Betrayed. Morgan Rice

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СКАЧАТЬ leapt from. She had been staying at the top of the highest tower, opening up onto a huge rampart, a wide, open terrace. On it, there stood a single, lone vampire. Caitlin did not have to fly any closer to know who that vampire was. She knew it already, in her very heart and soul. His blood now ran through her, and she loved him with all her heart. And now that he’d turned her, she loved him with something even more than love. She knew, even from this far distance, that the loan figure pacing outside her room was Caleb.

      Her heart soared at the sight of him. He was here. He was really here. Standing there, waiting, right outside her room. He must have been waiting for her to recover. All this time.

      Who knew how much time had passed? He had never left her side. Even with all that had happened, all that was going on now. She loved him more than she could say. And now, they would be together for eternity.

      He stood there, leaning over the ramparts, looking down at the river, looking both concerned and sad.

      Caitlin dove right towards him, hoping to surprise him, to impress him with her newfound skill.

      Caleb looked up, shocked, and his face lit with joy.

      But as Caitlin came in for a landing, something suddenly went wrong. She felt herself losing her balance, losing coordination. She felt as if she were coming in too fast, and she couldn’t correct it in time. As she came in over the ramparts, she scraped her knee on the stone and landed too hard, taking a hard role on the stone.

      “Caitlin!” Caleb exclaimed, running over to her.

      Caitlin lay on the hard stone, feeling a new aching pain running up her leg. She was fine. If she had been the old Caitlin, merely a human, she would have broken several bones. But as this new Caitlin, she knew she would bounce back, recover from it quickly, within minutes probably.

      But she was embarrassed. She had wanted to surprise and impress Caleb. Now she looked like an idiot.

      “Caitlin?” he asked again, kneeling by her side, laying a hand of her shoulder. “Are you okay?”

      She looked at him, grinning sheepishly.

      “Some way to impress you,” she said, feeling like a fool.

      He ran a hand along the side of her leg, checking her injury.

      “I’m not human anymore,” she snapped. “You don’t have to worry about me.”

      She immediately regretted her words, and her tone. It had come out like an accusation, almost as if she regretted being turned. And she hadn’t meant to take a harsh tone. On the contrary, she loved his touch, loved the fact that he was still so protective. She had wanted to thank him, to say all this and more, but as usual, she screwed it up, and said exactly the wrong thing at the wrong time.

      What a terrible first impression as the new Caitlin. She still just couldn’t keep her mouth shut. Clearly, some things never changed, even with immortality.

      She sat up, and was about to lay her hand on his shoulder and apologize, when suddenly, she heard a whining noise, and felt a furry cloud in her face. She leaned back, and realized what it was.

      Rose. Her wolf pup, Rose leapt into Caitlin’s arms. Rose was whining with excitement, and licking Caitlin all over her face. Caitlin couldn’t help but break out laughing. She gave Rose a hug, and pulled her back and looked at her.

      Still a pup, Rose had already grown, and was bigger than Caitlin remembered. Caitlin thought, and recalled when she last saw Rose, in the King’s Chapel, lying on the floor, bleeding, shot by Samantha. She had been sure Rose was dead.

      “She pulled through,” Caleb said, reading her mind, as always. “She’s tough. Like her mother,” he added with a smile.

      Caleb must have been watching over them both all this time.

      “How long have I been out?” Caitlin asked.

      “One week,” Caleb said.

      One week, Caitlin thought. Incredible.

      She felt like she’d been out for years. She felt like she’d died and returned to life, but in a new form. She felt washed clean, as if she were starting life again with a blank slate.

      But as she remembered all the events that were transpiring, she realized that the passing of one week was also an eternity. They had stolen the Sword. And her brother, Sam, kidnapped. An entire week had gone by. Why hadn’t Caleb gone after them? Every minute counted.

      Caleb got to his feet, and so did Caitlin. She stood opposite him, looking up into his eyes. Her heart started beating. She didn’t know what to do. What was the protocol, the etiquette, now that they were both true vampires? Now that he was the one who had turned her? Were they together? Did he love her just as much now that she was of his race? Now that they’d be together forever?

      She felt more nervous, like there was more at stake, than ever before.

      She reached up and gently lay a hand on his cheek.

      He looked down into her eyes, and his eyes shone in the moonlight.

      “Thank you,” she said, softly.

      She had wanted to say, I love you, but it hadn’t come out right. She had wanted to ask: will you be with me forever? Do you still love me?

      But despite everything, despite all of her newfound powers, she didn’t have the courage to say that. She could have at least said, Thank you for saving me, or, Thank you for watching over me, or Thank you for being here. She knew how much he had given up to be here, how much he had sacrificed. But all she could manage was, Thank you.

      He slowly smiled, reached up with one hand, and gently pulled the hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear. He then ran the back of his hand, so smooth, over her face, studying her.

      She wondered what he was thinking. Was he about to express his love for her forever? Would he kiss her?

      She felt that he was about to, and suddenly she got nervous. Nervous for what their new life would be like. Nervous for what would happen if it didn’t work out. So instead of savoring the moment, she had to go ahead and ruin it, open her big fat mouth when all she wanted to do was keep it shut.

      “What happened to the Sword?” she asked.

      His facial expression changed completely. It transformed from a look of love, of passion, to troubling concern. She saw it happening instantly, like a dark cloud passing over a summer sky.

      He turned and took several steps towards the edge of the stone ramparts, his back to her, and looked out at the river.

      You’re such an idiot, she thought to herself. Why did you have to say anything? Why couldn’t you just let him kiss you?

      She cared about the Sword, that was true, but not nearly as much as she cared about him. About them, as a couple. But she had ruined the moment.

      “I’m afraid the Sword is gone,” Caleb said softly, his back to her, looking out. “It was stolen from us. By Samantha, then Kyle. They caught us by surprise. I did not anticipate their being there. I should have.”

      Caitlin walked to him, standing by his side and gently reaching up and placing a hand on his shoulder. She hoped that maybe she could change СКАЧАТЬ