The low hum of an engine reached my ears again. At the end of the driveway, a long white car pa.s.sed through our gate. The limo had returned. I wondered if Beatrice or Winnie had forgotten something. I descended the steps for a better view of the driveway.
Wait. This limo was too long. And it was a Hummer.
c.r.a.p. It wasn"t my family returning. It was the vamp. Darting inside my house and locking the door behind me seemed like a great idea, but a door wouldn"t stop an ancient vampire. If he wanted to get to me, he would.
I took a deep breath as he exited the limo. He looked like a dashing Englishman in his black tux.
"Good evening."
"It was until a moment ago," I returned.
He scowled as he stopped in front of me, then widened his stance and folded his arms over his chest. "We had a deal."
I folded my arms over my chest right back. "No, you made a demand and I said no."
"Hm." He studied me a moment, then signaled toward the limo. A tall slender blond woman climbed out of the car, dressed in a glittery gown. Human, as near as I could tell. She sidled up next to him.
"What do you think?" he asked her.
She inspected me, from my dirty sneakers and jeans to my unzipped forest-green hoodie. "Good bones. She"ll be stunning once I"m finished with her."
"What?" I asked as another man, also human, emerged from the limo carrying a garment bag and a small black box.
"Unlock it." The vamp nodded toward the door.
"It"s... it"s open," I said. "What"s going on?"
"I"m Annalise." The blond woman held out her hand for me to shake. "It"s my job to make you gorgeous for the ball."
I backed up, as if I could seep into the grain of the wood door behind me and disappear. "But I"m not going."
The vampire"s eyes narrowed. "Annalise, would you give us a moment?"
She retreated toward their limo and the vampire closed in, towering over me.
"You don"t have a choice, little girl. I"ve gone through considerable effort to get you a dress and you"re very lucky I was able to convince Annalise to help." He lowered his voice to a hiss. "You will not defy me."
He had to be kidding. "What"s the plan? Gonna drag me into the ballroom, kicking and screaming, so no one else can enjoy themselves? Or were you going to drug me into cooperation? My family will know there"s something wrong as soon as they see me."
He laughed softly, but not in a friendly way. "No, none of the above. You"re going to come with me of your own free will. You"ll behave like a nice young lady and stay until midnight."
"Oh, yeah? And why am I going to do all that?" I fisted my hands on my hips.
"Because you have secrets and you want them to stay that way. Don"t you?"
"You"ve got nothin" on me." I scoffed. Or did he? I held my breath.
"Is that so?" He lifted one brow. "You might be surprised what I know. For instance, all those days in the woods spent with a boy you knew as Jack."
My stomach pinched and I tried again to shrink back against the door, but I"d already run out of room.
"I know what you did, why your mother took you away and never brought you back." The vampire moved closer to tower over me. "But I"ll keep your secret. All you have to do is go to the ball."
My eyes burned and I wiped a tear from my cheek with the back of my hand. How did this guy know about that? "Jack... did he live?"
I held my breath and met the vamp"s dark eyes.
Finally, he nodded. "Yes. But that doesn"t change the laws of our land." His eyes narrowed and his voice lowered menacingly. "a.s.sault and near-manslaughter are still illegal and punishable."
Yes. That single word echoed in my ears. I hadn"t killed Jack. A sob escaped and I mashed my lips together, battling the relief that racked through me.
The vamp waited, motionless, as I fought to get a grip.
"No one will ever know what happened if I cooperate with you this one time?" I bit my bottom lip to keep it from trembling.
"I made a deal with your mother years ago. She was to keep our conversation quiet and never speak of Jack or what happened to him. Not even to you. And if she took you away, we wouldn"t press charges. Now you"re back, which means our arrangement is null and void. There"s no statute of limitations for attempted murder."
"How did you know it was me?" I asked. "Did Jack tell you?"
"He didn"t think I knew about his little excursions to see a girl he called Cinderella. But it"s my job to know everything that goes on in the castle and outside it. You don"t get this old without learning how to be unseen."
"So you followed him that day. You were the one who took him away?"
"Yes." He exhaled as his eyes narrowed. "And now I must insist you get dressed for the ball."
I swallowed, forcing down the giant lump in my throat. I had no choice. It was either that or go to juvie jail. "Fine. I"ll go."
The vampire smiled, raising one brow. "And you"ll behave like a lady?"
"Yes. I promise." He could lead me to the party, but he couldn"t force me to socialize. If I got really lucky, I"d skip any contact with the royal family.
"My only condition is that you make yourself available to the prince for introductions and at least one dance, should he ask."
I groaned.
"Being thrown in the dungeon is a better option for you then?" Somehow he managed to sound so British and proper while still scaring the h.e.l.l out of me.
"Meet the prince. Dance - maybe. Stay until midnight. Got it." Sounded like torture, but it was better than juvie. I nodded vigorously.
"Very well then. We must hurry." He opened the door and swept me inside, calling out to Annalise on his way in.
An hour later, she"d finished my make-up and handed me a mirror. Any imperfections had vanished, but surprisingly, I didn"t look all plastered down and fake. Somehow, Annalise had magically secured most of my red curls at the top of my head. A few strands cascaded around my temples and a few more tickled down the nape of my neck. The rest looked ready to topple at any second, but she a.s.sured me it would stay.
The way she"d transformed me so quickly made me wonder if she was a witch and had worked some spell to make me look that pretty. Forcing my unruly hair into an unnatural state definitely required magic or a miracle.
"And now for the dress." Annalise s.n.a.t.c.hed the mirror from my fingers. "Marco!"
He swooshed into the bathroom and began unzipping the garment bag he"d been carrying earlier. Silky green peeked through the opening. He hooked the bag on the back of the door and slipped out without a word.
"Oh, yes. Come here, my dearest," Annalisa purred to the gown. She gently slid it out of the bag and tugged on the folds of fabric, then held it up so I could see.
My breath hitched and my eyes watered.
"Don"t you dare cry. If I have to redo your makeup, it"s going to set us back," she said, placing a comforting hand on my arm.
I sniffed and shook my head. "It"s so beautiful."
"Of course, it is. I outdid myself with this piece."
"You designed it?"
"Yes." She waved a hand. "Designer and Seamstress. Dunston provided me with your measurements and coloring and I took over from there."
"Okay, wait up. That vampire right outside is Dunston, the king"s advisor?" I"d been so terrified of the vampire and doing my best to avoid him, I"d never thought to find out his name. Obviously, he worked for the royal family, since he"d been following their orders to get every girl on the island to the ball. But the king"s most trusted advisor? Wow.
"Yes, there"s only one Dunston on the island." She giggled. "Where have you been all this time?"
"Why would he have my measurements?" I cringed. That vampire knew way too much.
"After a millennia or two, a vampire picks up all sorts of talents," Annalise said as she examined the gown. I couldn"t understand what she was looking for - it was flawless.
"Enough chatting, ladies," Dunston shouted through the door. "We should"ve left an hour ago."
"Yes, my Lord. We"ll be right out." She pressed the dress against my chest. "Get dressed."
I slipped on the gown, reveling in the silky fabric.
Annalise tugged at the bottom, so it lay smooth. "Gorgeous." She spun and opened the door.
Dunston stood right outside, facing the door with a grim expression. "Fit for a ball."
He didn"t look pleased. If he didn"t like me looking fit for a ball, then why did he go through the trouble of making me that way?
"Yes, but..."
"What now?"
Dunston was the last person I wanted to get advice from, but I had no choice. "I"m down with staying out of jail and going to the ball to meet your prince, but... what if I hurt someone? You already know what I did to Jack. How do I know I won"t do that to someone else tonight? Maybe even your prince?"
He didn"t look pleased. "Have you not gone through the obedience school?"
"Huh?" Great. Such an clever response. Winnie has suggested obedience school and it had seemed normal at the time. But when it came out of Dunston"s mouth, it sounded like somewhere you"d send a pet to learn how to behave. Actually, it kind of made sense in my case.
"The guidance counselor at the high school should"ve flagged you immediately and given it to you as an elective, like they do with all supernaturals."
I shifted my weight from sequined high heel to sequined high heel. "Right. So... got any behavior tips for the new girl?"
He studied me a moment, then scowled. "Yes, keep yourself under control. If you ruin this ball for the prince... Well, if you"re smart, you won"t."
He took my arm and led me toward the limo. "You may drive with Annalise and Marco. I"ll go on foot and get there faster. Don"t make me wait long."
I got into the waiting limo and Dunston vanished. Annalise sat beside me, making last-minute adjustments to my hair as the limo pulled away.
Fingering my silky gown, I stared out into the black of night. My nerves ached and my stomach knotted. What if I hurt someone? What if that person was the prince? What kind of trouble would I be in then?
Chapter Eleven.
Remy "Is she here?" I leaned over the balcony and searched the faces in the ballroom below for anyone who could be my Cinderella. But I didn"t feel her presence.
"You tell me," Dunston answered.
I reached out one more time like I had all evening, trying to sense her. "No, she isn"t." I couldn"t keep the disappointed tone out of my voice.
He shrugged, still unconvinced. "She"s on her way."
"You"ve seen her?" My heart leapt and I glanced at the entrance one more time.
"Yes." Dunston stared at the dancers below without volunteering anything else.
"Any idea what she"s wearing?" Not because I needed to know, but because I wanted to picture what she might look like now. It had been way too long.
He kept his gaze ahead. "A gown."
Dunston was grating on my nerves. My eyes narrowed. "What color?"
He turned to me, a taunting smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "No clues. That would be cheating. You"re on your own, Remy."
"Why?" I struggled to keep my frustration at bay. "You should at least tell me her real name, in case she doesn"t show up. Then I can search the island until I find her."
"I will do no such thing. If she is here and you can"t sense her, then we"ll know your bond was never strong enough and she isn"t meant for you. You will have to choose someone else." His lip curled up. "For the good of your country."
"There"s no one else." But as our reunion neared, I began to doubt myself. After all this time apart, would I be able to sense when she arrived?
Dunston exhaled. "Prepare yourself for the possibility that she"s not the same girl you once knew. She"s older now and she"s been through trying times. Not to mention, she has a peculiar dislike for royalty and for obeying the king"s commands." He shook his head as if that kind of rebellion were a mere annoyance.
It sounded like the Cindy I"d known and renewed hope electrified my chest that I"d see her again soon.
"Even if she"s overjoyed to see you..." Dunston stared off at the crowds, "she won"t want this kind of life."
I knew he didn"t mean to hurt me, but his words stung, just the same. That had been my fear years ago and why I"d never told her my true ident.i.ty. I would try anyway. Leaning over the balcony railing, I squeezed my eyes shut and telepathically found each person below on the dance floor, all the way to the guests on the outskirts of the room.
There. Near the doorway. "She"s here," I whispered.