lifting my chin, examining me with her eyes. “Are you girls okay? I knew Ethan, Lizzie, and Emily could take care of the . . . issue. I think it’s best that we now leave immediately, so I finalized the arrangements.” She turned to Ethan. “I considered your request to come with us when we leave. Normally, I wouldn’t allow this, but I know you truly care about the Vasile girls. So, if you still want to come, I have cleared it.”
“Yes, I still want to go,” Ethan replied. “If you want me to come, Tasi.”
“Yes. Oh my God, yes.” All the pain I’d experienced in the past day washed away at the thought of Ethan by my side.
“Wait a minute.” Lizzie took a step closer and placed her hands on her hips. “Where does this leave me? I’m not staying in this place while you guys are off trying to save the world or whatever you plan on doing.”
Sonya’s laugh was genuine. “I figured you were going to say something like that, so I cleared you too.”
Lizzie ran into Sonya’s arms, hugging her tight. “Thank you.”
“You need to let me go if you plan on leaving with us.” Lizzie, who hadn’t realized what she was doing, backed off slowly, hands in the air. “We’re leaving within the hour, so you two go get packed and meet back here in thirty minutes,” Sonya said.
They raced out of the room, probably trying to leave before Sonya could change her mind.
“Tasia, I’m sorry. I didn’t know about Austin.” She sat down beside Emily and me.
“No one could have known,” I said. “How could they? No one knew his past or his actual name. And if I’d been more careful and didn’t tell him I was leaving, we would have just left, and none of this would have happened.”
“Until he hunted you down and found you. Tasia, I saw the video. That fevered look in his eyes was like a rogue vampire’s. He wouldn’t have stopped looking for you or Emily.”
“But Cas, he was so young,” I said.
“And foolish to follow Austin. I don’t know why he did it, but he chose his path,” Sonya said.
“He craved dhampyr blood,” I said. I remembered the first day I met him. How he had swooned over my blood as he bandaged my shoulder. His eyes had taken on the same glittery blackness as Austin’s.
I looked over to see tears streaming down Emily’s face. I pulled her into me.
“I just thought I finally found someone who understood me. Someone I could call my best friend,” she mumbled.
“I know, Em, and I’m sorry. I can’t say it enough,” I said.
“No, Tasi, you did nothing wrong. This was all them.” She pulled away, wiping the tears from her eyes. “Who knew that would be my first kill? Prepare for anything, I guess.”
I smiled at her. “Prepare for anything.”
Emily bounced off the bed, standing straighter than I had ever seen her. She was somehow glowing with pride, even in such a dark situation.
“Sonya, can I ask you something?” I asked.
“Of course.” She cocked her head at me curiously.
“I knew you installed a camera on the rooftop, which, thankfully, I never told Austin about. But how did you guys know I was in trouble?” I asked.
She sat on the bed. “Ethan came to me, ranting about how we were leaving and I didn’t ask him to come along.” Her eyes narrowed at me. “I pulled him into my office to make sure no one heard us.”
“And you saw the camera feeds,” I added.
“Yes, I saw Austin cutting . . . something. You weren’t in sight. But when Ethan walked around to see what I was looking at, he immediately knew,” Sonya said.
“I’ve never been so thankful for cameras.” A small smile crossed my face. “Is that why you are letting Ethan and Lizzie come along?”
“Lizzie coming along feels right. And after Ethan’s rant about trust and loyalty, I realized how close you guys were and decided maybe he was right too. I trusted Lizzie for the way she saved Emily after Jelena’s attack and didn’t hesitate with helping Emily kill Cas, who I know she was longtime friends with.”
“And Ethan?” I asked.
“I’ve trusted him longer.” She studied my face for a moment. “When he protected you at the toy store and then lied to me about it, I knew I could trust him to always protect you, even if it would cost him his life. He knew the repercussions of lying to me typically lead to death.”
“Wait—how did you know he lied?”
“When Austin came back alone, he was in a bad mood. I asked him where you guys were. He told me you’d insisted on going to Times Square, and Ethan was with you. So I sent Len to watch you guys in case you needed help.”
“Oh,” I said.
I remembered the kiss between Ethan and me in the toy store, and realized Sonya knew everything. My cheeks flushed.
Ethan strolled into the room with a backpack hung over his shoulder. The cut on his cheek was barely noticeable, and the black eye had already faded.
“Emily, do you want to help me hurry Lizzie along?” Sonya said.
“Sure do. She’s probably packing up her entire room.” Emily reached for Sonya’s hand, the way she did when she wanted to feel safe. It took Sonya a moment, but she gave in to her, squeezing her hand around Emily’s as if to tell her she would be okay.
Now alone with Ethan, I turned my attention to him. His chocolate-colored eyes were watching my mouth. He reached out and ran a thumb across my lips. My lungs were starving for air.
“Hi.”
It was all I could breathe out. His touch left a current running through my body.
The corner of his mouth crooked up. “Hi.” His face was so close to mine. When he spoke, his cool breath tickled my skin. He pulled back, running his hand through my hair and pushing it behind my ear.
“So, are you ready to tell me I told you so about Austin?”
“No, Tasi, I just eliminated the competition.” He sat on the bed and pulled me into his lap.
“Ethan, you never had competition.”
His lips crashed into my lips. The taste of vanilla filled my mouth and I melted into him. He pressed his tongue against mine, stroking it. He tugged at my lips before deepening the kiss and letting a low growl leave the back of his throat. If my heart stopped, Ethan and his sumptuous touch were to blame. There was no other way to describe it—the kiss was simply perfect.
There was a knock on the door. Ethan and I pulled apart.
“Coming in, so if you’re naked, cover up,” Lizzie said as she opened the door. “Oh well, better luck next time.”
I stood up and gave Lizzie a big hug. “I’m so glad you’re on the good side. I don’t think I could have killed you. Hurt you, definitely—killed you, nope.”
“Thanks, I think.” I noticed the skin around Lizzie’s eyes was pinkish and raw.
I touched her hand. “I’m sorry about Cas. I know you guys were close.”
Her eyes met mine. “He chose poorly, but I should’ve known. It took him quite some time to stop drinking directly from humans. There was always a part of him fighting the bloodthirst. I never told anyone because it’s been over fifteen years since he got it under control. Maybe if I had—”
“No, Lizzie, this is not your responsibility. If you ever want to talk . . .” I pulled her into a hug.
“Thanks.” A glint of relief sparked in her eyes. She then turned to Ethan and dropped her huge duffel bag, which might have been able to fit two bodies in it. “I’ll carry yours if you carry mine.”
She grabbed his backpack and headed out. Ethan shook his head. “One day, Lizzie . . . one day, I’m going to get you back.”
“Only if I can help,” I said. “It’s not fair for you to have all the fun.”
“I heard that,” Lizzie scoffed from down the hall. “Hurry—Sonya and Em pulled the Navi up out front. Don’t want to leave them hanging.”
Ethan and I sighed, then laughed as we headed out the door. I took one last glance at the place I’d called home and looked back at Ethan.
“To new beginnings,” he said.
I kissed Ethan once more and said, “To new beginnings.”