My vocal cords are frozen. My body is paralyzed. I stare hard at him, wishing him to recognize me. Why is he here? How the hell did he get in here?
His head cocks to the side, and he’s studying me so hard I feel adrenaline surge through me and realize it’s fear. I want to scan the room. Is Carrine here? Commanding him to kill me? Or to torture me, as Athios had warned? I want to run. I want to call out to him, scream his name, make him see me.
I want to touch him. So badly it hurts. Maybe if I do, he’ll remember me. He’ll remember us.
I concentrate. Focus. Holding his bloodred gaze, I breathe in. Out. Slowly, I lift my arm, reach my hand out to him. I’m grabbing blindly, gently when I feel his hand beneath mine.
For a split second, confusion flashes over Eli’s features. So quick I almost miss it. He could kill me so fast. I’ve seen how swift he turns. It’s little more than a blur, and his jaw extends, jagged teeth drop sharp and white, and he’ll go for my throat. He could snap my head right off like a dandelion. Right now he’s hesitating. And he’s alone. Is his resistance to Carrine’s control strengthening? Is he remembering me?
I swallow, pushing past my fear. My heart throbs inside my ribs, and I have to concentrate to keep my breathing under control. Staring, willing him to recognize me, I hold my hand against his.
“Eligius Dupré,” I whisper. “Eli, please, come back to me.”
Eli’s nostrils flare. His head cocks farther to the side, and his eyebrows pull together into a frown. He’s considering. Studying.
Or remembering?
“Riley, what’s the holdup?”
Noah’s voice startles me, and on instinct, I drop my hand and glance toward the door just as he enters. His face hardens, just that fast.
I turn my head back to Eli.
He has disappeared. My eyes move to the window, and the drapes are still fluttering. Hurrying over, I peer out into the night, my eyes searching the shadows, the street, the walk.
Eli’s gone.
At the window, I sag against it.
Noah’s beside me, his hand on my shoulder. “He could have killed you, Riley.” He squeezes me, his fingers digging into my bones. “I wouldn’t have been able to stop him, darlin’.”
“Yeah,” I agree. “I know that.” I look up at him. “He hesitated, though. Looked as if he was trying to figure something out.” I shrug. “Or figure me out. Do you think he remembered?”
“Hard to say.” He grasps my jaw gently and turns my face up to his. “If anyone’s capable of reaching a vampire through a bloodlust phase, it’s you.” He kisses me, a fast brush across the lips. “You’re kinda unforgettable, you know. And I’d like to keep you around for as long as possible, so if Eli approaches you again, call me.” He taps my temple. “In here.” He drops his hand and shakes his head. “Swear to God, for a human with so much power, you don’t utilize a third of it.”
“I guess I wasn’t thinking,” I admit. “Except to try and make him see me.”
Noah chucks me under the chin. “I know.” He inclines his head. “Let’s go.”
I finish changing, Noah helps me gear up, even though I don’t need the help, and we head out. Downstairs, Seth and Rhine stand together, talking.
Riley, please. I can barely stand this—being here, and not there. How are you holding up?
Vic, it’s okay. We’ve got a little unexpected help from a group of hunters here in Inverness. They’re apt. Kick-ass apt. We’re doing fine. I promise.
I don’t know what’s happening, Riley. I don’t like it. I have a horrible feeling about everything. I should come.
No. You stay put. At least until we get things figured out here. Eli is here, Vic. And he’s not himself. He’s being controlled by a witchpire, of all things.
Damn me. Haven’t heard that term in quite some time. Please. Don’t be overzealous with your abilities. Keep Miles with you at all times. I beg you.
I don’t think I have a choice anymore. He’s on me like glue.
Good. And a warning: The moment I feel you’ve upset the balance of safety there, I’m on the first plane to Inverness. I swear it.
I’ll keep you posted, Vic.
You’d better.
I finish my mind convo with Victorian Arcos and hit the living area. My eyes scan the room. My brother. He’s here. And I haven’t seen him in . . . weeks. Since before Edinburgh. I walk up to him, and he drapes a lean arm around my shoulders and pulls me close. I look up at him. “We run together tonight, bro,” I say.
“Lads, you know where tae go,” Rhine says to the twenty or so Ness boys gathered in the hall. A few faces are ones I haven’t seen yet. “Rob, Tate, Jep—you’ll run wi’ us.”
The Ness boys break down into groups and start filing out of the door. Noah walks over to us and places a hand on mine and Seth’s shoulders. He squeezes us both.
“You two Poes don’t stir up any extra unwanted trouble,” he warns. “And don’t approach Eli or Carrine alone. If you cross paths, call me.”
I nod. “We will.”
“And if Arcos—either one—tries to get to you, don’t entertain that, either.”
I throw Noah a grin. “Yes, Mother.” Noah probably never will trust Victorian Arcos, but I do. He’s on our side, and I don’t think he ever was as evil as everyone claims. I feel lighter now. More hopeful. The possibility that Eli is trying to resist Carrine lifts my spirits. I want to save him. So bad.
Noah waves and disappears out the door. We’re right behind him.
Outside, the air is cold and the wind brisk; a fine mist falls, and I pull my hair into a ponytail. Scanning the front of the Crachan’s lot, I notice Noah’s already disappeared with his group. With Rhine in the lead, we head off.
We run the city for four hours before I notice anything. Seth and I have scaled a row of buildings, and we leap the rooftops as Rhine, Tate, Rob, and Jep jog the sidewalk below. It’s just after ten p.m. I stop, listening.
Seth stops, too. The thigh-length leather coat he’s wearing conceals as many silver blades as I have on me. A skully keeps his hair plastered down. “What is it?” he asks.
I lift my chin, smell the air, zone all city noises out. Streetlights illuminate side streets, and I cast a glance over the cityscape. Coned turrets and spires from the city center jab the air, and the castle sits light up on the hill, holding sentry over the city.
But something’s not right.
“What is it?” Seth asks again. He, too, scans the skyline.
I shake my head, stare at the rooftop under my feet. I close my eyes.
Then I hear it. Not a faint word, but a voice, in my head.
Ah, ma chère. There you are. Bon. I want you to remember something very important, oui?
My eyes flutter open, then shut again; I’m desperate not to lose what was happening.
“Riley, what’s going on?” Seth says at my side. He grabs my chin and forces me to look at him. I do, but I smile, press two fingers to his lips to silence him, and close my eyes.
Yes, ma chère, there you go. I need your complete concentration to speak with you as such.
“Mr. Dupré,”I say in my head. “You could’ve just called me on my cell.”
Eli’s father chuckles. “Now, what good is having such fine, combined inhuman tendencies if not to use them thusly? My dear girl, I won’t keep you long, but I want you to know only this. My son loves you deeply—more than his own existence. Never has he given his heart away to another, since our human life. Only to you. And other than my love for my beloved wife, I’ve never seen another vampire love so completely. If anyone can dredge him from the hell he is in and save him, it is you, my darling. Remember the blood coursing through you is filled with more than simply Arcos’s Strigoi. You have Dupré in you as well. You always will. Bring my son home, ma chère.”