Valentina
Before I could do anything else, the man reached his hand up and ran a finger over my lower lip. "And so the ring of the house shall draw your destined bride to thee," he breathed. "And her blood shall waken you once more to the land of the living." He brought his finger, which I now saw carried traces of blood from when I bit my lip, up to his mouth. "Until now, I'm not sure that I believed it."
Somehow, the bizarre act of this strange man tasting my blood snapped me back out of it. No way would I dream something like this up. "Okay, you seem better now, but I should go get you some help," I said, brushing off the strange behavior and glancing around to see how I could extricate myself. Somehow, I was seated sideways in his lap, and he was now sitting up against the headboard,
