EMILI
The vampire straightened without taking his eyes off me. His mercury-colored gaze traveled over me as if trying to read something written on my skin—something invisible that only he could perceive.
He slipped a hand inside his shirt and pulled out a necklace. The chain was made of dark, ancient metal, but what hung from it stole my breath. A ruby the size of a quail egg, set in tarnished silver. And it glowed. It didn’t reflect light—there was barely any in that cabin. It glowed from within, with a steady red pulse, like a beating heart.
“No. No, no, no, no.”
I didn’t know what that thing was, but every cell in my body screamed at me to get away from it. A primal instinct, older than fear, older than thought.
“Please, don’t detect anything. Please. Whatever happened in that cave
