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I glance at the children, who are listening intently. My first instinct is to speak carefully around them, but with the amount oflifethey’ve seen, I doubt censoring my comments is needed.
“Maybe I’ll change our relationship,” I tease.
Patrice stands, moving toward a door on the other side of the room. “Your room is through here.”
My stomach jumps into my throat. Does this mean I’m in, or is she setting me up for something far more sinister? I smile, not knowing which. “Thank you, Patrice. I’m looking forward to learning from you.”
“The children will decide if you stay.” She turns toward the two children in the room. “Come, Alexander. Come, Autumn.” They step ahead of her obediently. I follow them through the door into a narrow hallway.
Rooms line each side of the hall, serving as what I would guess are rooms for the rest of the children. She stops in front of a door at the end. “Here’s where you’ll stay.” The door opens, revealing an empty room. The smell of sulfur hits me instantly.
“Elsie?”Thorne questions.“Are you alright?”
“Yes,”I lie. I step into the room while my mind reels over who has been here before me. The worn carpet and asbestos-covered ceiling welcome me into their womb. “This is perfect, thank you.”
“You’ll be expected at feeding time,” Patrice says, closing me inside. The sound of a heavy lock slidinginto place brings memories of the bottom of Kragen’s ship to the surface.
“She locked me in a room. I’m safe,”I call through our connection.
“Is everything okay?”Even in my head, his voice sounds frantic.
“Aye. I’m fine. I’ll be expected at feeding time.”
“What does that mean?”
“I have no idea.”I slide down the wall, sitting on the filthy floor.“How did you know I needed help earlier?”
“I felt you.”
“Felt me? How?”
He pauses a while before answering.“I’m not sure how to explain it. I felt anxious and could tell it wasn’t my emotion I was feeling.”
“Singing helped.”
“Amelia says we shouldn’t be able to communicate like this.”
I feel my forehead scrunch in question.“Through our minds?”
“Aye. She says that is something that some vampires can only do with their makers.”
I scoff.“You’re not my maker.”
“It’s also possible through a strong bond. Viktor could apparently speak to Celeste that way even though he wasn’t her maker.”
I pause.“We have a strong bond.”
“Aye, we do.”Thorne breathes deeply through our connection.“Stay safe, acushla.”
“I am,”I lie. Truthfully, I have no idea what the hell I’m doing.
I lose track of time, sitting alone in the sulfur-filled, moldy room. The smell I’ve attributed to Kragen all these years, now associates with Marnie, too. Does that mean she’s been here? I think back to what Amelia said at the death house.Ismell like sulfur. Anyone who’s had contact with Kragen most likely smells the same. Closing my eyes, I focus on keeping thoughts of the pirate who kidnapped me out of my mind.
The only audible sound in the building is the echo of the water, lapping against the shore not far away. PTSD hits hard as my mind switches into the dissociative mode it spent a century in. I stare at the door, willing it to open. The sound of a key rattling brings memories of Kragen to the surface, causing me to recoil instinctively.
The door creaks open slowly. Standing in the crack is an image from a nightmare. Alexander holds the key in his hand and smiles the smile of a cold calculating killer.
“Mother would like for you to come with me.”
