into my bloodstream. Great. I already felt as if I’d drunk a gallon of espresso. I didn’t know if I was going to pass out or explode. Solange helped steady me.
“Are you okay?”
“I think so.” My teeth were chattering. I fought back tears of frustration and guilt burning behind my eyelids. Nicholas heaved a disgusted sigh before wrapping me roughly in an afghan and shoving me onto the couch.
“You’re practically green,” he muttered, pushing my head down between my knees. “Breathe.”
Helena was at the window, snarling. She shaded her eyes. The glass might make the sunlight safe but their eyes were still pale and sensitive.
“I’m sorry,” I said miserably. “I only meant to give him a sip of tea. He said he was thirsty.” I could tell Liam was reining in his temper with a formidable amount of willpower. The tendons on his neck stood out in stark relief. His jaw might have been carved out of marble.
“What happened?” he asked very slowly, very precisely.
I wanted to crawl into a hole.
“He blew some sort of powder in my face.” I rubbed my chilled arms. I wondered if it was a side effect of the drug or if I was in shock. “I resisted it at first, it was kind of like your pheromones. But the second dose did me in. He told me to untie him.” I closed my eyes briefly, irritated with myself. “And I did. I couldn’t stop myself.”
“Willingly?” Quinn hollered. “On purpose?”
Liam silenced him with a look and came to sit in front of me. I tried to avoid his eyes, gave up. There was mostly hard patience and very little recrimination in his face.
“I’m so sorry. I tried to fight it. It was like being hypnotized or something.”
“I need you to tell me everything you remember.”
I described the way it tasted, that it tickled my nose, clung to my sweater.
“Hypnos,” Liam said coldly. Helene turned from her post. She pointed to the desk, and Connor went to retrieve a little jeweled box from the bottom drawer. Then he used a small brush to collect whatever powdery residue he could from my sweater and the carpet.
“We’ve never been able to get our hands on any,” Liam explained smugly. “We’ll have Geoffrey analyze it.” Geoffrey taught night classes in biology at the local college. But he also had his own lab and was always running experiments and studying the Drakes’ unique gifts.
“But what is it?”
“We’re not sure about all the components; certainly it contains one of the zombie herbs. The rest, we don’t know enough about, only that it’s very powerful. Apparently, we should have searched him more thoroughly.”
“It was hidden in his sleeve.” I scowled. “If I ever see him again, I’m going to shove it right—”
“Stay away from him,” Nicholas interrupted my rant. I ignored him.
“Now what do we do?” I asked.
“Now we go back to bed and get some rest,” Liam reminded me gently. “Let us worry about it.” Solange yawned wide enough to split her face. The brothers were all paler than usual, dark circles like bruises under their water- colored eyes. They were still young. In fact, Logan had only turned two years ago. He was so exhausted he looked drunk, barely able to stand up by himself. Sebastian propped him up, leading him toward the staircase. Nicholas had been turned even more recently than that, so I assumed only his irritation with me was keeping him upright.
Solange yawned again. “Are you going to be okay?”
I nodded. “Go on back to bed.” It was nearly eleven but she was weaving a little on her feet. The rest of the family wandered off to their respective private quarters, Liam and Helena whispering to each other. Liam was already dialing his cell phone. Only Nicholas remained. He was the color of milk.
“Aren’t you going up?” I asked.
He stepped closer to me.
“In a minute.”
I finally felt warm. The afghan slipped from my shoulders. He was looking at me as if he wanted to peel me open like an orange. I remembered the feel of his mouth on mine. I frowned, nervous for no reason.
“What?”
“I just want to try something.” His touch was gentle, skimming my cheek, my arm, down to my wrist. His eyes were like rain in autumn; violent, mysterious, beautiful.
Hypnotizing.
“Stop it,” I whispered.
“Stay away from Kieran,” he demanded softly. “He’s dangerous.”
“And you’re not?”
“Let’s find out.” He closed the distance between us before I had time to even blink.
“What are you doing?”
“I have no idea,”