Chapter 4
414 Words
Amber lay awake, curled beneath the blanket, haunted by the memories of the test and the stare of the mysterious vampire from down the corridor. She remembered the way his eyes burned into her. Why me? Why was he watching me? Who is he?
Just as Amber was about to close her eyes, a whisper drifted across the corridor. “You saw him too, didn’t you?” Amie’s voice was shaky.
Amber’s breath caught. “Yes… who is he?”
“Don’t ask. Don’t speak of him. The less you draw his attention, the longer you will live,” Amie said, trembling.
Amber could hear the terror in her voice, but instead of easing her own fears, it only sharpened her curiosity. He was different from the other vampires she had met—her wolf felt it too. She couldn’t explain it, but she needed to know why.
Her thoughts raced. Normally, she would have written them down to make sense of them, but here, trapped in this cell, all she could do was think. Too much thinking. Doubt crept in. Maybe she should have chosen to serve as a slave. At least then she wouldn’t be rotting in this cell… though who knew what horrors that choice would have brought.
Exhaustion weighed heavily on her, the wolfsbane still dragging at her body, and eventually her eyes closed. She drifted into an uneasy sleep.
Morning arrived—not that anyone could tell. It was always dark and gloomy in the caves. The only sign of time passing came when the guards brought food.
Amber stood by the iron bars, waiting for Zane, ready to ask him questions. But Zane never came. A different guard slid a bowl of porridge under the bars without a word.
“Good morning,” Amber tried. No response.
Whispers rippled through the corridor. “The Watcher… he will choose soon.” Amber’s stomach twisted. Chosen for what?
The corridor fell silent.
Then she felt it—the weight of eyes watching her.
He stood at the far end of the corridor. The Watcher.
Tall. Still. His eyes dark and steady, not cruel like the others. “You defied the Court,” he said.
“I didn’t want to die their way,” Amber replied.
“There is strength in that,” he said softly. “Survive until the next blood moon.”
Then he vanished into the shadows, leaving Amber trembling with a fragile, terrifying spark of hope.
Survive.
- Writer
