He began walking again. “You are both so gifted, after all. ”
I shuffled to catch up, thankful to see the dining hall peeking in the distance.
I’d been right. The vampires had stuck Mei-Ling with me so I’d protect her. But why? Did she know what she was doing here?
Before this went any further, I needed to get to know her better. And quickly, too. Because on the Isle of Night, watching out for someone just as easily meant offering your life for theirs.
CHAPTER NINE
He came for me in the night. I woke to his touch. Gentle pressure stroking up and down my leg.
I stretched, rolled onto my back. The pressure increased until I sensed his individual fingers splayed along the side of my thigh. A light grip, then release. Grip and stroke.
I sucked a breath in through my mouth. Arched my back. I felt languorous, like a cat. I wanted that hand higher. Lower. Something.
Why was he teasing me like this? I wanted him to peel away my blankets. Why didn’t he?
The frustration made me angry. My body pulsed now, needing him. I tried to speak. I wanted to tell him. Why couldn’t I—?
I sat up, clutching the blanket to my chest. My heart pounded, its pulse echoing through my body until I throbbed with it.
Carden—where was he?
I widened my eyes and looked around in the darkness. Mei-Ling was in her bed, her breathing deep and even. The clock read 3:02. It was the middle of the night. A dream.
No Carden.
I flopped back, breathing like I’d just sprinted a mile. It was only a dream. I pulled the covers tight under my chin, but it didn’t make me feel any less vulnerable.
I measured my breathing, forcing myself to calm down. A dream, stupid. Carden was out there somewhere, but he wouldn’t know I’d dreamed of him.
Would he?
No, he wouldn’t. It was a silly notion brought on by the vivid sensuality of it. There was a simple explanation: I was coming off the bond and it was giving me fever dreams.
I rolled onto my side, clutching the blankets snugly at my chest until I felt cocooned. It was no good, though. I’d never feel safe.
My throat felt so dry it ached. Hunger clawed at my belly. I curled into a fetal position around the cramping.
My bedside clock ticked. No digital readouts for us, just old-fashioned clock faces with glow-in-the-dark hands, and I watched their slow progress. Tick: 3:12 a. m. ; tock: 3:47. Time crawled, but I was too jangled to sleep. And way too uncomfortable.
I tried to think peaceful, meditative thoughts to relax, but it was no good. My mind raced.
Mei-Ling. I needed to help her, but I couldn’t get a bead on the girl. Did she hate me? Or was she just too proud to accept my help? Maybe it was that she somehow knew more than the rest of us about the island, and her stoicism was actually disdain.
Was she shy and longing for a friend? I could think about it all night, but I wouldn’t be figuring that one out anytime soon. So around 4:14, my mind skittered on to the next topic.
The killer. Who was killing girls on the island? A rogue vampire? A Draug? A clever and vengeful Acari?
But all the girls had been drained, and only a few creatures could manage that. Could Trainees do it? Or had one of our vampire enemies come from another island to terrorize us?
Whatever was going on, I had the sinking suspicion that I was getting pulled into the drama. Alcántara was overly curious about Carden, and to know Carden was to discover our bond.
&n
bsp; I had to find the killer.
And why not? I was a walking, talking weapon. In several short months, I’d learned sabotage, secrecy, and worse—I’d become one of the world’s most elite killing machines.