But stood right next to Lyla was Kaspar, his eyes flickering between the three of us with blissful ignorance.

Fabian took yet another step towards me and I closed my eyes and turned my head away, holding back stinging tears. ‘I said, don’t come near me, Fabian.’

He must have paused, because the air around me remained warm. I took a deep breath. ‘Stay away. Stay away from me.’

‘What?

‘Just do it.’

I buried my head in my arms, refusing to look. There was swift movement, and silence. I cautiously raised my head a little, peering through the curtain of hair. Lyla stood with a comforting arm on Fabian’s shoulder murmuring something into his ear. Her face was masterfully plastered with fake concern, shaking her head disapprovingly in my direction as she steered him from the room. Yet as she passed my bed she glanced back, the tiniest hint of a smug, satisfied smile on her lips. I quickly lowered my head, not wanting her to see me looking. The door slammed shut and the forced indifference I had maintained since I had woken from unconsciousness not an hour ago loosened. I fell onto my knees, curling up on the cold sill.

‘Why?’ I whispered into the silence.

‘Why? You tell me.’

I jumped, surprised. With his upper arm casually pressed to the wall stood Kaspar, his forearms folded across his chest, covering the unbuttoned part of his shirt. Anger that didn’t reach his eyes was set upon his face.

‘You weren’t even in the slightest bit scared by what we did to Ilta, were you?’

I pulled my face into a grimace and shook my head. ‘Just disgusted.’ I nodded. ‘Your disgust is only partly why you won’t let Fabian near, isn’t it?’

I froze, sensing dangerous territory. ‘No.’

He sighed. ‘Why do you delight in lying to me, Violet?’ His arms remained folded and he jerked his head to the side, flicking his hair from his eyes.

It took a minute for me to grasp that I should reply and, not as defiantly as I would have liked, I retorted, ‘I’m not lying.’

I blinked and he was stood in front of me, yanking my hair until my left cheek was exposed to his eyes. I tried to turn back, but he placed one hand behind my head. Slowly, he traced the scratch on my cheek, already weaving itself together.

‘Then how do you explain that?’

‘It’s just a scratch. No big deal.’

His eyebrows lowered and wrinkles appeared along his brow, as he turned his head away slightly. He yanked my own head further over and I felt my neck strain until there was a click. ‘Now are you going to tell me how you got that, or do I have to use other means to gain the information I want?’

I pursed my lips tightly and looked down at the floor, saying nothing. I didn’t like the sound of ‘other means’, but neither was I going to tell him about Fabian’s kiss or Lyla’s threat.

He touched my lips gently with a single finger. I instantly recoiled from his cold and unusually soft touch.

‘So it will be by other means then?’

‘Why is it so important to you anyway?’ I snapped, pressing myself against the damp window, away from him.

He raised his eyes to the ceiling. ‘Let’s see. Perhaps I was just wondering why my sister, my best friend since birth and my hostage are all acting extremely weird.’

He took a step closer and pressed two fingers to my temple, tenderly at first and then more firmly. He closed his eyes. Mine widened, as I realized what he intended to do.

I hastily threw up mammoth barriers around my mind, hiding as much as I could from view, focusing on the coolness of the window and the condensation and the sound of the wind buffeting against the panes of glass; on his steady breathing, as he fought against my defences and his pained expression, his forehead wrinkling from concentration; his dark button-up shirt, only partly fastened, revealing smooth chest underneath.

Rattle, rattle.

My thoughts were interrupted as a sharp stabbing pain pulsated in my head, a thousand times worse than even the most painful migraine. My legs weakened and I clutched at my head desperately as it faded into nothing. Kaspar’s fingers left my temples and he looked down at me with contempt.

‘Privacy is a privilege I allow you, Girly, not something you maintain on your own. And I know I’m hot – you don’t need to stare.’

I scowled up at him. ‘But you can’t get into my mind, can you?’

He stooped down to my level. ‘Oh, I can.’ This time he didn’t bother to make any contact or even close his eyes. Pain shot through my head again, quickly subsiding, and I froze, unable to move as I concentrated on keeping what I knew my father had done and the fact I had dreams buried in their boxes.

The rest I sacrificed as images began to start flashing before my eyes, mainly of the past few weeks: learning to dance, the ball, Ilta, Kaspar taking my blood, Fabian …

‘You kissed.’

I stared at the rug on the floor, refusing to meet his gaze. A hand was placed under my chin and he tilted my head upwards until I could do nothing but meet his gaze.

‘You kissed,’ he repeated. Something about my expression must have been guilty, because he let go, his lips parting in disgust. ‘You stupid girl.’

At that point I did not even have the dignity to try to defend myself, so I just sat there, unseeing.

‘And Lyla is jealous and threatening to expose me?’

I tugged my lips into a grimace in reply. ‘If Father were to know,’ he muttered to himself, beginning to pace the room until he turned towards the door.

‘Where are you going?’

He stopped and wheeled around, eyes wide and accusing. ‘To sort this out! I’ll talk to Lyla, but Fabian is down to you.’ With that he left the room, leaving me sitting on the windowsill, unsure of what had just happened.

THIRTY-FIVE

Kaspar

The door slammed with a defiant boom behind me, separating me from the idiotic child sat on the windowsill. I leaned against the wall, taking several deep breaths.

She kissed Fabian.

I felt my eyes burn black and silently wondered why. Other than making things more complicated, what was so bad about it? Why am I angry?

I shook my head, pushing those thoughts to the back of my head. There were more important matters to deal with. Walking down the hallway, I could hear muffled voices coming from Lyla’s bedroom and recognized the voice of one of my sister’s friends. I was about to knock, when Lyla spoke. I paused, hand midair, intrigued.

‘I just want to know what she has that I don’t!’ Lyla’s raised voice drifted through the door, anger and frustration evident. ‘I mean, I have the looks, the money and the status! And how can someone change their mind like that? He was all over me for what, twenty years? And then suddenly little Miss Living comes along, with her beating heart and seriously breakable everything, and suddenly it’s all, “Oh, Violet, can I sleep with you? Let me shag you, kiss you, take you to the ball!”’ she mocked, her voice peaking with resentment.

Her friend sighed. ‘I’m sure if you weren’t already committed to going to the ball with someone he would have asked you.’

‘Oh, please, Cathy. He was always going to ask her. I even heard him talking about it with Declan.’

Silence. I could imagine the cogs turning in her friend’s mind and I felt sorry for her. When Lyla decided something, changing her mind was impossible.

‘You don’t know that. I’m sure he likes you really. I mean she doesn’t have anything you don’t!’

‘How about rosy cheeks? Irresistible blood? Vulnerability? Humanity?’ Her voice rose in pitch and I heard exaggerated sighing, followed by what sounded like something being slammed onto a desk.

‘Do you think I should have my nails done black or red for Ad Infinitum?’ Cathy continued, oblivious to my sister’s mounting despair.

‘I mean, what the hell do they see in her? I am so much prettier and I know how to act in polite society!’

‘Or maybe I should just go for a classic French manicure. What do you think?’ There was a pause in the babble.

‘Black nails. And Kaspar is such a dick of a brother. Why the hell he is heir, I don’t know. I would do such a better job.’

I’d like to see you try, I thought.

‘Because tradition says the fourth or seventh child is heir within the family,’ Cathy explained. ‘You’re the third child. Even I know that and I flunked Vampirs.’

Lyla sighed. ‘I wasn’t being serious, Cathy, of course I know why. And I thought you passed in the end?’

‘Daddy bribed the headmaster. Like I was going to pass,’ she scoffed, obviously finding her own stupidity hilarious.

‘Suit yourself. But don’t you think Kaspar is being a total manslut?’

Her friend paused. ‘I think it’s kind of hot.’

I raised an eyebrow and tried not to laugh as several disgusted noises floated down the corridor.

‘Yuck! That is my little brother you’re talking about!’

‘Whatever. Anyway, I was thinking little black dress for the ball. What do you think?’

‘Cathy! I keep telling you: steer clear of the short dresses! They don’t do anything for your thighs. Go for an empire waist. Last time you wore a dress like that Felix totally went ditz!’

‘Lyla, he went ditz because he was hammered. He was probably high as well.’

‘I think he likes you.’

I think I need to talk to Felix. I couldn’t take it any more. Not bothering to knock, I turned the handle and walked into the room. Both girls immediately spun around and Cathy curtseyed.

‘Hey, Kaspar,’ she said, with a roll of the tongue that I suspected I was meant to interpret as seductive.

I nodded in return. ‘Catherine.’

‘What happened to the knocking rule we established, Kaspar? How do you know I wasn’t na**d or something?’ Lyla blurted out, hands on hips.

‘Lyla, you’re my sister. You were running around na**d until you were two hundred years old,’ I responded, amused at her pink eyes as she squirmed in embarrassment.

‘No, I wasn’t! Why the hell are you here anyway? I have things to do, unlike you!’

‘What, other than bitch about everyone?’ I retorted, raising an eyebrow.

‘Perfectly amusing way to pass the time.’

I wasn’t there to discuss her backstabbing character and so cut to the chase. ‘Lyla, I want a word. In private.’ I deliberately turned to Cathy, who flustered, gathered her things and left, but not before very deliberately brushing past me.

‘Bye, Kaspar.’

I went rigid. ‘Catherine.’

Slam went the door.

‘Well, spit it out then! I don’t have all day.’

‘Stop being such a jealous over-possessive cow of a sister. Get over yourself and Fabian, stop putting me on the line and don’t drag Violet into this.’

She spun around, eyes full of venom. ‘What the hell did you just say?’

‘Let me paraphrase it for you. Stop being such a bitch.’

‘I know what you said, idiot. I just want to know why the hell you said it!’ She practically shouted, seething. I raised an eyebrow. So she is going to play innocent?

‘You threatened Violet. If she goes near Fabian, you will expose the fact I took her blood, humiliating both her and I—’

‘Took her blood with her consent—’

‘So you admit it then? Threatening us?’

‘No.’

‘But then how could you know I took her blood with consent? Nobody knew that but me and Violet. She wouldn’t tell and neither would I. So, tell me, wise big sister, how could you know?’

She didn’t answer, retreating into her wardrobe and pulling more clothes down from the rack, which she held up to herself, silently pairing them together.

‘You read her mind,’ I said, cutting in on her browsing. ‘Most likely when she was flustered and her barriers were weak; found out about the kiss, stumbled across what I had done and decided you were going to keep Fabian for yourself, despite him clearly not having the same feelings you have for him. Not to mention the fact you scratched Violet.’

Her mouth was hanging open, but as I paused for breath, she abruptly shut it again and began talking.

‘Fine, I did. But so what? What can you do about it? Even you know it is for Fabian’s own good. He can’t get close to her, they are way too different. A vampire and a human don’t go together.’

‘They are different. But that isn’t to say a relationship couldn’t work between a vampire and a human. Look at Marie-Claire and John,’ I retorted, leaning against the post of her bed, as she moved on to busying herself by clearing her desk, something she wouldn’t normally do.

‘John is turning in a few weeks anyway.’ She turned to me and gave me one of her most contemptuous looks. I shrugged my shoulders.

‘But he has been human for the entire, what, four years of their relationship? That has to say something.’

‘Kaspar, shut up. It wouldn’t work between Violet and Fabian and everyone knows it. And when he does wake up and realize what he has been wasting his time on—’

I cut in, interrupting her. ‘You plan to be the one he goes running to.’

‘Precisely. If Violet ignores him, he will just realize quicker. And then I get him quicker.’

To think I’m related to this.

‘And you are going to do that at the cost of Violet’s sanity?’ I asked, scowling.

She snorted, lining her perfume bottles up in order of size. ‘Stop being so melodramatic. She’ll be fine.’