Page 56 of Cinderella and Her Vampires (Dirty Paranormal Fairytale Haremlan 5)

“I’m human and fragile,” I said to Brock. “I can’t run down the stairs like you.”

He glanced over his shoulder and pulled me into him, lifting me over his shoulder and rushing down the stairs as the entire building around us started to cave in on itself. My heart was in my chest, and I had no idea what was going on. Were we under attack? Was our country being invaded?

The last one wasn’t too far off scenario considering the Atlantic Ocean was Boston’s front yard.

Several breathless seconds later, Brock sat me on my feet. Once I caught my balance, I stood taller and straightened out my clothes. I settled my attention on the man from the bar. Collin, I heard the men call him. I was slightly shocked to see him standing there in the middle of Silas and Xavier, considering he was supposed to be in the other world. He looked every bit of the monster I had always imagined vampires to be. He wasn’t gorgeous like the three men I had grown fascinated with and had just allowed to mark me.

I settled my eyes on the rubble that filled the area around me. My heart broke at each piece of stone and debris. The beauty and wonder of the place was forever scarred and destroyed. Was this what happens when vampires get into a fight.

“Yes,” Brock said.

“Huh?” I asked.

“You asked if this is what it looks like when vampires get into a fight. The answer is yes,” he said.

I stared at him confused. I didn’t think I had spoken out loud. I guess I had. “Uh… thank you?”

He nodded. “I wouldn’t be thanking me yet.”

Collin attacked. The mansion shook again. I ducked and Brock covered me with his body. The fight was loud, and each hit was as though heavy artillery blew up… like a war zone. If they didn’t stop soon, someone was going to take notice of the noise. That wasn’t going to be good for anyone.

Then Xavier rushed over to me and shoved me into a hiding spot, and I was forced to stay there, hoping, and praying, I didn’t become trapped. He nestled me in between some debris that had fallen from the exterior wall. The vibrations were worse, and I couldn’t see anything. I could only feel and hear, and each explosion was terrifying. I had never been so scared in my entire life.

I wasn’t sure how much more destruction the poor, beautiful mansion could take before the thing tumbled all around us. Then silence finally settled. Either that or I had gone deaf. I waited for more vibrations, but nothing happened. I then waited for one of the men to come back and get me and that also never happened.

If I was getting out of the hole I was nestled into, I had to climb out on my own.

So, I climbed out, careful not to cut myself on the sharp, jagged edges of the stone. And once I was finally out, I took a look around. Dust filled the air, clouding everything. Walls and ceiling littered the floor and pillars lay toppled over. It was a wonder the mansion still stood as well as it was. Though it seemed as though it would crumble if someone breathed wrong, which made me want to hold my breath.

But one thing was for certain. The fight was finally over. Thankfully.

I carefully made my way through the disarray of what was now the mansion, toward the men. I found them standing together, staring down at the floor. I tried not to look too closely at the blood that pooled at their feet and the lifeless body that laid still.

I took another step closer and kicked a piece of stone, sending the small piece of rubble skipping among the debris and drawing the attention of the men. All three of them turned around and rested their forlorn gazes on me.

“Is it over?” I asked.

“I thought I told you to stay put until I came and got you,” Xavier said.

I shrugged and put on my best apologetic smile. “Oops?”

Instantly, all three of them approached me and started looking me over for injuries. They even sniffed me and nodded to themselves, which I thought was weird. Endearing, but weird. I stepped back, drawing their attention again.

“I’m fine. Really,” I said.

“Thank the universe for that,” Silas said.

Xavier took another step back and then kicked a piece of rubble, sending it bouncing down what was left of the hallway. “What do we do now?”

“We need to move,” Brock said. “Seeing as how our home was just destroyed.”

Silas sighed. “Yes. But where? It’s becoming harder and harder to hide who we are here.”

Sirens sounded in the background, alerting us to company. They were still a ways off, which gave us a few minutes to figure out the next steps.

“Whatever we decide to do, we need to do it quickly,” Xavier said. “Those sirens are heading toward us and will be here in minutes.”

“Stay here,” Silas said. “You two, come with me. We have others to check on and gather.”

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