Chapter 20
Twenty
SOPHIE
Icould have used some blood, but I was afraid to drink from Vaughn again. He already has a hold on me, and I know that if I take his vein once more, the connection between us will only get stronger.
Even Larsson knows it’s a bad idea to get involved with the new vampire. I heard the warning he gave Vaughn—it wasn’t like he was trying to be subtle. Even if he had whispered, I would have heard him.
Now, I’m alone with Vaughn, and my heart is beating faster despite what my brain says. The worst part is that he can probably hear how my pulse has accelerated. What’s more annoying is that his remains steady. I guess I’m the only one affected by our predicament.
He’s standing stiffly in the middle of the room, staring at me, which is a little aggravating. “There are other couches besides mine. You don’t need to sit next to me.”
“I’m a bit on edge.” He sticks his hands into his pockets as if trying to appear relaxed, which is a contradiction to his statement. “So… are you feeling better now?”
“Yeah. The dizziness is already passing. Whoever enchanted that lerix box was powerful.”
“I wonder what Larsson wants with that feather.”
“Well, it looked like a hair adornment.”
Vaughn rubs his chin. “Hmmm… another object belonging to a female vampire that he was dying to retrieve. I bet from the same owner.”
“Another? What else did he want?”
Vaughn looks guilty, then shakes his head. “Never mind. Forget I said anything.”
God, I wish he hadn’t made that comment because now I’m curious.
“Whoever that female was, she must have been very important to him.”
His eyes widen. “You think so?”
I tilt my head, scrutinizing him. Did he really not pick up that vibe from Larsson? He seems sincere, though, so my guess is that he’s simply dense to those sorts of clues—like most guys.
“Yes, I do. I wonder what happened to that female.”
I keep watching Vaughn, and the way he blushes and then averts his eyes confirms my suspicions. He knows who the female is, or he at least has an idea.
“Man, I can’t imagine getting anything done if my office had all this cool stuff.” He looks around before approaching a wall where there are several shiny objects on glass shelves.
“What are those?” I ask from the couch.
He picks one figurine up and then turns around to show me. “It’s a shiny dragon statue. Do you think these are real gems?”
“He’s a dragon, so I’m betting yes.”
He sets the figurine back on the shelf. “Yeah, probably. Can’t believe he doesn’t have these locked away in a safe.”
“Who’s going to be crazy enough to steal from a dragon?”
“Right. Hey, do you want to play a game? We might be here a while.” He walks toward one of the tables in the room, then looks over his shoulder. “That is, if you’re feeling better.”
My strength has returned, and a distraction could be beneficial. “Sure. What do you propose?”
“Well… we have lots of options. This is a foosball table. You use the handles to move the figurines and shoot the ball into the goal.” He demonstrates, moving his hands fast and then yanking the handle to score a goal.
“Hmm… what else?”
“Okay, not sold on foosball. No problem. Have you ever played pool?” He points at a large billiard table.
“I’ve never played it before.”
“I could teach you.” He smiles, showing his adorable dimples. No, not adorable, Sophie.
“Better not.” I glance around the room and see another table. This one is white with blue lines and red circles. “What about that one?”
“Oh, do you want to play air hockey? It’s super fun and easy to play.”
Does he think I’m slow because I decided against billiards? I knew it’d require him getting into my personal space to teach me, and that’s dangerous territory. I open my mouth to retort, but he adds quickly, “I mean, I won’t have to teach you.”
“Oh… okay. Let’s give it a try.”
We both walk over to the air hockey table, and Vaughn tells me to stay on one end. He grabs the plastic mallet on his side of the table and says, “This is called a striker. You use it to hit the puck into your opponent’s goal.”
“Got it. Sounds simple enough.” I hold the mallet by the knob and glide it across the low-friction surface.
“Here’s a tip. For better dexterity, you should control the mallet with three fingers resting on the ridge instead of grabbing the knob. Like this.” He demonstrates. “Give it a try.”
I follow his example and confirm that handling the mallet in this manner is better.
“All right. How does one win the game?”
“The first player to score seven points wins, with the opponent serving next, typically within a five-minute period. There are some ground rules, though.”
“Let’s hear them.”
“You must stay on your side of the centerline, though you can stand anywhere behind or along the side of your half. You can’t raise the mallet to trap the puck or use your hand or body to touch the puck. That’s a foul.”
“Got it. Anything else?”
“Yeah. The mallet can’t cross the centerline into the opponent’s side. And you can’t strike the puck so hard that it flies off the table.”
“Makes sense. That’s it, then?”
“Yeah, that’s it. Are you ready to get your ass handed to you?” He smirks, his eyes gleaming with mirth.
“I wouldn’t get cocky if I were you. Who starts?”
“Since you’re a noob, I’ll let you serve first.”
I grin. I can’t wait to decimate him. The puck drops, and I move my arm so fast, it becomes a blur even to me. Within seconds, I score.
His brows shoot up. “What? No way.”
“Take that, sucker!” I point my mallet at him.
He narrows his eyes. “Beginner’s luck.”
He serves next and proves he can move as fast as a bullet. He scores this time. We keep at this pace, scoring back and forth. I’m having the best time and quickly forget that I’m playing with the enemy in a dragon’s lair. I could never have pictured this scenario in a million years.
It turns out, both of us have a super competitive nature, and the game becomes faster and more aggressive.
After I score twice in a row, Vaughn’s eyes flash crimson, and damn it if that sight doesn’t make gremlins awake in my stomach.
Determined to end the game, I whack the puck with extreme force, hoping to make it zoom across faster than he can block it.
But he’s in the zone now and blocks my shot with a serve that sends the puck flying to the side and straight into Larsson’s bejeweled figurine display.
The plastic puck shatters the glass shelf, and the figurines come crashing down, breaking into pieces.
“No!” Vaughn puts both hands on his head. “Oh my God. Oh my God.”
I run to where the figurines fell. “Bloody hell!”
“Are there any survivors?” he asks as he walks over.
I search the littered floor and see nothing but colorful pieces of glass and jewels. “No, I’m afraid this was a total annihilation.”
“Larsson is going to kill me.”
I look at him. “He’s going to kill us.”
Vaughn’s eyes turn as round as saucers. “We have to go.”
“Your solution is to run away?” I squeak. “He’s a dragon. He’ll find us.”
“Well, I’d rather he finds us once he’s had a chance to cool down.” He takes my hand and turns toward the door. “Come on.”
“We can’t go out that way. He’ll see us. Besides, we don’t know if the Red Guard is sniffing around out front.”
“I don’t know any other way out.”
“God, you are a newbie. Use your nose, Vaughn.”
He frowns. “I’m using my nose. What exactly do you want me to do with it?”
“What?” I shake my head. “Never mind. Follow me.”
I move toward the end of the room where, to the naked eye, there’s no obvious exit. But I pick up at least three different dragon scents—Larsson’s, the other dragon we met earlier, and an unidentified third dragon shifter—concentrated in a specific corner.
“Do you smell it now?” I ask Vaughn.
He takes a couple of deep breaths and then nods. “Yeah. It’s almost like three dragons were having a party in this corner, or they were put in time-out.”
“You say the strangest things. It’s obviously none of those options. There must be a secret passageway here.”
“Right. That must be it.” Vaughn runs his hand over the wall, trying to find the button that will open the passage, but I have a better idea. I hope the crystal in my pocket still has some juice.
Closing my eyes, I curl my hands around it and recite a simple location spell.
The flow of magic runs through my body, making me tingle all over.
When I open them again, the hidden button is glowing blue to me.
Only I can see it, so I need to step closer to Vaughn to push it.
He freezes for a second, but his pulse accelerates.
He isn’t unaffected by my proximity after all, and that pleases me.
Ignoring the stupid emotion swirling in my chest, I push the button, and a section of the wall opens forward, revealing a tunnel.
“How did you find the button so fast?”
I glance at him and realize we’re much too close. If I rose onto my tiptoes, our lips would be inches apart.
You’re playing dangerous games, Sophie.
“Magic. Come on. Let’s go.” It’s my turn to take his hand, and hell and damn, it feels nice to touch him.
What’s so special about Vaughn that can animate my dead heart?