The Scarlet Dagger (The Red Sector Chronicles, #1) (30 page)

Leo… my Leo...

I wasn’t sure how it happened. Time slowed as I tucked my head into the crook of his neck, smelling the sweat forming on his skin as his hands tangled in my hair. The perfume of his blood, like honey and chocolate and sugar, drifted up to me, and I moaned, kissing a vein that popped out along his neck.

Leo groaned deep in his throat, and that’s all it took. Without realizing what I was doing, I opened my mouth and
bit
, feeling his shock as he shuddered beneath me. Blood, warm and sweet, flowed into my mouth, and I drank steadily as Leo at first tried to pull away, then leaned into me, grinding his hips against mine.

Memories of our lives together accompanied his blood, like watching a slideshow: the two of us dressed up for the Homecoming dance (we often went as each other’s dates, completely as friends only); us surrounded by our group of friends at a burger joint, laughing and hanging out after a football game; Leo trying to “pop a wheelie” on his bicycle and failing miserably while I laughed hysterically in the background. Some of the images were foreign. I saw Leo standing beside his father, watching something through a two-way mirror. I followed their gaze, read their fear, as a Rogue leaped for the bars, its fangs bared and eyes glowing like embers.

I awoke from my bloodlust with a jolt, gasping as I ripped my fangs from Leo’s neck and. He sagged, a dreamy haze covering his eyes, which were slowly clearing as I backed away from him. I covered my mouth as blood – my best friend’s blood – dripped from my lips onto the ground.

Leo blinked a few times, slowly raising a hand to his neck. “What happened?” he asked in a husky voice.

I froze, my wide, terrified eyes watching as he saw the blood smeared across his palm. “What the…” His voice trailed off as the color drained from his face, and he lifted his eyes to mine in disbelief.

“
You’re… you’re one of them.”

My breath came in ragged gasps as I shook my head, trembling. “I’m so, so terribly sorry, Leo. I’m so sorry.” I said it over and over again, all the while backing away.

Inside, I was falling apart.
No, not Leo. How could I do that to my best friend?

The tips of my fangs raked across my bottom lip, giving me a slight lisp when I spoke. Behind me, a chorus of birds came to life as dawn’s first light colored the sky yellow. I hadn’t realized how long we had been out here.

Slivers of sunlight crested the horizon, and I squinted my eyes against the bright light. Warm rays kissed my face, pleasant at first, then growing uncomfortable as the sun regained its strength with the start of a new day.

What was happening? Why did my skin feel like I had rolled around in poison ivy? Vaguely, I remembered a dinner conversation with Aden:
“Vampires can’t handle direct sunlight. You won’t light up like a diamond, but you’ll burst into flames if you’re exposed for too long.”

How long was too long? A minute? A few seconds?

“
Sloane?”

I looked up, startled. Leo was standing right in front of me, staring me down. My breath caught as I saw myself reflected in his eyes. My irises weren’t brown – they were blood red, almost on fire as they caught the sun’s light.

The image of the Rogue, with its red hot eyes, tormented me.

You’re a monster, just like it.

I let out a horrified gasp. “Forgive me, Leo.” Then I fled into the woods without looking back.

He shouted my name, a terrible, agonized wail, but I didn’t stop. It only increased my desire to get as far away from him as I could.

I can’t risk hurting him again. Next time, I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop.

What had gotten into me? It had been so innocent – a kiss, nothing more – and then I was feeding off of him like he was a Capri Punch.

My stomach churned, and I tasted vomit as I ducked toward the man hole, hastily uncovering it and jumping inside. I landed hard, scraping my knees along the rough earth, but I quickly stumbled to my feet. The burning sensation in my skin immediately vanished in the dark.

A cruel realization hit me, and I felt an overwhelming wave of sorrow.
I’ll never be able to feel the sun on my skin again.

Snatching up my gear, I took off down the tunnel. Tears stung my eyes as I ran, retracing the path in my mind. My eyesight was super-clear now, as was my hearing, and I swore I was even moving faster.

It’s Leo’s blood. It has to be.

It made me sick to think of what I’d done to Leo, especially after he had confessed his love for me.

My head swam with thoughts, making me dizzy. How was I supposed to feel about Leo now? I had never really thought of him that way. Not that I had to worry about that now. He would probably kill me on sight if he ever saw me again.

“
If Rook’s been turned, then he’s the enemy now, pure and simple.”

I brushed a stray tear from my cheek as I climbed the ladder and emerged from the tomb, slamming the lid shut behind me.

I immediately sensed I wasn’t alone and whirled around, fists ready, to find a lone figure dressed completely in black sitting on one of the tombs.

“
Aden,” I rasped.

He regarded me with a lazy smile. “Did you accomplish what you needed to?”

I blinked, confused by his polite tone. I was sure he would be furious once he found out I was gone, but here he appeared amused more than anything. I shrugged, hugging myself. “I’m not sure,” I replied, voice trembling.

His eyes sharpened as he rose. He walked up to me, and I had to bite my lip to keep from bursting into tears right in front of him. Aden studied me in silence. “I’m sorry,” he whispered softly.

He stepped forward and wrapped me into a gentle hug. I let him hold me, burying my head against his shoulder and fighting back the sobs rising in my throat. I felt pathetic, a complete emotional wreck, and all the more embarrassed for it because I was so close to breaking down in front of Aden.

I tried to pull away when my silent tears began soaking Aden’s shoulder, but he held me close. “It’s okay,” he murmured into my hair, tightening his grip on me. “Go ahead and cry.”

Those words were so gentle, so understanding, that I finally allowed myself to do something I hadn’t done much of these past three years. I cried. It felt good, a relief almost, to be able to just let it all out. He held me for several long minutes until I somewhat calmed down. Mostly I felt numb, unable to feel any more pain. I’d had enough to last a lifetime. He tucked me under his arm and led me outside. We were alone. Wherever he had sent the guards, it wasn’t here, as we walked away from the mausoleum and toward his apartment.

He didn’t speak a single word to me on the way home, and I was almost grateful to be going back to his place. I felt at home – welcome – there, which only added to my confusion.

Leo’s angry words burned in my memory. Why
was
I defending them? Since when had the vampires, who I had spent three whole years loathing, become my friends and family?

Aden opened the door for me, and I stepped inside the apartment. I raced up the stairs, too eager to get in my room. Aden followed.

“
Do you need anything?” he asked quietly, and I paused at my door, my back to him and one hand on the knob.

I leaned my forehead against the door. “I don’t know.” My voice was barely a whisper. I turned to look at him, feeling weary and broken inside. “Does anyone else know I was gone?”

Aden shook his head. “Just me. And Angel, I suspect,” he added with a touch of annoyance. “I wasn’t too worried about it, so I didn’t see the need to inform anyone.”

I stared at him. “Why not?”

His eyes shone with unspoken emotion. “Because I knew you’d come back.”

I blushed, staring at him a few seconds longer before letting myself into my room. I didn’t hear him leave as I closed the door and placed my cheek against it, as if listening for the beating of his heart.

I closed my eyes hard, wanting so badly to ignore the thrumming of my pulse, and the need for Aden’s arms to be wrapped around me. When he had held me earlier, my life hadn’t seemed like a complete train wreck. I painfully had to admit to myself that he’d been the only thing holding me together when I had come back.

Growling in frustration, I balled up my fists, wanting to punch something. Why did I have to respond this way to him? He was my sworn enemy. I was supposed to hate him!

I fell onto my bed and buried my mouth in the fluffy pillows, letting them swallow my scream.

Behind my closed lids, I saw Leo’s mortified face as he stared back at me. And all I could see reflected in the terror in his eyes was a monster. I sniffed, fighting back tears.

That world is lost to me forever. This is where I belong now.

Chapter
27

I slept all weekend, content to just remain holed-up in my room while I sorted some things out. Aden told his mom I wasn’t feeling well, and after assuring her I didn’t need to see a doctor, I was relatively undisturbed (except when she brought me food). I appreciated Aden and Mrs. Knight’s understanding; God knows if I had remained at the mansion, I’d probably be dead by now, most likely sentenced to death by my own mother. It hurt to think about that, like every time I did, my heart tore that much deeper.

Sunday night, there was a light knock at my door around dinner time. I sat up from the couch, folding up the novel I’d emerged myself in. “Book worlds” were so much more appealing than the one I lived in.

“
Come in,” I called, expecting Mrs. Knight.

I gasped a little as Aden walked through the door. Honestly, I hadn’t seen much of him since I’d been back. I didn’t know if he had been taking pains to give me some space, or if he’d just been incredibly busy. Either way, I didn’t mind when he brought me a tray and sat down beside me.

“
How are you feeling?”

I chuckled darkly. “I was never sick, remember?”

“
I’m not talking about that,” he said quietly.

I stared at the plate, picking at the fresh veggies with my fork. It smelled delicious, but I suddenly wasn’t very hungry. “All right, I guess.”

“
Just all right?”

I stabbed at a carrot. “I don’t know, honestly. Confused. Guilty, maybe.” I sighed. “I’m just so sick of feeling… bad. Over Orion and now…”

He waited, not pushing me as I collected my thoughts. “I bit my best friend,” I whispered, cheeks flaming.

I thought maybe Aden would be furious, thinking I’d betrayed the vampires and told them about the base’s whereabouts. But he appeared perfectly calm as he settled back into the couch. “I figured that would happen. It’s in our nature, the thirst for blood. It’s something that can be controlled but not always helped.”

“
Then how come I haven’t felt this raw need for blood before? I’ve been a vampire for over a month now.”

“
Our desire for blood becomes much stronger around humans,” Aden explained. “As we don’t have any here – since it’s technically against Nero’s Laws – you simply haven’t thirsted for blood.”

Huh? One of Nero’s Laws?

I thought of the lab full of deceased human bodies, of the dead face of the little girl I had tried to help escape. Paris admitted Nero was with her the night I camped out in the lab. He definitely knew about the bodies, which meant he was breaking his own laws.

My thoughts were so hung up on Nero that I almost missed what Aden said next. “Now that you’ve tasted human blood, you’ll need to feed more regularly.”

My eyes widened. “I am
not
biting another human being.”

He held up his hands. “Relax. I’m not asking you to go on a killing spree. We have blood bags here to help with ‘the thirst.’ Paris happens to know a vamp who ironically works at a blood bank on the surface.”

When I didn’t respond, he added softly, “If you don’t drink it, you’ll die.”

Good
, I almost thought, then pushed the notion away. No way was I going to just give up. If I did die, I would go down putting up a fight.

I crossed my arms. “Fine.”

Aden leaned forward, and I felt his eyes on me. “It’s not your fault, Sloane, feeding on your friend, that is. Did you drain him?”

I paused. “No…”

“
Then no harm done.”

I eyed him. “How do you know it was
a him
?”

Aden stared back at me for a few seconds, stalling, before finally admitting, “I saw glimpses of him in your memories, when I turned you.”

My eyes widened as the full meaning of his words sank in. “That’s not fair! It’s almost worse than reading someone’s diary! Those are
my
memories! They’re personal. How can you spy on –”

Aden lifted a hand, cutting me off. “They were only glimpses, nothing more.” When he saw I wasn’t going to say anything else, he continued. “Memories can be imprinted in one’s blood, but they’re never crystal clear. They’re more like Impressionistic paintings; the image is there, but it’s not in full detail.”