Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 92612 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92612 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Goosebumps creep along my spine as I turn the handle. The door swings open with a small squeak. Inside is another bedroom, much like mine but decidedly empty. The bed is neatly made, everything in here untouched. I close the door and continue along, opening the doors I come to and finding more empty bedrooms.
When I reach the end of the hallway, I turn back and examine the rooms along the other side. It reminds me of a fancy hotel, room after room of exquisitely furnished quarters. Who needs this much space?
I close the last door across the hall from my own room, then give up on searching this hallway. Instead, emboldened, I stride down the center of the corridor to the staircase. Gripping the rail, I stare down at the expanse below. So many floors. They can’t be all bedrooms. There has to be more. I look up at the stone overhead—there has to be a way to escape.
“Venturing out, little rabbit?” Valen’s voice slithers through the darkness.
I white knuckle the rail and try to find him in the gloom.
“I thought you’d never come.” Taunting, his voice seems to come from everywhere all at once.
A cold breath brushes along the back of my neck. I whirl.
He’s standing across the hall, leaning against the wall, his eyes pinning me in place.
I can’t seem to breathe, to move. Loathing and terror twist inside me, both of them trying to win out over the other.
“Melody says you’ve been eating.” He looks me up and down. “Not enough, clearly.”
I grit my teeth so hard my gums ache.
“What am I to do with a skinny little rabbit like you? Damaged beyond repair.” He sighs and crosses his arms over his broad chest.
I find my voice. “You could let me go.”
He smirks. “Not until I’ve gotten every detail for High Lord Dragonis.” He’s on me before I can even blink. “Shall we begin?” He kisses me hard.
Surprised, I open my mouth in a gasp. That’s when I taste blood. His blood.
He pulls back, his pupils huge and haunting. “Tell me what you remember about your work on the cure.”
A series of images race through my mind—data, the lab, cells—along with a searing pain that rips through me like lightning.
I fall back against the railing. He cages me there, his hands on either side of me. “Tell me what you remember.”
The compulsion grips me, forcing me to speak. “I don’t know.”
“Your lies will not save you from this snare, little rabbit.” He bares his fangs.
I cringe away, but there’s nowhere to go.
“Tell me what you remember.”
The compulsion burns through me, turning my resistance to nothing but ash. “The lab,” I gasp. “The lab and my—” I jerk from the jolt of agony in my skull. “My friends. We were working. We—” I get a flash of blue eyes, intense and full of some nameless emotion. Nothing like the emotionless stare I see right now. “And you. You …”
“What, rabbit? What about me?” He grips my throat. “Tell me.”
“You were supposed to help. You—didn’t. You—” I cry out as the pain explodes and splits me in half. “You betrayed me!”
He releases my throat and backs away.
I hold onto the rail as nausea roils in my gut. He looks feral, his fangs long, blood smeared on his bottom lip. The same blood he forced into my mouth. I spit on his perfectly polished floor. “I hate you.”
Something flashes in his dark gaze. “Good.” Then he strides past me and down the stairs. His mocking voice floats up to me. “You can explore all you like, little rabbit. There’s no way out for you. Not now. Not ever.”
For two days, I’ve explored the mansion. At least, I think it’s two days. There are no clocks, no way for me to know the time or the day. This place is a tomb.
“Could you creep elsewhere?”
I startle at the sudden sound.
Gorsky, the rude young man from before, pops up from a sofa in one of the drawing rooms on the piano floor of the mansion. “I’m tired of seeing you sneak around corners and lurking in hallways. Fucking irritating.” He glares at me.
Despite his cold reception, I can’t deny I’m glad to see another person. Even if it’s him.
“What are you doing?” I step into the room, the floor a deep crimson lined with emerald rugs. Flames crackle in a fireplace that’s taller than I am and about six feet wide. Three stone dragon heads grace the mantle, their maws open as if only a moment away from breathing fire across the entire room.
“Reading.” He sighs and settles back down.
I move closer, keeping my eye on him as I settle on a side chair. He pays me no mind, his attention already returned to his book.
“What is it?”
He groans. “Can you just go on your way? I don’t need company.”