Audrina
“Ms. Hawthorne?” There was a knock on the door. “It’s Nigel. I have provisions for you. Master is not here. It is quite safe.”
I opened the door a crack and peered past Nigel, making sure it wasn’t some sort of trick.
“I cannot lie to you, Miss. I assure you we are alone.” Nigel dipped his head into a bow.
“S-Sorry. Please come in.”
I opened the door, and he wheeled a cart into the bedroom. There was a silver tray on it, with a matching silver carafe. Nigel bustled to the closet, hung a garment bag on the outside, and set about turning on all the lights and fluffing the pillows.
“Master has asked that you please eat and then get dressed. He said you have a business to attend to.” He started making the bed, smoothing the sheets, and neatly tucking them in.
“Where is he?” My voice was thick.
“I believe he’s in a meeting. He will return shortly to collect you.”
“W-What if I say no?”
“You can always say no, Ms. Hawthorne.” Nigel nodded at me patiently. “But Master wanted me to let you know that at the moment, you are still bound by the terms of your contract. If you wish to rescind, you may do so, but you must follow the proper steps.”
I wrapped my arms against my chest. “Can’t I… Can’t I just leave? And call him later to cancel?”
“I am not privy to the particular clauses of your arrangement,” Nigel said. “However, I can tell you that if you’ve made a promise to Master to stay, you would not be able to leave. Not unless the contract is properly broken.”
I stared at him. “What would happen if I tried?”
Nigel frowned. “I’m afraid that’s not possible.”
Even though I was in pajamas, I hustled through the door, practically running to the elevator. I hit the button, then fidgeted. What did he mean, it wasn’t possible for me to leave?
Even though the button was lit, I hit it again. And again. Finally, the doors opened. I stepped inside and looked at the keypad.
There was only one button. It was marked with an arrow pointing down.
“Nigel!” I hollered.
He appeared at the elevator. “Yes, Miss?”
I pointed at the keypad as though it had wronged me. “There’s only one button. Going down. Yesterday there were two-one who went up-I saw it for me.”
He nodded patiently. “Yes, Miss. But that is exactly what I mean. You cannot leave unless you’ve properly canceled the contract. Now, come along. You must eat something and get dressed.”
“I don’t. I don’t understand…” I started from the keypad to Nigel’s face, which was pale and composed above his impeccable tuxedo. “Where…? How…?”
“Come now,” Nigel said kindly, “you mustn’t worry yourself about the how. Come and eat, Miss. The master will be back soon, and I am sure you desire to have your strength.”
I didn’t seem to have much of a choice; I followed him down the hall, back to my bedroom. But something occurred to me for the first time.
“W-Wait.” I glanced at Nigel. “Are you…?”
Panic seized my chest. I struggled to catch my breath. “Oh, my God! Is Mrs. Finn?”
“No, Miss-please, do not do this to yourself.” Nigel stopped and faced me. “We heard about the terrible incident last night, and we are truly sorry for what happened. You must’ve been very frightened. But I am not a vampire, nor is Mr. Finn, nor Mrs. Finn. Your sister is safe, and so are you.”
My heart thundered in my chest. “I don’t understand-”
“And no one would expect you to,” he said gently. “This is all brand-new. But I assure you that all the staff who work for Master are serving-class, born and bred.”
“You’re h-human?”
“No. We are neither human nor vampire. We are a different species entirely, one that is an integral part of the Underworld’s ecosystem.”
Nigel started walking again, and I kept pace. “We serve the ruling class, and we keep their secrets,” he continued. “In turn, they protect us.”
I mulled over this new information for a moment, then asked, “So are you from here-the Underworld? Or are you from…” Having no language to describe this new perspective, I pointed vaguely at the ceiling.
“We are creatures of the Underworld. But like Master and his counterparts, we are certainly comfortable above ground. I was just out in the city visiting the tailor, picking up your day dress.”
“T-Thank you.”
Nigel swept into a bow as we reached my room. “It is I that must thank you. Your presence has brought a renewed sense of purpose here. It’s a comfort to have you. Master has been alone for far too long.”
“I’m afraid… I’m afraid I can’t stay, Nigel. I’m sorry. But I didn’t know… I couldn’t have guessed…” My eyes pricked with tears and my cheeks heated. “I-I’m scared.” I fought the urge to bawl; there was no use crying in front of a stranger, kind though he was.
“Shh, there now.” He produced a pristine white handkerchief and handed it to me. “Of course, you couldn’t have known. But Master is supremely gifted at his self-control-I can assure you he would never harm you. He will protect you. You are safe here, with us-please do not be afraid.”
I blotted my eyes and got my tears under control.
“Excellent, Miss. Now please, go and eat. Then get dressed. The master will return shortly; I know he is eager to hear what you have to say, whatever you decide.” He bowed. “If you choose to leave and I do not see you again, please know it has been an honor to serve you.”
I nodded, feeling precipitously close to tears again. “Thank you, Nigel.”
Once he’d gone, a sense of urgency overtook me. I needed to eat and get dressed. That way, I would be ready to leave as soon as Gabriel released me from the contract. I hurried to the silver tray and lifted it. Inside was a delicious-looking stack of French toast, still warm, garnished with fresh berries. It smelled like heaven. I poured out the contents of the carafe into a tall, frosted glass; it was Strawberry Refresher.
I couldn’t help but smile as I sipped the pink drink-but then I remembered everything that had happened, and the smile slid from my face. Leonora almost killed me last night. I shivered, picturing the way her fangs had glinted in the light. And then Gabriel had come to save me, and I’d seen his fangs…
I would be leaving the Underworld as soon as I could. I would be leaving him.
That’s a good thing, Audrina, I reminded myself. He’s a freaking vampire!
But I sighed as I cut into my breakfast, imagining the return to my dreary life at Hawthorne Hall, to Vivian and Eva and all of our troubles. At least I would be reunited with my sister.
As if she’d somehow sensed me thinking about her, the tablet pinged from my nightstand. I grabbed it and answered Winnie’s call.
“Good morning!” My sister grinned at me. She looked like a million bucks-her long hair was shiny and blown out, she wore a new top, and her makeup was flawless. She peered at me, her pretty features scrunching up. “Why do you look like crap?”
“Why do you look so good?” I asked defensively.
“Because Mrs. Finn is taking me on a shopping spree, and I wanted to look decent. We’re going to the fancy mall, the one with the biggest Sephora. It also has a Gucci store! She said Gabriel told her to buy me a whole new wardrobe. Can you imagine?”
My heart sank. “Wow. That’s…that’s great, Winnie. But I need to tell you something-“
“How did it go last night, huh?” Her eyes sparkled. “Did you have a glass of champagne?”
“Yes-”
“Did you kiss him?”
“Yes, but-”
“Oh, my God!” She jumped up and down, taking the screen with her. I knew it! I knew it! Gabriel “Dalca is your Prince Charming! Hah! Wait until Vivian and Eva find out that a billionaire’s in love with you. They’re going to freak!”
“He’s not in love with me. Listen, Winnie, it’s not what you think-”
“Oh, no you don’t.” Her eyes got huge on her face. “Don’t you dare undo this? You finally had your first kiss. Please don’t act like it didn’t mean anything.”
“It didn’t mean anything.” Last night it had meant everything, but now I knew that was a lie. A vampire’s trick. “And anyway, it’s not like any of this is real.”
“Please stop it.” Winnie suddenly sounded as though she might cry.
“You always do that-you act like everything’s no big deal, like you don’t care like you don’t need anything. But you do. You do need things-and you deserve a little fracking’ happiness, for once!”
“I think I’m going to come home today.” My mouth went dry. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know about your shopping trip. I don’t… I don’t think I can go through with this.”
“What? And this isn’t about shopping. You know I don’t care about anything but you!” Winnie stared at me. “Did something bad happen? Did he…Audrina, did he h-hurt you?”
“No-no,” I said quickly. “He was the perfect gentleman.” That wasn’t exactly true, but then again, I’d hardly behaved myself. I’d begged him to have sex with me in public, so…
“So what happened? Why are you coming home?” She sounded crushed.
“I miss you.” My eyes filled with stupid tears again. “And I guess I’m just overwhelmed. I don’t think I can see this through.”
“I miss you, too-I can’t wait for you to come back.” Winnie tilted her head as she inspected me. “But I thought you were going to finally have an adventure. I thought you liked him.”
“I did.” I swallowed hard. But then his crazy ex-girlfriend, the vampire, tried to kill me—and I found out what he is.
I’d sworn to Gabriel that I would protect his identity and his secrets. I had zero intention of telling Winnie the truth-that would be dangerous for her. But I had to give her an explanation that was somewhere in the ballpark of reasonable so that she would understand why I had to come home.
“It’s just that, he’s… He’s different than I thought.” My mind raced to produce a credible explanation. “He’s older than me, and so much more sophisticated and experienced. It’s like he’s from a different world. I don’t belong here.”
Her brow furrowed as she listened. “But he wanted you there. He wanted to bring you to the wedding. He knew who you were and where you were from, right? He didn’t seem too concerned about it.”
“Right, but it’s his world.” My cheeks heated as I warmed to the topic. “Not mine.”
“But… Just because it’s different, it doesn’t make it bad,” Winnie reasoned.
“I don’t know about that.”
She frowned at me. “You’re not telling me something.”
I shook my head. “I just… I just don’t belong here. I don’t belong with him.”
“You’ve only been gone for one night,” she reminded me. “Maybe you could, I don’t know, give him a chance?”
I blew out a deep breath. “I already did.”
“Okay, Audrina. If you say so.” She nodded, but she didn’t sound convinced. “I’ll be waiting for you. I can’t wait to see you.”
“I can’t wait to see you, either.” And although that was certainly true, I still ended the call with a heavy heart.