by E. M. Moore
I unlocked the door, grabbed my cell phone off the dresser and sat on my bed with the tray of food on my lap. With one hand working the cell phone and the other shoveling food into my mouth, I waited for the screen to turn on to see what the guys had written to me today.
My fork paused halfway to my mouth. The screen had come on and nothing. Not one message or voicemail alert on my phone. The backs of my eyes burned. I tossed the phone down onto my comforter and ate the rest of my food with a heavy heart. When I was done, I pushed the tray to the side and stared at the phone. Not a day had gone by yet where I hadn’t heard from them all. What if something was wrong? What if their parents had already talked them out of using me and they were just casting me aside?
No. I refused to believe that. Not only because it just felt wrong, but because it was wrong. There was no way they would do that to me. I picked up the phone and started a group text: Do you guys know when you’ll be back?
Yes, the girly part of me had taken over, but I couldn’t stand not knowing. I wanted them here to feel the way they felt about me, not just the memory of it. We were linked more than anyone thought. Even if their parents did try to fight them, I had a feeling the princes would have something to say about it. If they had a choice.
Only a minute went by before the first text came in. It was from Stephan. Long day here. Council meeting. We hope to be done soon.
Nicolai: You miss us, don’t you? We’ll be back soon, Ri. Just trying to wrap this up.
Connor: These people are insane. Can’t wait to get back to see my girl.
Christian’s was the last, which I would have guessed. He’d probably mulled over what he would write for a few moments before sending it. I hope training is going well. Don’t worry about us and concentrate on getting to the top of that rope climb.
I smiled to myself. I couldn’t wait to tell them what I’d been able to accomplish since they’d been away. I hoped I got to tell them first before Samuel ruined the surprise. The initial glee at hearing from them was quickly replaced by a loneliness that was hard to ignore. They were there, yet not. Nothing could ease me like their presence, not their words or voices. It muted their absence, but only for a little while.
I took a deep breath and sent: Training is going well. I can’t wait to see all of you.
About thirty seconds later, Connor sent me a group selfie picture. All of them had varying ranges of smiles from Connor’s, which was the biggest, all the way to Nic’s, which was just barely there. Connor: To tide you over. Your turn.
Me: No way. I just got in from training. I still look a mess.
Nicolai: Not possible. Do you have any idea how sexy a sweaty chick is?
Me: Yeah, maybe when those chicks are sexy to begin with.
None of them responded for at least a minute. I bit down on my lip while I waited. My heart took off the longer it took for them to send something. Then, finally, instead of a text, my phone rang. It was Dark, Sexy, & Badass.
“Hello?”
His voice was gruff, urgent. “I’ll have you know I just walked away from the dinner table, and my father really hates that.”
I sat very still, not sure where he was going with this.
“Ri, if you ever talk down about yourself again, I’m going to throw you over my shoulder and…”
I swallowed, tension building in my lower stomach. “And?”
He groaned. “Make you see reason. I just had to fight my brothers to be the one to call you. And don’t think I’m not going to get a huge lecture when I walk back in that room, but it will all be worth it if I can make you realize what a— Shit. Maybe I should’ve let Christian call. Sometimes I’m not good with words. Does it sound too lame if I say you’re beautiful inside and out?”
I clenched my teeth together and shook my head. “No. Not at all.”
“Good. Now send us a damn selfie of your cute ass so my brothers and I can stop checking our phones every two seconds.”
I bit back a laugh. “O-okay.”
He sighed. “I—all of us—we all can’t wait to see you.” There was a loud voice from somewhere near Nic and then he whispered, “Got to go. Bye.”
“Bye,” I said, but I was too late. Nic had already ended the call.
I spent an inordinate amount of time sending the right selfie. I turned the lights on. I turned the lights off. I laid down on the bed, then stood up. I must’ve had ten pictures saved to my phone, but none of them looked good enough to send.
In the middle of deciding, a text came through from Connor. Are you going to let Nicolai get in trouble for nothing? That’s not very nice. :(
I groaned in frustration. Picking out a selfie to send to four very hot vampires was just impossible. They were completely flawless while I was merely human. I sat on the bed, held my hands out, and snapped a pic of me smiling. I barely even looked at it before hitting Send, kind of like ripping off a Band-Aid.
My stomach wound around in knots as I waited for their responses.
Worth it, Nic responded.
Ha. Ha. I texted back. Aren’t you guys getting in trouble for texting at the dinner table?
Christian: Yes, but we’ve all decided it’s worth it. You look beautiful.
My stomach flipped as Connor’s response came in: Damn girl.
Stephan’s was last, and it was in a separate, private text. What are those red marks on your neck?
My stomach bottomed out. I hadn’t thought to make sure they were hidden. Nothing, I quickly replied. Is it red? I know I’ve been itching there. I think I got a bug bite today in training.
I threw the phone down on the bed and nearly crossed my fingers. Leave it to Stephan to make sure I was all in one piece.
His response was immediate. :( That salve I gave you will help with that too. Please put some on. It would be a shame to have those marks marring your perfection.
God, these guys were too much. Every single one of them made me feel all fluttery and hopeful. I liked all of them. I had a thing for all four of them. I ran my hands through my hair as I stared at Stephan’s text. I shouldn’t have lied, but I needed to. They had more important things to worry about than me right now. They were with the vampire elite at a Council meeting, and if what Shannon said was true, they needed all their attention on what was going on and not back here at The Fort.
13
I’d just texted the guys good night when a loud rap sounded on the door. I let out a short scream and tensed.
Muffled laughter came from the other side, a guy’s and a girl’s. Visions of Zeke putting another note on my door pressed into me. I tore the sheets away from me, ran to the door, and whipped it open. Shannon and Evan backed away, startled.
I closed my eyes and took a calming breath before smiling and trying to act casually. “Hey, guys. What’s up?”
Evan peered behind me, taking in my room while Shannon twirled her red hair nervously around her finger. “We noticed you didn’t stick around at dinner and wanted to see if you were okay.”
“Really?” I asked, eyebrows raised. I shook my head. “I’m fine. Thanks.”
Evan’s gazed move to me, his eyes twinkling with mischief. “Good, because we all got something to do tonight.”
“We?” I asked, curious since I wasn’t really one of them, was I?
“Well, yeah.”
Shannon smiled. “It’s kind of a tradition.”
“Think of it as an initiation,” Evan broke in.
Both looked super excited. I glanced from one to the other and smiled. They were including me, trying to be nice. And if I really wanted to be the Ravana’s guard, I should be friendly with others like me. “Okay, you’ve got my curiosity.”
Evan chuckled. “Grab a sweatshirt and come on.”
I did as I was told, also grabbing my key and locking the door behind me. I walked with them outside the building and to the guard parking lot. I’d noticed cars out there before, but I didn’t know who they all belonged to. A car was the furthest thing fro
m my mind when I was back in my other world. “That’s me in the Jeep,” Evan said, pointing to an older model in the back of the parking lot. It wasn’t anything like the Ravana’s new Jeep.
Evan unlocked the doors and I slid in the back. “Are you guys going to tell me what we’re doing?”
Shannon turned around, her gray eyes almost translucent in the moonlight. “Bridge jumping.”
“Bridge jumping?” My heart sped off in my chest. “Like bungee jumping?”
Evan shook his head and shifted in his seat to look back at me. “No, nothing like that. There’s a bridge just on the outside of town that you can jump from. It’s not that high. Maybe forty feet or so. All the classes do it.”
Shannon waggled her eyebrows at me. “We’re just waiting on Liv, and then we’ll head out.”
I looked outside the Jeep’s windows to find all the other trainees heading to cars and leaving the parking lot. Nerves twisted in my stomach. “How did this tradition get started?”
Shannon shrugged. “My brother said it’s kind of like an overcoming fear thing. To be a guard, you must face fear head on. Might as well start now while we’re still in training.”
“Has anyone ever gotten hurt?” I regretted the question immediately after I said it. I was acting like such a killjoy. Evan and Shannon were excited about this and I was acting like their mother. I didn’t want to be seen as a coward. It was just my standpoint was always, ‘why press your luck?’
“Nah,” Evan said. “You’ll be fine. It’s fun. We’ll probably do it more than once.”
Liv pulled the door open then and got in on the other side of me. She gave me a quick wave and then clicked her seatbelt.
Oh, shit.
Slowly, I clicked my seatbelt into place. “How far away is this did you say?” I asked. They hadn’t seen fear yet. Hopefully I could calm myself down for this trip.
“It’s barely even a mile,” Evan said, already backing the Jeep out of its space.
I clutched the Jeep door and closed my eyes. Nausea rolled through me. “Mind if I roll down the window back here?” I asked through clenched teeth.
“Go for it.”
All of us rolled down our windows then. I kept my eyes closed, my fingers tight around the door handle, and my head back against the seat rest the whole time. Thankfully, Evan was right. It really wasn’t that long of a drive at all. It felt like a long time because I was so tense, but somewhere in the back of my head, I understood it could’ve been much longer.
When he pulled to a stop and parked, I sighed in relief. We were in a dirt alcove just off the road that others were using as parking too. All around me, excited voices rang through the air. I tried to get excited. They were including me after all, but I just couldn’t force myself into it. The trepidation started in my toes and was working its way up. Bridge jumping sounded like a horrible idea.
What choice did I have though? Not do it and be thought a coward by everyone here? That wasn’t happening. Especially since I was sure Zeke was here somewhere, and there was no way I was going to give him any type of advantage, no matter how small.
I got out of the Jeep and decided to leave my sweatshirt inside. It wasn’t so bad out right now. After we jumped, that may be a whole different story, but for now, I was fine. I followed the rest of them up the road. A sign at the beginning of the bridge said, “Harry Davidson Memorial Bridge over Wysocki River.” My heart rate skyrocketed, not liking the sound of “memorial” bridge. There was a similar sign next to where my mom died.
A cold sweat broke out across my forehead, and I rubbed my arms, suddenly cool in the damp night air. Evan turned around to find me. His brow furrowed, and he waited for me to catch up with him. “You’ll be fine,” he whispered. “The river’s deep. The local kids do it all the time. You just have to do it once and make it to the bank. Then, you’re golden.”
I gave him a grateful smile. “Thanks. I needed the pep talk.”
He looked down at the road as we walked while rubbing the back of his neck. “You know, you can hang out with us more often if you want. I mean, when the Ravanas aren’t around. And only if you want to. It’s just a little weird when they’re here.”
“I’ve heard that,” I said. “They’re really great guys though. I think you’d like them.”
His expression didn’t seem as hopeful as I was. “Maybe.” We walked a little further and I looked out at the river as we neared the middle of the bridge. He bumped his shoulder into mine, taking my thoughts away. “I just hate to see you all alone. It must be strange for you to finally find yourself in a whole other world. You have an open invitation to eat at my table, or even stop by my room some time if you need me or just want to talk. I’ve been told I’m a good listener.”
Evan winked, but all it did was succeed in making me feel awkward. He was trying to flirt, and even though he was nice, he just didn’t do anything for me. “I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks.”
A smile widened across his face, and a niggle of sympathy started in my chest. I hoped he didn’t think that meant I was interested in anything with him. I would’ve been blown away by his attentions if I was back where I came from, but he couldn’t hold a candle to the Ravanas. No one could.
We neared the huddle of trainees at the middle of the bridge. Zeke, of course, was leaning against the stone barrier, his body already on the other side of the bridge. He looked out at everyone with a cocky smile. “You guys know the drill. We jump, wait for that person to move all the way to the bank before the next person goes. Got it?”
Shouts of excitement rose up. I tried to get closer to the stone barrier to look down, then thought maybe I shouldn’t. Instead, I looked out. The moon was reflected in the river, making the scene just perfect for an oil painting that sat above someone’s living room furniture.
An almost warrior-like cry of “Here we go,” broke into my musings. Zeke was no longer at the middle of the bridge. In fact, I couldn’t see him anywhere. I pushed forward and leaned over the side just in time to see him splash the surface. A couple seconds later, his head emerged. He blew a fan of water out from his face and then let out a yell, “Woooo!”
A few in the crowd clapped for him, but I sure as hell wasn’t. Not after what he did to me.
Another body passed the stone barrier to stand facing the river as Zeke swam to the bank. As soon as he was pulling himself out of the water, the other trainee jumped. It was a girl this time, and she screamed all the way down until just a second before she hit the river surface. She popped up quicker, letting out a strangled cry of excitement. “Holy crap! That was fun!”
I meandered closer to the middle as the rest of us jockeyed for space. I figured I might as well get it over with. It didn’t look so bad. Sure, it was higher than I would’ve liked, but Zeke and the other girl had already jumped, and nothing happened to them. I could handle this if I could handle finding out vampires existed and there was this secret world where humans fought for their safety. Sure. Piece of cake.
It turned out I was still one of the last to jump. My heart beat like crazy in my chest as I straddled the stone barrier. Snickers sounded in the crowd, and I looked up to see Zeke making a very inappropriate hip gesture. I scowled at him and quickly threw my other leg over the barrier and stared down at the river below. The water was the color of obsidian and still like the eye of the storm. From this vantage point, it didn’t even look like the river flowed. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. It was now or never, and I certainly wasn’t going to back out. Talk about humiliation. I rubbed my hands in front of me and then forced my hands to my sides. Then, I leapt.
Just as I jumped, someone shouted, “Wait!”
Panic strangled me, a cry caught in my throat. Then, some part of me heard laughter and I realized it was just Zeke trying to scare me. Mission accomplished. Asshole.
I slipped through the water, my head going under in an icy rush. I kicked to the surface as hard as I could. The total fear and excitement made me want
to take a deep breath, but it wouldn’t be smart until my head broke the surface unless I wanted a mouthful of river water. Thankfully, it was only a second or two later, when I pushed above the surface. I breathed in long and deep and then held it in my chest as I swam to the bank. My whole body felt as if it was in an ice bath. Tremors shook me, some from the temperature and some from the nerves. My foot kicked against rocks and I breathed a sigh of relief.
Whoa. That was nuts.
Up above, I heard Evan say, “Way to go, Ariana.”
My lips broke apart in a huge smile. I couldn’t believe I did that! I didn’t want to do it again, but I was still on a high as I made my way up the rocky bank and grabbed one of the towels everyone else had used to dry off with. Shannon and Liv ran toward me. “Well?”
“Wow.” It was all I could get out.
“I know, right?” Liv said. She still hugged her arms to her chest. “A few of us already went down to start the bonfire. Come on!” She untangled herself for a brief moment to pull at my arm, and I followed. I needed a bonfire about now. It was freezing out here.
I followed the other girls back through the makeshift parking lot to a narrow path that led through the woods. I looked wistfully at Evan’s Jeep, wishing I could get in to grab my sweatshirt, but a quick check of the door handle said it was locked.
“You need something?” Shannon asked.
“I left my sweatshirt in there.”
She looked me up and down, a small frown pulling at her lips. “I guess we should’ve told you to grab it. We can ask Evan when he gets to the bonfire, but I’m pretty sure he’s jumping again. Let’s get you to the heat.”