She’d already set up everything in an old chapel deep in the forest that her friends all used as a make-out place. She’d been there once, too, with that boy whose penis she’d touched. They’d gone out with friends, but when he’d walked her home, they hadn’t taken the road. Instead, they’d walked through the trees and ended up at the old chapel. At least, that’s what everyone said it had been. It was so old that no one really knew. It was small, only one room, with crumbling walls and nothing but a makeshift ceiling that someone had fashioned out of tree branches. The cute boy had brought along a blanket, so she knew he’d been planning to take her there all along. And she’d known what he’d wanted.
He hadn’t gotten it, of course. And besides, that was history. Tonight was what mattered. She knew the chapel would be empty, because all her friends were at a big soccer tournament. She’d faked an illness to explain her decision to stay behind, and then made her plans. She’d arranged the chapel with a lantern, blankets, and a bottle of wine. She was even (gulp) naked under her jacket, so there’d be no need to slow down—no excuse to do so—once she’d begun her seduction. If she kept her hands in her jacket pockets, he shouldn’t notice until she was ready, and by then, the mood would be set. Xavier would confess his long-frustrated love for her, she would fall into his arms, and they’d make love.
She heard his voice first, giving Chuy some last-minute orders, probably based on something they’d discovered during their patrol. Just the sound of him made her smile and had butterflies dancing in her stomach. She couldn’t believe this was finally going to happen, that they were going to happen.
Waiting until Chuy had gone ahead to talk to one of the night sentries, she stepped out of the shadows and called his name softly. “Xavier.”
He spun at once, his beautiful eyes shining as they easily located her, despite the dark night.
“Layla? What are you doing out here alone?”
She was suddenly nervous. Her plan had seemed so simple when she’d devised it, and again when she’d been setting up the chapel earlier. But now, confronted with the sheer force of his presence, her hands trembled inside her pockets. “I um . . . there was something I thought you should see, but—”
His voice softened. “What is it? Is something wrong?”
Her pulse raced at his tone, and when he reached out to touch her shoulder, she thought her heart would leap out of her chest. Emboldened by this show of affection, she said, “I found something, someplace in the forest, deep in the trees, that I think you should see.” A small voice inside her head sounded an alarm at this change in plans, from a straightforward seduction to . . . something else. A deception that Xavier might take very badly once he discovered it.
But it was too late.
He was already telling Chuy to go on without him, his arm held out wide in invitation, indicating she should lead the way and saying, “After you.”
“Yes,” she agreed, afraid if she said anything more that he’d hear her voice quake with nerves. The walk through the forest was quick and quiet. She’d already plotted out the best route to the chapel, and though he attempted once to ask questions about where they were going, she’d said only, “It’s not far,” then put her head down and concentrated on not tripping. She had her small penlight, which she kept aimed at the ground in front of her, as much to light her way as to avoid blowing out his night vision. She did that instinctively, something every child in the Fortalesa was taught, once they were old enough to understand. In a nighttime emergency, it was important not to get in the way of the vampires who might well be fighting for everyone’s life.
When the chapel was close enough that she could catch glimpses of it through the trees, she slowed, wondering if she should say something before they got there or—
“Is that the place?”
She jumped at the sound of his voice, but kept walking.
“That’s just an old shrine or something, Layla. It’s been there for . . . hundreds of years. From before I took over the Fortalesa.”
“Yes, but—”
“Why are we here?” he demanded, suspicion suddenly blooming in his voice.
“It’s inside,” she insisted. “The thing you