The Caged Vampire Series to Entered-The Glare In Glass Book 3

Caged Bird's Melody-Two

Felix slammed the door shut as I collapsed on the cold, marble floor. I try to get my breathing to be even, rubbing the stinging vampire bites on my arms. I am glad that is all it does aside from feeling dizzy and tired. I crawl over to my bed, laying on my side, long, fifteen-year-old length legs spread out. I didn't even bother pulling the duvet over me. I only knew one way to make the pain go away and that was to sleep because even if Aro let me have some pain medicine, my body temperature would probably burn it off quickly. The task is not difficult when I shut my mind down and make my body go completely numb, something that becomes easy after five and a half years of painful tests.

My mother is in my dreams as usual. They varied from her singing me to sleep to watching me burn in turn of me watching her. Luckily, this time I dreamed that she is running her hands through my hair, humming a soft melody in my ear. I smiled in my dream, feeling warm and content like I used to. But unfortunately, I know that it is only a dream and it won't last long.

I was proven right whenever there is a loud banging on my door before it is opened wide and someone lightly sat on my bed, making a dent a human wouldn't notice. I felt a hand that was much different than my mother's run through my wavy hair. I sat up and faced my father, the stinging in my arms now gone. He grabbed my hand without saying anything, partly reading my mind and partly examining the five bite marks which have faded to scars that are barely lighter than my skin tone. He set them down and looked at me with his milky red eyes.

"You did well today, Jezebel," he said, watching me carefully. I winced inwardly at the name "Jezebel." I've always wondered if he's been able to see that I like to be called Cosette when he read my mind. It probably wouldn't matter if he could. "In fact, you did so well, we were planning to reward you."

My back became pin straight, I willed myself to listen more now. I searched his face for a fault, any sign of a lie. However he seemed genuine. "Reward me?" I said carefully as if trying the words on my tongue. "How?" I was hoping for a hunting trip. I couldn't remember how long it had been since I had truly fed. Two days? Three? Three at the most. Aro's tested it before. Three days was the most I could go without my function beginning to shut down. Yes. Hunting would be nice.

He smiled sadly. "Well, you know Caius is deeply grieving Athenodora's death," he said carefully, quietly as if Caius was close enough to overhear.

I nodded, remembering the day it happened hardly a month ago.

It was one of the few days I was free to be left alone. I was sitting in a corner, reading Beowulf, intrigued by the battle between Beowulf and Grendel whenever Corin came into my room. I set my book to the side, shoving it under my chair so that she could not see. I rose slowly, cautiously. "Corin, dear," I said quietly, "what's going on? I thought this was my day to rest."

She grabbed my wrist and quickly pulled me out of my room. "We need you, Cosette," she said frantically, saying my real name because she was one of few who liked me. "There's a newborn here that we can't get under control. It's as if he was made to destructive. None of us can do anything with him. He rebounds too quickly. But maybe if you can keep him hypnotized long enough, we can destroy him."

I sucked in a breath of surprise and of horror. Surprise because they have never needed me for an execution before. Only hunts. Horror because I can smell the familiar smell of a vampire burning. Perhaps they had managed to destroy him while Corin was coming to retrieve me. But as she opened the door, I saw the source of it.

There was Athendora with her head ripped off, a knocked off torch beside her, her body aflame, and Caius standing over her, looking shocked and hurt. It must have been an important execution for them to bring the wives down. My eyes moved quickly, finding the newborn fighting against Demetri and Felix who were struggling to keep a hold of him, his dark red hair a muck.