Chapter 2
The east tower was the highest point in the whole castle.
The stairs went up and up. I walked first, and he followed behind me.
At the very top was an open platform.
From up there, I could see everything.
The castle sat right in the middle, with nothing but trees all around.
There were no roads, no villages, not a single soul anywhere.
My fingers gripped the stone railing.
[She's looking for a way out.]
[The tower's got the best view. Looks like she's finally using her brain.]
I pulled my eyes away from the view and turned to look at him.
He was holding an umbrella, but some sunlight still managed to get through and fall on him.
His collar had been buttoned all the way up. Most of his face stayed in the shadows, but his hand was trembling slightly.
"Why are you standing so close to me?" I snapped.
He pressed his lips together and said nothing.
[For a vampire, standing in the sun is like a fish out of water. His hand's already burned. He's about to collapse.]
All of a sudden, I felt awful.
If I took the whole blood-sacrifice thing out of the picture, he'd been really good to me.
[Wake up. It's all an act. He's only nice to you so your blood will taste sweeter. In five days, he'll still drain you dry.]
My heart, which had started to soften, turned cold again.
I glanced at him. "I'm so tired. Carry me."
[She was feeling sorry for him a few seconds ago, and now, she's bossing him around again.]
[She wants him gone, but she's not going to make it easy for him.]
He'd carried me so many times before: on walks, up and down the stairs, whenever I hadn't felt like walking.
His arms had always been rock-solid.
But today was different. He wasn't cold at all.
"Why are you so warm?" I asked.
He didn't answer. He turned his face away, and the tips of his ears went red.
[He was worried she'd complain about him being cold, so he put heating pads all over himself under his clothes.]
I couldn't help glancing down at his collar.
Right underneath his shirt, I saw the edge of one of those flesh-colored patches.
After a moment, he held me a little tighter and asked in a low, rough voice, "Can I come into your room tonight?"
I wanted to say no.
But the way he looked at me, so careful and unsure, made it impossible for me to turn him down.
I nodded.
That night, he came to my room after he'd showered.
I didn't really pay attention to whatever story he read out loud.
I buried my face in his chest.
My fingers slid down along his ribs and found the edge of a heating pad under his shirt.
He held his breath.
Floating words popped up.
[She found the heating pad!]
[Here she goes again. She's touching him again.]
[Does she have any idea who she's messing with? That's Prince Cecil, the one the Vampire Council fears most. And she's using him like a personal hand warmer.]
When I saw those words, my fingers froze.
Then I slowly pulled my hand away.
"What's wrong?" he asked, his eyes wide.
"Nothing," I said.
I slipped out of his arms, wrapped the blanket around myself, and turned my back to him.
"Go sleep in your own room. I don't want you here at night anymore," I said.
It was quiet behind me for a long time.
Then the room started to get colder.
My bare shoulder, the one outside the blanket, broke out in goosebumps.
"Did I do something wrong?" Cecil's voice was soft.
I heard the quiet rustle of his clothes as he sat up straight.
I bit my lip and didn't turn around.
"Even with the heating pads, you're still freezing," I said.
Silence fell again.
"I get it. I'll find something warmer for you tomorrow," he said quietly.
He got up from the bed and carefully tucked the blanket around me. "Good night."
The door closed behind him.
I curled up under the covers and stared at the ceiling.
[Five days left.]
[On the night of the full moon, the seven Elders of the Vampire Council will gather in the great hall for the ritual sacrifice.]
[There's a hidden door in the deepest part of the underground wine cellar. Push it open, and it leads straight out into the forest.]
[But no one's ever made it out that way, because the door needs a living human's blood to open.]
There were five days left.
I stared at the half-moon outside my window and burned every single word into my memory.