being the one with the stars energy in me.
I kept my voice as even as I could. “I really don’t know her, I swear.”
Vladislav fixed me with a baleful look and said, “Well, then. If you’re saying you’re telling the truth, then you must be.”
I started to relax a little, but then as suddenly as a lighting blot flashes, Vladislav was charging at me. Before I could even finish my blink, he’d flipped over the table, grabbed a hold of me, and pinned me against him.
Laylen jumped to his feet, starting to run toward us. Vladislav backed away from him, towing me along with him.
“Come any closer,” Vladislav hissed, exposing his fangs, the tips brushing against the skin of my neck. “And I’ll drain every ounce of blood she has in her.”
Laylen froze, and I pretty much stopped breathing.
“Wise choice,” Vladislav said, his ice-cold hands gripping me so tightly I was sure I was going to have bruises from it….if I made it out of here alive, that is. “I think it’s time I collect on what I want from you.”
“But you haven’t even told us how to get her out of The Underworld,” I cried.
Laylen’s bright blue eyes went so wide they practically bulged out of his head, and I realized I should not have opened my mouth.
“Yes, that is true.” He pressed me tighter into him—too tight—and I winced from the pressure. Moving his mouth to my ear, he purred, “However, if you didn’t know her, then why would it matter whether I told you anything?”
Great. Me and my stupid mouth. I was starting to understand why Alex always seemed to be telling me to keep my mouth shut.
Vladislav let out a deep growl, and then his fangs sunk into my neck. They sunk in deeper and deeper, and I gasped as I was blinded by images flickering through my mind like a flashing picture show. Vampires. Teeth. Stars. Alex. I felt faint. Lightheaded. Dizzy and weak, yet at the same time relaxed. The prickle was poking my neck wildly. My vision went blurry. And then, all of a sudden, I felt content with Vladislav biting my neck.
It was okay….
Okay…
There was a sharp snap, followed by a loud thud, and my neck was released from Vladislav’s fangs and his grip. I blinked down at Vladislav, lying lifelessly on the red-carpeted floor, a broken chair leg sticking out of his chest.
“What happened?” My voice floated out of me as I turned to Laylen.
“We have to go.” He took a hold of my hand and the world swayed as he pulled me toward the door.
My fuzzy brain only allowed me to pick up on a few words Laylen was saying to me: careful, normal, don’t panic. He wiped my neck where Vladislav had bit me with the bottom of his t-shirt, before creaking the door open. He peered up and down the hall, and then we stepped out.
Someone was calling me.
The lights were bright. The music loud.
I saw red.
And then, I fell.
Chapter 6
It was so cold. As cold as death. Was I dead?
My eyes fluttered opened. I was lying down on a floor, the wood flooring cold against my cheek. I slowly sat up and gazed at my surroundings. Where was I? A cabin. Not the cabin in Colorado. No, this was a different cabin; a much smaller one with no furniture, no fireplace, no nothing.
I got to my feet and made my way over to the window and tried not to flip out when I noticed it had bars on it. Trapped.
“What in the world?” I muttered to myself.
A bang came from behind me and I whirled around, coming face to face with myself. Not the younger version of myself, but the actual eighteen-year-old Gemma.
So I was in a future vision, at least I think I was. This brought no sense of comfort to me, especially since I had no idea where this place was, and also because…well, because, in the vision, my violet eyes looked drained of all emotion.
I watched myself lie down on the floor and curl up into a tiny ball. Then, I just lay there, silent and unblinking. Numb.
What was going on? Had my emotions been erased? Was this actually where I was going to end up?
A surge of fear pulsated through me, and I took off running for one of the two doors the small room had and threw it open. It was a bathroom. I turned around, ran for the other door, and