To Kill a Vampire - A.K. Koonce Page 0,7

I’ve ever tasted. As I chew, savoring the snack, I consider asking Declan what the bones are. Animals? They’re too large for most rodents …

I swallow harshly and think better of it. I don’t really want to know.

“How are you?”

I freeze, my eyes still closed as I slowly chomp on the treat. The crushing sound of Asher’s voice floats through my memory. The loneliness of the past few days presses hard into my chest.

“I’m fine,” I tell him in an overly chipper voice.

He arches a brow at my reply but doesn’t say anything in return. He leans back on his arms, stretches his legs out, and makes himself right at home in the small compartment. His silver eyes sweep over every item in the room, curiously admiring the space. I let the silence pass, just happy to have something so delicious filling my stomach. The clawing hunger settles with each bite I take; the raking sound of the breaking bones fills my thoughts, almost calming me.

“You remember our training, right?”

My eyes narrow on the hybrid. The memory of my overactive emotions burns my cheeks as I recall the small crush I thought I had on him.

“Yeah. Why?”

“You’re going to the one place that will murder you on sight. Might be a good idea to be prepared.”

Dread sinks into my stomach. He’s right. But my power is nothing in comparison to the mortals.

“Have you ever tried to compel someone?”

The wall behind him becomes my focus. Slowly, I nod.

“And?”

The way I thought I could easily control Asher makes my stomach churn. I shouldn’t have tried to manipulate him. Maybe that’s why I couldn’t.

“I don’t know. I guess it didn’t work.”

“Try again, love,” he says as if it’s just that simple.

I rub my eyes irritably. “I’m fine, Declan. Everything will be fine.”

He nods, picking at the white thread of the blanket as he thinks. The small amount of silence settles the anxious feeling growing within me.

“Maybe.” He nods again, and I breathe out a heavy sigh, the tension leaving me at the sound of his agreement. “Or maybe not.”

Five

Love

Asher

I wish I could say my eyes don’t follow his every suspicious move. As I watch Declan sneak below deck, I know exactly where he’s going.

She didn’t leave her cabin once yesterday. She wouldn’t even see me when I went to her. I thought this secluded trip would force us to talk; all it’s done is force us further apart.

Gabriel and Luca are snuggled against each other; the sun, high above, glints off of his metallic hand as he runs it down the inside of her arm. She smiles against his lips as he whispers something to her. The two of them couldn’t be happier.

It physically makes me sick.

I shoot Kaino and Shane a look, realizing they’re much more appropriate with their affection as Kaino watches Shane sail with ease. Shane bites back a smirk at something Kaino says, his teeth sinking into his lower lip, and it draws Kaino’s gaze to the gesture.

With a sigh, I shift away from them as well.

I’ve. Got. To. Get. Off. This. Ship.

Like a cat creeping through the shadows, I make my way downstairs. Steeling my spine with every step I take, I hear their voices in the dark. The cool breeze of the sea disappears as I take the steps two at a time.

“You should try. I’ll help you, love,” Declan says with the most disgustingly gentle voice.

My heart thunders in my ears when I finally see them. Fallon sits with her legs crossed atop her blankets facing Declan who sits in an identical position.

Fallon pops a kernel sized bone into her mouth and chews carefully as she shakes her head at him. She looks slightly irritated, a look that mirrors my own every time I speak with the hybrid.

“Help with what?” I ask, trying to push the uneasy tone from my voice.

Sparkling red eyes meet mine; her lips part just slightly as she stares up at me. The air meets my lungs in erratic, uneven, and useless breaths.

“Declan was telling me I should try to compel him. That it might be useful around the mortals.”

I’m sure he’d love for her to compel him. It’s what he’s used to, after all. She says the word mortal in a disengaged voice. As if she never was one.

I lean a heavy and tired shoulder against the broken door frame, my eyes lingering on the door lying at an angle against the wall. I wish it was easier to speak to