Page 27 of Deadly Alliances

My body tingled, and I found myself unable to pull away from the straw. Right now, the only thing in the world was me and the blood.

The flow of heaven suddenly stopped, followed by loud slurping sounds. My eyes flashed open, and I pulled away from the tall glass, shocked to see that I drank it all.

Marguerite chuckled as she rose to her feet, placing the empty glass back on the desk. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen anybody chug like that. You must’ve been thirsty.”

My eyes followed the empty glass, wishing it were full again. But my body still tingled, my wells of energy replenishing slightly. I wasn’t cured of the copper slowly poisoning me, but I was content. Life wasn’t so bad.

“Now let me set the mood.” Marguerite turned her wrist over, tapping her smartwatch. All the lights in the room went dark, and I felt suddenly blinded. It was as if Marguerite had placed a cover over my eyes.

“Wh–what are you d–doing?” I stammered, trying to focus my eyes. Never had any darkness been able to blind me since I’d become a vampire.

Marguerite didn’t respond.

Slowly a small light appeared a few feet away. As the light continued to brighten, the scene that illuminated was not that of Marguerite’s room, and I gasped at where I was: Skye Boarding House.

I spun in my seat, surprised to find that my wrists were no longer shackled. But more shocking was the fact that Marguerite wasn’t anywhere to be seen.

I found myself sitting in the Skye’s wooden chair—the same onethat resided at my apartment in Chicago.

A cruel chill crawled down my back. “Marguerite?” I called, hoping she’d enter and explain what was going on. “What trick are you playing on me?”

And then I heard her—not Marguerite, buther!

“Alice?” I whispered, my eyes widening and my heart beating so rapidly it threatened to jump out of my body. Her voice was coming from the dining room, and I leapt to my feet.

And then I heard Camilla’s voice, a little louder than Alice’s—just loud enough that I could hear what she said.

“Julian is going to propose to you any day now.”

“What?” Alice gasped. “You are sure of this?”

“He told me just today,” Camilla replied.

There was a moment’s pause, then Alice said, “What should I do?”

“That is the great puzzle you will have to solve, I am afraid,” Camilla said with a laugh.

“Would it be too rude to tell him to try proposing to one of the trees in the orchard, since they are all he cares about?”

Again, Camilla laughed. “I wouldloveto see his reaction if that was your reply.”

This isn’t right.

Before I met Shea, I’d frequently relived memories from my past. But while this felt like a memory, I knew it wasn’t. I’d never heard Alice and Camilla talking about my imminent proposal, and I couldn’t imagine it would’ve gone like this.

It wouldn’t have, right?The question was posed to the Alice in my mind, but she didn’t respond. Her voice hadn’t come to mefor quite some time, either.

“What is quite sad,” Alice continued, “is that he does not realize that I have only allowed him to court me out of pity. It is no small wonder that he let Marguerite Morton go without even thinking twice. Can you imagine, dear Camilla? Me falling desperately in love with that poor fool, then getting thrown out to pasture because of his duty to the orchard?” She laughed in a way I had never heard. It sounded too...wicked.

“You have to admire his dedication, though,” Camilla said. “The orchard would not be as successful as it is without his hard work.”

“Again, he really should consider proposing to one of the elegant apple trees that waits on his caressing hands every day,” Alice said.

Both girls must’ve covered their mouths because their laughs were muffled. My heart slowed to a dullthump-thump. Hearing Alice’s voice behind those words... It sounded so real. I tried to think about other memories that would disprove this conversation, but the effort was broken as Camilla spoke again.

“Please let him down easily,” she said quietly. “Deep inside, he can be quite vulnerable.”

“I might not have it in my heart to tell him ‘no’ right away,” Alice replied.

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