Seeing the two of them together brings back the memory of when I overheard them in the hallway. They were plotting something then, but now they act like immortal enemies. Then again, red eyes, who I now know is Gabe, said he was kicked out from the emperors' circle, so maybe that's why.
Gabe's chuckle drips with venom. "You know I haven't." He lifts his head until the barrel is pressed against his forehead. "But there's one thing I know that you don't."
Rhyland cocks the gun, his lips curling into a grin. "I might not now, but after a little torturing, I'm sure I will. And we both know how much you hate torture."
Gabe's grin reflects Rhyland's. "Yes, but there's one small, minor problem in your plan. You have to catch me to torture me." His grin magnifies before he vanishes into the darkness, leaving nothing but dust in his place.
I snap out of my trance, and my gaze darts to the other vampires, only to find them gone and Cam and his mafia vampires now shadowing the sidewalks and field around me.
"What were you thinking, running off like that?" Cam hisses as he strides toward me. "Are you crazy?"
"I panicked, okay?" I cup my hand around my neck where Gabe choked me, the muscles aching. I also can't put any weight on my leg that snapped. Dammit, he broke the bone, I think, which will take at least a couple of days to heal.
"Well, your panicking almost got you killed." Cam stops in front of me, clutching a gun. "And your stupid mistake almost cost you-cost all of us."
"I'm sorry." I don't know what else to say. I feel awful. At the same time, I felt so trapped when I decided to run off.
I still feel trapped.
"Sorry isn't going to cut it." He stuffs his gun in his shoulder holster. "Not when the entire vampire population is riding on you not being stupid. This is our last chance."
My lips part to tell him to go to hell, that yeah, I made a mistake, but calling me stupid isn't going to help, but Rhyland beats me to the punch.
"Cam." Rhyland's voice rings with authority as he gracefully moves up beside me, his arm brushing mine. "I'm going to give you a second to step back and think about who you're talking to. This will be your one and only chance. If you do it again, you will be punished."
Cam slowly blinks, the fury that was raging war in his eyes vanishing. "I'm sorry, my king." He bows to both Rhyland then me before backing away.
The rest of the vampire mafia turn around and face the streets and fields opposite us, but don't make any move to step away.
"What the heck's up with the bowing?" I mumble as Cam walks farther down the sidewalk, muttering incoherently to himself.
"You're the queen, and I'm the king," Rhyland says as if that explains everything.
"We haven't been crowned officially yet," I stress without looking at him, trying to put all my weight on my good leg. "And I'm still holding on to the hope that the Eternal Reading will announce a mistake on my part."
"There wasn't a mistake." His voice conveys confidence.
I turn and meet his gaze. "You don't know that for sure."
"Yes, I do. And you want to know why?" He winks at me. "Because I know everything." He gives me a cocky smile, and I wince. The smile evaporates into confusion mixed with a droplet of frustration. "Why did you just wince when I smiled at you?"
I shrug, biting my bottom lip. "Because every other time you smiled at me like that I ended up either trapped in an attic or a locker or a closet. Or you grabbed me when I was walking out of my house."
He dips his head toward me, his deep tone reverberating across my skin. "I didn't want you leaving the house for this very reason. But you wouldn't listen."
"Of course I didn't." I refuse to step back, though I desperately want to. But I don't want to appear afraid. Plus, the move will only bring more pain to my broken leg. "Maybe if you would've explained it to me, I would've … " I trail off as his brows rise and he gives an insinuating glance at the dilapidated stores, shops, and houses around us. "Okay, you know what? Maybe I still would've ran away. I'm sorry, okay? I know it was a stupid move, but I was-still am-freaking out."
I sit down as my leg throbs with pain and my head begins to pulsate. Great. I'm getting a blood headache, probably because I'm hungry. And, according to everyone, the only blood I can drink is Rhyland's. Rhyland who has, up until today, never done anything other than torture me. Who locked me in that locker. Who was talking to Gabe that day …