Page 11 of Vampire's Hearth

I took in his oceanic eyes and dark hair, pushing away the concern that he wouldn’t share his name. “Thanks for coming for me, whoever you are. But how did you get down here?”

He looked at the drop. “I guess I was just lucky when I jumped.” He shrugged, then cocked his head. “I thought you had a migraine?”

Thankfully, he couldn’t see the guilty blush that crept to my cheeks as they warmed. “I think I took a wrong turn on the way out of the cave,” I mumbled feebly.

“Really? You strayed off the marked path and into the tunnel David said was off-limits and treacherous by accident?” I could hear the smile in his voice.

“Maybe.” I smirked.

“Since we’re stuck here, what should I call you?”

“Why should I share my name if you won’t share yours?” I quipped.

“Eventually, we’ll need to find our way out of here. But first, we need to make sure you’re alright. Is your leg hurt?” His fingers softly ran down my left leg, starting just above my knee.

I shined the light on it and saw my twisted ankle. I gritted my teeth together to keep from screaming as his fingers ran along the tight skin. His delicate touch made me shiver as he cupped my foot and turned it to sit on the heel, removing my shoe. I whimpered as he did, vowing I wouldn’t cry.

“It isn’t broken,” he said. “You’re lucky. I would have sworn it was from the angle.”

I nodded, swallowing down the pain and gulping the air. After a moment, I became desensitized to the throb. I directed the light up the wall behind him, showing the path high above. “Neither of us brought any gear for climbing.” My voice shook as I spoke. “Do you have a phone? Mine is in my bag.”

The man shifted and removed the device from his pocket. He turned on the screen and showed it to me. “No signal.”

“And the group should be on the way out,” I said, noting the time. “Maybe we could call for them?”

“Save your voice. It won’t travel that far,” he said.

“Aren’t you just the optimist?” I retorted.

“Pragmatist,” he countered. “Can you walk?”

I had a headache and was stiff from falling onto my backpack. With care, I rose to my knees. I reached out and pressed my hand against the wall as I stood. As soon as I put weight on my twisted leg, pain shot into my back, causing me to buckle. I sat back down. “Maybe this is going to be harder than I thought.”

“Let me put your shoe in your knapsack, and I can help you.” He moved unbidden to my pack.

“No, wait—”

He was already unzipping it. I pushed my teeth together. He wouldn’t notice everything in it because of the darkness, I convinced myself.

He re-zipped my bag. “It’s pretty magical that you aren’t hurt worse with a fall like that,” he said, pointing at the ridge above us before sitting down. “Do you want to tell me what you were really doing in that tunnel? It seems like maybe you intended to get lost down here.” He gestured toward my backpack, a knowing look in his eyes.

His words struck me as odd. Magical? Most people would say miraculous. My thumb traced the ring on my finger. He was probably more correct than he knew that magic had broken my fall. It was the only thing that explained my minimal injuries. I tilted my head, looking into his deep blue eyes, still shining under the beam of my flashlight. The soothing connection felt as if I were standing on a beach staring out over the ocean. I broke away from his gaze.

How had he seen anything in my bag in the darkness? I was the only one with a light. Still, I felt there was only one option even though so much of my mind screamed against it. I dropped my voice. “Can I trust you?”

“Trust me?” he echoed, his voice rising on the last beat, shocked.

I swallowed, unsure of why I asked. Something about him made me trust him—like I needed him.Ugh. He had just followed me over a cliff, and now I mistook my gratefulness for some instant infatuation with him. “I came here trying to find something… odd.”

The man laughed, a deep echoing sound. “Odd, how?”

I dropped my eyes and twisted the ring on my finger. “Do you believe in those stories David was telling?”

“You mean the warlocks?”

“Warlocks, ghosts, witches, vampires—all of it?”

He became silent. “What would you say if I told you this room used to be sacred to a family of vampires, not warlocks?”

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