Page 35 of Fanged Secrets
Amara scrutinized the shoddy doodle and I caught her eye, shrugging sheepishly. “You could probably do a much better job than I can.”
That earned me the ghost of a smile from her, a tiny flicker of what we once had. But it quickly faded as I continued. I told her about tracking the dragon shifter’s activities in the city and came clean about the wound on my leg. My new injuries burned and my body pricked with fever, but this conversation was too important, and licking my wounds would have to wait.
My hands fumbled through the various signs until Amara’s brow furrowed.
I paused, took a deep breath, and tried again. This time, I slowed down, focusing on each sign, making sure to get it right. "Dragon... shifter... dangerous. I... track... got… hurt."
Her eyes softened slightly as she began to piece together my words. She nodded slowly, gesturing for me to go on even while her hands shook and the blood drained from her face.
I didn’t tell her everything, not about the Leyore coven and not about what would happen now that she knew what I was. I told her about the dragon shifters and how I’d been tracking them, skirting over the details of how I came to learn about them in the first place. I couldn’t reveal River, Jordan, or the rest of the Leyore vampires. It wasn’t my secret to share.
But I told her enough. I told her that I could transform, that I could fly, though I rarely did it in the city. It was far too risky to keep that form out in the open. I told her that I was born a vampire, my brother and I both. I told her I had tasted human blood in my youth, but never again until the day that I kissed her and she bled.
When I was done, I waited with bated breath, watching her closely. Her expression was unreadable, her eyes downcast as she contemplated my words.
After what felt like an agonizing eternity, Amara asked to be alone for a while, signing her request slowly for my sake. I was hesitant to leave her side after everything that happened. I couldn’t keep her safe if I couldn’t see her. But I nodded, backing out of the room and closing the door behind me.
I leaned my head against it and sighed. Inside, I heard Amara jimmy the key, heard the lock click in place. It was a sad, lonely little sound. I grappled with the foolish, inconsiderate urge to throw myself at the door, to beg her to let me back in. The black hole behind my eyes was hungry for her, the desperate want that had haunted me all my life urged me to break down the door and grovel at her feet.
Instead, I shoved my hands in my pockets and turned away.
I had spent so long keeping everyone at arm’s length – caring but never fully crossing that line. I wore my ambivalence like a second skin, grasping for connection and pulling away when it was freely given. This was what I had to show for it.
With nothing better to do, I paced circles around the motel’s dimly lit patio. Pausing every few minutes, I stared out at empty fields barely visible in the waning moonlight. Far from the city’s glare, the night sky revealed its true face, countless stars spilling over a velvety darkness.
Eventually, I wandered around the building to the reception area. The perverted old lady was fast asleep at the counter, magazine splayed open on her lap. I stared at the old, dusty motel phone for a long moment before finally picking it up.
The rotary dial felt foreign and cumbersome under my fingers, but I managed to dial Jordan’s number. The phone rang twice before she answered.
“Hello?” Jordan’s voice was uncommonly brisk, businesslike.
“It’s me,” I said quietly, glancing toward the snoozing receptionist. “I need a rescue.”
“Dylan?!” I winced away from the phone when Jordan’s voice rose a few decimals higher than necessary. “What happened, where are you?!”
I inspected my fingernails, picking at the crusted blood with the phone propped on my shoulder. “It’s a long story. Can you send a pickup?” I gave her the address I’d seen on a faded brochure next to the phone.
“Okay. Stay put, someone will come for you.” Jordan sighed. “What happened?”
I hesitated, then launched into an explanation of the afternoon’s events, the dragon shifter, and the confrontation that had left us both shaken and exhausted. Jordan listened quietly, and when I finished, there was a moment of silence.
“Fuck,” she finally said, in a tone that made me wince. “Just – hang tight, all right? Someone will come for you by morning. We can figure it out when you get back.”
Her unspoken words hung suspended before my eyes. She wanted to have Amara’s memories wiped. Maybe not right away, not until she could glean what Amara knew about her father’s plans, but it would happen.
The thought of it tore at my heart. Amara would forget everything that had happened between us, every bittersweet moment we shared. We would go back to how we were when we first met – strangers. Enemies. I brushed the thought aside, mumbling a brief goodbye, and hung up.
The receptionist stirred when I slammed the phone down and I quickly skirted out of view. Ducking through a doorway, I found myself in a small, musty lounge area with a few worn-out chairs and a vending machine. I made my way over to it, fishing out some coins from my pocket. Amara hadn’t eaten all day – she’d probably be unimpressed with anything other than spaghetti but that couldn’t be helped.
But when I tried to coax a bag of chips from the machine, it jammed. All at once, frustration simmered over, and I delivered an angry, potent kick to the side of the machine, leaving a noticeable dent for my trouble.
“Great,” I muttered to myself. “We’ve stooped to vandalism now.”
I sank into one of the moth-eaten chairs, burying my face in my hands.
It didn’t matter if Jordan wanted to wipe her memories. Amara was going to leave.
She had already made up her mind, I had seen it in her eyes. My heart gave an uncomfortable lurch, writhing away from the aching thought. But it was a hollow, gnawing pain that I couldn’t hide from. The thought of Amara leaving, of her walking awayfrom all of this, was almost too much to bear. But then again, I couldn’t blame her. I was well practiced in disappearing without a word, I understood why she would want to do the same.
