"Seriously, Aiden?" Duke sighed, loosening his hold on me, but not completely letting go.
"What?" Aiden asked, sounding innocent.
"I'm not human?"
I pulled away from Duke to stare up at him. He didn't speak. No one did, not for a long time. So I asked again, voice cracking.
"I'm not human? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
Lucius, Aiden, and Duke exchanged furtive glances, none of them offering to answer me.
"No use trying to keep her in the dark now, boys." Nero called snidely from across the room. "She has already seen Gabriel's torture chamber--whoops, I mean rehabilitation facility."
"Mind your tongue, Nero!" Lucius barked.
Nero cackled in response. "What's the matter, Lucius? Pissed that your precious little queen has discovered the--"
"I said enough!" Lucius vanished, reappearing to land a vicious kick to Nero's midsection. "Do not speak of Miss Ridley in such a disrespectful manner."
Nero released a short and painful howl, then chuckled humorlessly. "Duly noted. But what about her blood? Can I talk about how delicious it was? How she willingly surrendered--"
Lucius silenced him with a loud right hook.
"Nero!" I called out.
What was wrong with him? I never 'surrendered' anything to Nero, much less my blood.
He had to be going through some kind of psychosis. What other explanation could there be?
"Lucius, take it easy. Nero isn't himself." Duke said from beside me.
"He needs help," I added, almost pleading. "Beating him isn't going to solve anything."
Lucius looked down at Nero, as if weighing his options. Then, he turned to walk away.
That's when I heard the whistling again.
It wasn't like the tune that had lured me to the cave. No, this melody had a quicker tempo, and made me feel warm all over. But that warmth quickly faded, replaced by a frigid wave that chilled me to the bone...and unlocked memories I hadn't realized I'd forgotten.
Memories of what really happened to me the day before.
I was attacked.
Nero was shot, and I... I gave him my blood.
I gasped, bile rising up my throat as yesterday's events replayed in my head.
They were vampires.
The thing that attacked me.
The Dean and Nero.
And they had drank my blood.
"Audrey, what's wrong?" Duke placed a hand on my shoulder.
I didn't reply.
"Audrey?" He turned me to face him. "Audrey, are you alright? Say something!"
My head was swimming, blood roared through my ears in tandem with my pounding pulse. Suddenly I felt like I couldn't breathe; I had to get away. Away from this cave and everyone in it.
But I couldn't move.
"What did you do to her?" Duke growled, but to whom, I couldn't tell.
Nero cackled, his chains rattling once more in response.
My knees began to buckle, and I was shaking so bad my teeth chattered viciously. It wasn't because I remembered the attack, though. It was because of the memory of Nero feeding from me. Of how much I enjoyed it.
And how I wanted him to do it again.
"You remember it, don't you?" Nero's voice was low, a seductive and commanding purr. "How amazing it felt, giving yourself to me."
"Damn you," Lucius snarled, striking out to hit Nero again. He missed, and fell to the floor, clutching his ears. He was writhing around, howling in agony. "Ne-ro," he groaned, voice strained.
Aiden disappeared, materializing a foot away from where Lucius lied.
"Aiden, don't--" Duke called after him, but it was too late.
Aiden hit the floor with a yelp, clutching his ears like Lucius had been doing.
"Nero, stop this." Duke was angry, panicked. "You're going to kill them!"
"Good," Nero whispered, before continuing his assault on Aiden and Lucius.
That's when I heard another whistle. It was high-pitched, barely detectable by my ears, and it was directed at the men screaming at Nero's feet.
My heartbeat echoed in my stomach and chest. Nero was going to kill Aiden and Lucius, and he didn't even care. In fact, he seemed determined to do it.
"We have to stop him," I was filled with a nervous energy, urgency overriding all other emotions.
Duke gawked down at me, stunned by my sudden composure. Then, he looked back up at his friends. "I don't know what to do. I may have to..." He trailed, averting his gaze. "I may have to kill him."
"Influence,"
The Dean barely spoke above a whisper, so I wasn't sure if I heard him right. "Influence? Is that what he said?"
Duke gave me a brief nod, his sights now turned to the man still hanging on a giant X. "Gabriel, you know I am not strong enough."
"Feed," Dean Lachlan breathed, his head trembling as he tried to hold it up.
"There's no time," Duke sounded desperate, frantic. "The blood bags are on the other side of the island."
I was wringing my hands, sick with panic, when I felt a sting in my palm. Looking down, I spotted a fresh, red scrape that sweat had gotten into, and I got an idea.
"Here," I held out my other hand to Duke, palm side up.
Neither of the wounds on my palms we're serious; the skin was barely broken. But hopefully that was enough.
He stared at the scrape, confused at first, then horrified as he realized what I was offering. He shook his head vehemently, pushing my hand away. "I can't."
"Duke, please--"
"No!" He cut me off, eyes wide with terror. "There has to be another way."
"Tick tock," Nero chuckled. "Better decide on something soon; Lucius and Aiden won't last much longer."
They lied panting, their respite from Nero's attack fleeting as he started up again. They twisted, crying out and screaming for the pain to stop.
"Duke, please!"
He growled, frustrated, then pulled my hand to his lips.
"Please do not let me go mad," he mumbled before sinking newly elongated canines into my flesh.
A/N*
Wow, talk about intense! Still a lot of questions left unanswered, I know, but those will be addressed soon. Let me know what you think in the comments section, and thanks for reading!