Catalyst Page 0,28

the worst. It wasn't a stupid idea, in fact it was brilliant, but Kahli couldn't fathom belonging to someone else. Even now, the King could feel her and sense her thoughts to some extent. The idea made her skin crawl. If Will's bite would keep the King out of her mind, was it worth it?

Kahli rested in the metal bed, staring up at the ceiling. She didn't bother airing out the cot mattresses. Instead, she threw a blanket over the springs to keep the metal twists from pulling her hair and lay down. Will was across the room, hunched over the table, in the dark. He found a lantern and a brittle old book that he was reading, slowly turning one page at a time. She tried not to watch him, but when a page cracked and fell out of the spine, he looked so boyish. The paper dangled in his fingers for a moment, and when he tried to press it back into the book, but the page crumbled like an old egg shell.

Kahli turned her face back toward the concrete ceiling, wondering what tomorrow would look like. Ever since she was little, there was no tomorrow. Will was right about that. As long as she was running, as long as they hunted her, she had no life of her own. It was theirs. The vampires stole everything she had and twisted her existence to suit their needs. Kahli was prey being hunted, not a human free to do what she wanted.

Rolling onto her side, she pondered these things - what would her life would look like if she didn't have to run? What would she do every day? Where would she live? Did she want to keep hunting Trackers and spilling more blood? Was there ever enough to satisfy her thirst for vengeance?

There is no such thing as peace, she thought to herself. Peace is for the dead and since I breathe, that is something that will never be mine.

Her gaze lifted to Will, taking in his form. The way he pulled his legs up under him while he read, the slight curve of his shoulders when no one was looking, the way his ring finger tapped his temple - they were things that made him seem human. If she had her days to fill as she chose, would he be a part of them? Allowing him to bite her meant that he would be there as long as he lived. It was a marriage of sorts, one that could not be broken.

Kahli's heart ached. She didn't realize it until that moment. There was no amount of preparation that could have saved her from this. The world was a frigid, lonely place. Did it matter that she found solace in a vampire? Did it matter that he was Bane? She wasn't sure anymore. It wouldn't have made a difference to her parents. A vampire is a vampire. A square is a rectangle, and that sort of logic.

God she missed them. Kahli ran her fingers over her side where her runes covered her skin. There was supposed to be a man, a man to protect her, and share her life. Her parent's selected him when she was born. Allowing this relationship with Will to continue defied everything she'd been taught, and made it explicitly clear that all hope of finding her betrothed was gone. Whoever he was, he vanished like everyone else who'd been important to her.

__

Hours passed, but Kahli wasn't able to sleep. She just laid there staring at the ceiling. The thought of agreeing to Will's request set her nerves on end. She had to do it. Kahli knew that, but she still didn't want to. When she couldn't lay there another second, she sat up. Will was still reading, hunched close to the lantern.

She sat down next to him and said, "There's no other choice, is there?"

Will set the book down and looked up at her. She couldn't read his thoughts, but she could feel a nervous jolt rush through him. Her question startled him. It was so late that she thought she should have waited until morning, after she slept, but Kahli couldn't sleep as long as the question continued to bounce around in her head. The uncertainty was driving her crazy.

"I don't see another option, Kahli. I wish there was." Will swallowed hard, like his throat was dry.

Kahli looked down at her hands on the table top. "What will it do?" She glanced up