"It's not working!" I shouted at William, pearls of sweat rolling down my forehead. We spent the entire morning trying to 'unlock' my powers– Caelan's words, not mine, and so far it wasn't working. I was exhausted, and my head was pounding. I just wanted to lie down.
"You need to focus, Charlotte," William answered, losing his patience and making Caelan chuckle. I shot the latter a death stare, which only made him smile.
"I'm trying!" I exclaimed as I turned my head back to William who was standing in front of me on the other side of the table. A broken glass was sitting in the middle of it, and despite all my focus and willpower, I didn't manage to fix it.
"Not hard enough!" William snapped back.
My nails dug into my palms, and this time, I was utterly aware of it. I didn't try to stop myself, the only other alternative to my anger was me lunging at him and hitting him until he begged me to stop— and that wouldn't end well for me. Dee, who was sitting next to Caelan, gave me a sympathetic look.
"She needs a break," Caelan pleaded as he detached his back from the wall he was leaning against. I wanted to hug him. A break was exactly what I needed. Or simply being away from William and his insane expectations.
"Time is a luxury we don't have," William snapped, and I suddenly became too aware of the fact that I was only a pawn to him. I knew it already, but it still stung for some reason. Why did that upset me?
"She's human, Will, give her a break."
"She's not entirely human," William emphasized the word 'human'. A chill travelled down my spine. I wasn't human, not completely at least. The knowledge came with so many questions, and most of them were directed at my parents. I missed them, and yet I was angry with them. I was furious and hurt that they never told me what I was, that they spent their life lying to me. Maybe if they'd told me, I would have embraced this power at a younger age and I would have been able to save them from the attack.
"Half human– whatever. Pushing her like this is not gonna work," Caelan said, pulling me out of my thoughts. "You need to eat something."
"I'm not hungry," I answered as I sat on the hardwood floor. My body was shaking from concentrating so hard. I just wanted to sleep. Was that too much to ask?
"I don't care if you're not, you need energy," Caelan said while William walked around the table.
He stopped before me and crouched down to be at my level.
"You're thinking too much. You need to clear your head and focus on what you want to achieve."
I struggled not to roll my eyes and blew out a frustrated breath instead. That was exactly what I had been doing for the last hours, focusing on fixing that damn glass. Maybe he was wrong about me, maybe I wasn't who he thought I was. Or maybe I could only fix myself, and what happened with Dee was a one off?
Before I could answer, William, Caelan and Dee turned towards the door. It opened not even a second later, and a tall, gorgeous young woman entered. She was clearly a vampire, no one was that pretty. Her long dark curly hair flowed behind her as she walked in, a smile on her lips, the pearl white of her teeth contrasting with her dark skin. The dress she was wearing was as short and provocative as the one Caelan had brought me the day before, and I knew now who it belonged to– Veronica. Only the dress fitted her perfectly, enhancing the curves of her breasts and hips. She was stunning.
Dee jumped to her feet and stood guard in front of me.
"Hello boys," Veronica greeted them, not looking at me once. I was surprised she didn't have a Scottish accent unlike her brother. "I've heard you brought me a toy."
She laughed, the sound as soft as melodic as Isla's laugh. Everyone else stayed silent. I quickly got back to my feet, not willing to face a stranger from the floor, especially a vampire, and both William and Caelan stood between me and Veronica. Her gaze was locked on William, her smile hungry.
"Well, is that a way to greet an old friend?" she said before breaking the distance between them and wrapping her arms around him, her hands lingering along the length of his back. My heart tightened at the sight. She wanted him, it was obvious. Did the two of them have history? Why did that thought make my stomach curl?
William's tense body relaxed slightly as he hugged her back.
"Hey Vee," he said before gently pushing her away.
She didn't look like she wanted to let him go, but eventually, she did, before flashing another one of her bright smiles.
"It's been too long. I've missed you," she cooed, fluttering her eyelashes like a desperate teenager. I noticed Caelan roll his eyes.
"I missed you too, sister," Caelan mocked, drawing Veronica's big brown eyes to him.
"Of course you did," she answered, ignoring the sarcasm in Caelan's voice and pulled him in for a hug. To my surprise, he didn't fight and hugged her back too. I thought they weren't on good terms, but apparently I was wrong.
"Is it true about the Gates?" she asked after she pulled away from Caelan. I was standing right behind them and yet she still hadn't looked at me or even acknowledged my presence. "Is that why you brought that here," she asked, her eyes finally meeting mine, a snarl of disgust on her lips. Anger started to rise inside me again. "Have you tried her yet?" she added, her gaze not leaving mine now as she bit her lower lip. I swallowed. Was I really safe here? "She really smells divine, I'll give her that."
She tilted her head, her eyes scanning me with a mix of interest and disdain.
"Cal, take Charlotte to the kitchen and have her eat something. Veronica and I need to talk," William said in a cold tone, his body a marble shield between me and the girl. Caelan nodded and grabbed my hand before escorting me out of the room, careful to put as much distance between me and Veronica as possible, and his body in between.
Once we were outside the room, I felt like I could breathe again. I didn't know what I expected when I agreed to come here, but certainly not that type of welcome.
"Your sister sounds like a treat," I said as we walked to the kitchen. Caelan didn't look as tense as William, his hands buried in the pockets of his jeans.
He laughed.
"You have no idea."
The room I spent my morning trying to fix the broken glass in was located in the East wind of the castle, as far away from its residents as possible, and it took us a good ten minutes to reach the kitchen. The room had clearly not been used in quite some time, and I suddenly wondered if there even was food for me to eat. Just as the thought crossed my mind, I noticed the bowl of fruit on the counter, fresh bread next to it. My eyebrows arched. Who brought that here?
"Will stocked up," Caelan said when he saw my surprised face. Thinking about it, he probably just read my thoughts. I shuddered at the idea. I will never get used to the fact that vampires could read thoughts. He grabbed something from a plastic bag on the counter and tossed it to Dee. She caught it mid air and started chewing on what appeared to be a bone.
"I'm really not hung–," I began.
"And I told you I don't care," Caelan cut me off with a gentle voice. "Will wants you to eat, so you eat."
I frowned. I was tired of being patronized like a schoolgirl.
"He's not the boss of me," I objected, and Caelan laughed.
"Will's the boss of everyone," he said, making me arch an eyebrow again. What did that mean?
I joined him on the other side of the room near the fridge and stood next to him, my eyes narrowed.
"Who is he exactly? Is he–," I stammered, not sure how to ask without sounding dumb. "Is he like the leader of your group?"
At that, Caelan burst into laughter. Of course he did, he never took anything seriously.
"You're a jerk," I said as I turned around and started for the door. He caught my hand before I could get away and pulled me back, struggling to control his laughter, tears glimmering in the corner of his eyes.
"How dull life was before we met you," he said, holding another giggle.
"Funny, my life was ten times better before I met YOU," I snapped back, taking a step back from him. A fake expression of pain shadowed his face and he brought his hand to his heart.
"You wound me."
"Do you take anything seriously?"
He smiled again, making it extremely hard for me not to punch his stupid face. His smile grew larger.
"It really depends on the thing," he answered with a wink. This time I couldn't hold the roll of my eyes.
"Tell William that I'm not hungry and that he won't force me to eat," I said before turning again, hoping he wouldn't try to stop me this time. Of course he didn't let me leave, and before I could even take a step I was back in his grip, only this time he had me cornered against the counter, his arms on either side of me. I noticed how my body didn't react the way it did when William did the same thing on multiple occasions. No, with Caelan I was simply annoyed.
"What are you gonna do? Force feed me?"
"That's one option," he answered with a sly smile.
"There's seriously something wrong with you."
His ocean eyes glimmered with malice as they looked into mine. He stared at me in silence for a moment before saying, "Alright, I'll make you a deal. You eat whatever I make you, and I'll tell you what you wanna know about Will."
My heart skipped a beat at the prospect and he smiled at my reaction.
"So, what do you say?"
I narrowed my eyes on him. Would he hold his end of the bargain?
"You better know how to cook," I capitulated and he flashed his teeth at me with a satisfied smile.
He got to work while I watched him from my seat at the kitchen table. I laughed when he put a plate of beans on toast in front of me a few minutes later.
"I thought you knew how to cook."
"I'm a bit out of practice," he admitted, joining my laugh.
He sat in front of me, watching me attentively. If he thought I'd eat before he told me something about William, he was very wrong.
"Why is everyone scared of William?"
"Take a bite."
"Answer me first."
He shook his head, a grin on his lips.
"Tough negotiator," he said but eventually got to talking. "There's a hierarchy among our kind," he began while I listened with eagerness. "And well, he's at the top."
My eyes widened. That explained why everyone seemed to follow his orders.
"So I was right, he's like the king of vampires."
Of course my comment made Caelan laugh. What didn't? Apparently everything that came out of my mouth was hilarious to him.
"There's no ruler," he answered, his shoulders still heaving to the rhythm of his laugh. "Each country has their own hierarchy, but Will happens to be at the head of the United Kingdom."
My head started to feel dizzy at the thought that I was at the mercy of the most powerful vampire in all the United Kingdom.
"But why is he at the head? Why does he have so much power?"
"Uh uh, I answered your question, now it's your time to pay up," he said pointing at my plate.
I blew out an annoyed breath. I had a million more questions to ask him, and surely this piece of toast wouldn't last that long. Under Caelan's insisting glare, I cut a small piece of the gravy soaked bread and swallowed it down. To my surprise, it didn't taste as bad as it looked.
"So, why is he at the top?"
"You're cheating."
"I took a bite!" I retorted. "See, this corner is now in my belly," I added with an innocent smile as I pointed at the small missing corner of my toast.
He gave me an unimpressed look, but didn't force me to eat more before answering.
"He's special," he said and it was me who frowned this time.
"That's not an answer!"
"That was barely a bite either."
I sighed. I wouldn't get any answer if we continued like that.
"How old is he?"
As soon as the question was out, I felt heat rush to my cheeks. Why did I ask that? There were so many more important questions than William's age.
Caelan grinned.
"Into older men, uh?"
My grip on the knife I was holding tightened. He really never took anything seriously.
"If you're not gonna answer any of my questions, you can eat this toast yourself. I'm sure you'll love it," I said, pushing the plate to him. He pushed it right back.
"I answered your first question, didn't I?"
"Yes but–"
"I didn't give a half-ass answer, and yet YOU took a half-ass bite."
"Fine," I caved in and ate a bigger piece of bread and beans. "Satisfied?"
He shrugged.
"That will do," he said. "I don't know his exact age. A few centuries older than me. You'll have to ask him."
My brain automatically did the addition. With the info I got from Caelan during our drive up here, I figured he was around 200 years old, give or take. If William was a few centuries older, that meant he was at least 300 or 400 years old, if not more. My face paled at the thought.
"Aren't you his best friend or something? How do you not know how old he is?"
"Are you sure you want to waste a question for this one?"
"That one doesn't count as a question!" I countered back.
"Sure does," Caelan quipped, his lips turning into a grin.
I sat back in my chair and crossed my arms over my chest. This game sucked. I wasn't gonna get anything out of him.
"Don't look at me like that, you're the one asking crappy questions. There's so much you could ask me— what his feeding habits are, or how big his co-" he began before I hurried to cut him off, my cheeks turning red while my imagination went wild.
"Don't finish that sentence."
"I know you're thinking about it," he played, a teasing smile on his lips.
"I'm done with this game, and with you actually," I said as I got to my feet, eager to get away from his mind reading abilities. Dee was on her paws in a heartbeat, but we didn't get very far, the doorway blocked by a feminine body– Veronica.
The way she was looking at me sent a wave of shivers down my spine as I stood frozen in front of her.
"Didn't mom and dad teach us not to play with our food?" she asked Caelan, her eyes glued on mine as she played with my probably obvious rising fear. I forced myself to hold her gaze despite the urge to look away and bow. I couldn't let her treat me like this.
"Be careful who you call your food," I answered and her eyebrows arched in surprise. "If I can fix things, I'm sure I can break them too."
It was a bold statement, and certainly not true, but she didn't need to know that. Her reaction was worth the lie. For a brief second, I recognized fear in her features. It was gone in a blink, but I didn't imagine it. Why wasn't she calling out my bluff?
Caelan was holding in a laugh, which earned him a death stare from his sister. One point to me I thought, biting my inner cheek not to smile.
"See, Lottie, you'll fit in just fine here," the blond vampire said, lifting his feet and resting them on the kitchen table.
"Don't call me that," I rasped, although I knew he wouldn't listen.
"But I like it," he teased.
"You won't like my hand in your face."
"May I suggest something else for your hand to play with?"
I blew out an annoyed breath. He had answers for everything.
"You're a child. How are you 200 years old?"
He laughed, dropping his feet off the table while Veronica looked at us with bored eyes.
"Are you seriously trying to bed— this?" She hissed at me. It was hard to control my anger when she was around. Her attitude made me want to pluck her beautiful hair.
"Where's Will?" Caelan answered, ignoring her question. Veronica walked to the fridge, her high heels clicking on the floor, her hips swinging with each step. She really was gorgeous. She looked about the same age as William- in her late 20s, although I knew that she was older than Caelan so she was a lot older than that. Her dark skin was empty of any flaws, and I couldn't help the part of me that was jealous of her. My golden-brown curls were wild and untamed, nothing like her lush and shiny curls, and my body was lacking in the female curves department.
"On the phone, dealing with something about the Gates," she said as she grabbed a bottle from the fridge. It was full of a thick dark red liquid. Blood. I gagged at the sight. "She better prove herself useful soon."
"Watch it with the threats, sis," Caelan warned her. "If he hears you—"
"He'll what?" Veronica snapped, leaning against the fridge. "Kill me over a pathetic mortal?"
"Do you think he won't because of your history?"
There it was. The truth laid out in front of me. Why did it feel like my heart dropped to the bottom of my stomach? But why was I even surprised, she looked like a goddess, of course something happened between them. I couldn't blame him for wanting her, plus I had no right to get upset about it. I was nothing to him. And him to me.
The more I told myself that, the less I believed it.
"Trust me when I tell you he won't hesitate to kill anyone who wants her harm, ex lover or not," Caelan added, which only infuriated his sister. She slammed the bottle on the counter and I wondered how it didn't shatter in a million pieces.
"What's so special about her?" she exclaims, and the next moment she was standing right before me, her lips curled back against her teeth in disgust. "Why does he care whatever the hell happens to her?"
"You know why," Caelan answered, standing next to us all of a sudden too. He forced Veronica to take a step back by placing his body between us. She growled.
"Are we even sure she's the one? She couldn't even fix that damn glass."
Touché. I wasn't sure myself that I was who William thought I was.
"Vee, calm down," Caelan said and I noticed how her eyes had started to darken. "Lottie, go to your room while I take a walk with my sister." His voice didn't leave room for negotiations, not that I would have tried to argue with him about it. Veronica was looking at me with killer eyes, and I knew that if I didn't leave the room soon, I'd end up as her snack. Dee and I left immediately for the bedroom I was staying in and locked the door behind us. I knew it wouldn't stop any vampire or creature from entering but it gave me the small sense of safety I needed at that moment.
"Should we run away?" I ask her as I let myself slide down the side of the bed. Dee lay next to me, her head resting on my thigh. She looked at me with her big blue eyes, and I sighed. "We're stuck here, aren't we?" At that, she whined.