The Darkest Night

Chapter 15

I stared at Victor, still trying to get my bearings. There must have been something in my eyes because Victor took a step back and appraised me.

"What happened just now?" His voice was low and full of curiosity. I could feel my face growing hot. I was too embarrassed to say anything, so I silently shook my head. His brow furrowed with what I couldn't even begin to guess. Sighing deeply, he sat back down in his chair and continued to watch me as I tried to regain my composure. "Elizabeth, I want you to tell me what just happened." His voice was low and cold. Demanding an explanation with no hint of leniency in it. Knowing I had to tell him, I sighed before I explained (with as little detail as possible) my hallucination.

He crossed his legs and bounced his foot a little as I talked. He seemed to take what I said very seriously and with little judgment. Once I was done, he just nodded before saying, "I see" in a serious tone. I wish I could see as well. This whole thing made me uncomfortable and being around him awkward. His brow furrowed with concentration as he thought about who knew what. I waited, anxiously for him to say something, anything at all. After what felt like an hour, but was probably only a few minutes, he spoke.

"Well, it seems the blood has fully integrated into your system now. That was a bit more intense than the normal reaction, but I believe we can now guarantee your loyalty now." He cleared his throat, uncrossing his long legs, he stood up slowly. My eyes trained on every movement he made. I couldn't seem to help myself. I was hyper aware of every subtle movement he made now. I watched as his dark hair moved slightly with his movements. How his dark brows pulled close together with consternation. He moved closer to me and put two fingers gently under my chin. Electricity seemed to radiate all over my body from where his fingers touched my skin. The feeling was addictive. Victor leaned in close and stared into my eyes. His moss-green eyes bore into me. Anchoring me in place. My breath hitched in my throat as he leaned so close I swore he was going to kiss me.

"Well, that's that then." He said, suddenly pulling away. Dazed, I didn't understand what he ment at all. I looked at him in confusion as he straightened up and moved away from me. The loss of his touch was the most jarring. "The blood is in full effect. You can leave this room in the morning and go back to your sister. Liliana will be here in the morning to give you the run-down of the cover story. Please make sure to stick to what she says." I nodded my agreement and watched as he gathered the wine bottle and glasses. He paused at the door, looking back at me briefly before saying, "I'll also agree to you working here as the estates nurse. Especially since you lost your job. I'll have an employment contract written up and delivered to you at some point tomorrow." With that, he closed the door. Suspiciously, I didn't hear the lock slide into place. Well, what did that matter anymore? I knew that I was owned wholly at this point.

The next morning, I was woken up abruptly by an annoyed female voice telling me to wake up. "Hey you, wake up already." I felt a hand shaking my shoulder as I groggily opened my eyes. I blinked and had to rub the sleep from them as I sat up. Liliana stood in front of me looking annoyed and gorgeous. Great, just what I needed. I'm apparently attracted to her as well due to the bloodline thing. "It's about time. You humans sure do sleep a lot." She placed the tray of food down on the desk and crossed her arms, glaring at me. "Well come on," She flopped down into one of the chairs by the desk and tapped her foot impatiently.

I moved over to the other chair and looked at what she had brought me. French toast with the perfect amount of butter, powdered sugar and syrup on the side. It was freaky how well they seemed to know my food preferences. I dug into my breakfast, acutely aware that I was being observed by Liliana.

"So you somehow survived and even got a job here." She sneered while looking down at me as I ate. Clearly, she didn't like or approve of me being here. "Well, since Daddy says you are to stay, you are staying, I guess." She flipped her long brown hair over her shoulder and leaned back in her chair. I cringed at her saying the word daddy like that. Something about the tone she used implied more than just a simple father/daughter relationship or maker and made relationship. "Ok so here's the cover story." I listened as she spun a tale of us going out for a bonding experience in the city nearby. She must have done a little bit of research on me and my lifestyle because it actually seemed plausible that we would go out to bars and hang out the way she said we did. Slightly impressed by the cover story, I nodded that I understood when she asked if I got it. "Ok then get cleaned up, and we will get you out of this depressing room."

I swallowed the last bite of the french toast and scrambled to my feet. I rushed through my morning routine as fast as I could while still getting everything done. The prospect of getting out of this windowless room was exhilarating. I will finally be able to see and talk with my sister again and stretch my legs. The last few days had made me grow restless. I pulled my hair into a loose bun and gathered my belongings. I eyed the desk that had the books Darius brought me scattered about.

"Just leave them where they are. If you want to come back and read them you can, if not one of us will clean them up." Liliana said while waving her hand dismissively at the books. She had her arms crossed and was tapping her foot again. Patience was definitely not her strong suit. I nodded and shouldered my bag and waited for her to open the door for me.

"Remember the story OK."

"Yeah I got it. We went to Redding and bar hopped a bit."

"Good just don't forget it and don't embellish any story." She opened the door and led me down the hallway. We made our way slowly down the stairs and out the back door, circling around to make it look like we had just arrived. I could hear my sister's voice drifting out through an open window. I didn't realize how much I had truly missed her.

"Hey guys! We're back!" Liliana yelled while flinging open the french doors and striding in with all the confidence in the world. I scurried after her, trying to match her energy a bit.

"Lizzy?" My sister's voice trailed down the hall to me moments before I saw her. I fought back tears at the sight of my sister's face. For the last few days, I doubted if I ever would see her again.

"He sis, I'm back." I dropped my bag and opened my arms wide for a hug.

"Welcome back kiddo, did you have fun?" She enveloped me into a bear hug squeezing the air out of my lungs.

"Yeah I did." I weezed out as she released me from her grip. "Sorry I didn't tell you I was leaving beforehand."

"It's OK. Victor explained that Lily can be impulsive and that the cell service is spotty in this area." She stepped back and grabbed my bag, hauling it up onto her shoulder. "I'm glad you're back now and that you two got to do a girls trip." I never liked lying to my sister, so I avoided her gaze and just nodded along with what she said. I hope that she will take my silence as exhaustion and not an admission of guilt.

I followed her back up to the room where I had left her just a few days ago. It all seemed like a lifetime ago now. I definitely needed some time to process everything that had happened recently. Cynthia dropped my bag on the bed before turning to face me.

"Well, how was the girls' trip? I know for a fact that you wouldn't just up and leave me like that, so what really happened?" She pierced me in place with her gaze, making sure that I knew that she knew there was definitely more to the story. Sometimes I wish my sister was more naive.

"What do you mean? We went on a girls' trip is all. You know shopping, bars, talking, you know that kind of stuff." I shrugged while saying this and pushed past her gently to get to my bag on the bed. I decided to double down on the established lie. I carefully avoided her eyes by unpacking my bag. "Sorry I didn't tell you before we left. It was kind of a spontaneous decision." I could feel her eyes drilling a hole into the back of my head as I focused on unpacking all my belongings.

"Fine, if that's how you want to play it, I'll play along for now. But I am going to want the truth eventually, you know." I mentally facepalmed at her stubbornness. Why couldn't she just let this go? To be fair though, I wouldn't if I was in her shoes. I sighed heavily. I was mentally and physically drained after the last few days of captivity. "You're exhausted. I'll let you rest, but we will talk about this later." She left my room, closing the door behind her firmly. I laid back on the bed and flopped an arm over my eyes. A nap sounded amazing right now.