Nineteen
I didn't let go of Mika's hand. I couldn't. Something terrible had happened to her, and it had been my fault. If I'd left the slave rings alone, she wouldn't have gotten injured.
No. Wait. I needed to stop thinking about things like that. She'd put herself into my house to try and prove I was a monster, presumably by some kind of anti-vampire movement. I wasn't a fool who believed the official line that all of those had been dealt with. She knew she was at risk.
And now I was trying to turn her into the same monsters she was trying to uncover. I hoped she didn't hate me for it. I wasn't sure how I'd feel if the situations were reversed.
"Lucy?" Her weak voice filled me with more joy than I ever thought would be possible.
"Mika?" I responded, looking up.
Our eyes met. She was
