Page 5 of House of Crimson Kisses
I run harder than I’ve ever run.
My feet pound over the cobbles, carrying me across Cordelia’s courtyard, down the long avenue that leads up to the castle and into the underground tunnels beneath the base of the castle.
By the time I stop, my chest is killing me. I must have run hard enough to give myself a muscle spasm in my ribs. Gods, I assumed I was fitter than this. I’ll have to work harder, go back to daily running.
I wait for a carriage to appear. This is the fastest way to get across the city and to the harbour where I can leave.
I need to get out of this city. I need to be away.
From her.
From the truth of what I am.
But more than anything, from what she did.
* * *
The carriage ride takes longer than I’d like, which means I sleep part of the day away. When I finally reach the harbour, I pay the carriage driver and head towards the underground tunnels beneath the docks. I have to pay the dock man in sketches and painting to keep my comings and goings quiet. He makes a note of what I owe him, and I head into the tunnels.
Fuck Octavia.
Fuck her forever. We are done. She broke the one promise I begged her to keep. She tried to compel me to forget everything we had and for fucking what? Because I’m the dhampir? How fucking could she?
It’s only as the light dips and I enter the tunnels, the cool, damp air washing over me, that I realise…
Shetriedto compel me.
Tried.
It didn’t work.
Fuck me, it didn’t work. Why didn’t it work? It should have. Not that I want to be compelled, but I am no different to any other human or hunter. We’re all susceptible and she’s admitted she did it before—the night she turned Amelia.
So why didn’t it work?
I run through the possibilities. Maybe it’s because I’m the dhampir? Or I’m meant to be. I won’t be if I have anything to say about it. Would being a dhampir make me immune to compulsion? It would make me half vampire. That has to have some impact on the susceptibility of being compelled. That must be it.
Though, wait. Vampires can compel each other. Or rather, Octavia and Cordelia can because they’re two of the original three—they’re stronger than all the others—which makes this make even less sense.
I rub at my chest as I step into another carriage that will take me most of the way towards New Imperium—there’s only one person I want to see right now. Part of me feels guilty for not going to Lincoln, but he’s in too deep and too close to Dahlia right now that I’m not sure where we stand. It’s too much of a risk. I’ll have to walk part of the way to the city. Which wouldn’t be a problem if my chest didn’t hurt this much.
I spend the entire journey wondering what caused Octavia’s compulsion to fail. What if she didn’t mean it enough?
Who am I kidding? Octavia doesn’t do anything without intention. I’m not going to defend her actions. She can go fuck herself.
The carriage driver deposits me about a kilometre away from the New Imperium border. It’s a little further from here, but I should be in the city soon. I can’t wait to see my bestie. Bella will calm me down. She’ll know what to say to make it better.
I break into a run, deciding now is as good a time as any to bring up my cardio fitness. But before long, my chest is heaving, and I have to stop and catch my breath. Each time I stop, I get more irritated with myself.
What the hell is wrong with me? I can normally do a ten kilometre run without much difficulty. Why am I struggling today?
By the time I hit the city border, I’m dizzy. I slow even further as I meander through the tunnels and out into the heart of New Imperium. This is the new town, or I’m fairly sure it is. And if it is, Remy—Bella’s girlfriend—lives close by. I could start by going there and seeing if Bella is with her.
I’m staggering now, my breath short. My chest is full of hot irons, stabbing and pulling at my lungs, my heart. I find the street Remy lives on a little by memory and a little by luck.
But I collapse to my knees, entirely winded, wondering if I can call Bella to come here, but… I’m not carrying the orb calling device that Remy made.
And that is my last thought as I bend forward, dropping to all fours and collapsing into darkness.
