Sweet Blooded

Twelve: The holiday season

"Evelyn."

I inhaled sharply and shot up, clawing at the blankets that I'd pulled over my head in my sleep. I felt for the wall, turning my head side to side blindly. It was pitch black- it had to be sometime in the middle of the day.

My heart finally slowed down enough that I was able to relax. I leaned sideways into the wall, closing my eyes sleepily. It was quiet, quiet enough that I heard a light rustling. My eyes flew open, and I searched for the source of the sound.

I spotted the faint glow where my door should be, and realized that it was wide open. I swallowed the panic rising in my chest. Finally, I spotted him, his silver eyes glowing faintly in the opposite corner. I blinked several times, finally able to faintly make out his outline.

He had never come directly to me. This wasn't something I had anticipated when I decided to fight Lukas and Markus on food.

I stared up into his angry eyes. Because the room was so small, being on the other end of the room still meant he was dangerously close. I felt the wall behind my back suddenly, cold but sturdy. I hadn't even realized it, but I'd backed myself into a corner. Quite literally.

He blinked once, his eyes disappearing for a moment when his eyelids closed. When they opened, he was much closer than he had been. He leered over me as I tried to fade into the wall behind me, unable to look away from his stare.

I felt his hand at my throat suddenly, the tips of claws I'd never noticed before grazing my skin lightly. I trembled at the touch, unable to swallow past a lump in my throat.

"I didn't mean anything, I- I-" his eyes narrowed slightly as I began stumbling through my words. "I just wasn't hungry, I didn't feel well-"

His thumb landed on my lips, effectively silencing me. He lowered himself onto the bed beside me and pulled me forward. He positioned me so that I was facing him, in his lap, my knees on either side of his hips. My whole body tensed at the awkward and vulnerable position.

I don't know if it was the exhaustion or the fear or a combination of both, but I felt the tears sliding down my cheeks at a rapid pace. My chest shuddered as I took a deep breath, fighting a sob. I felt his face in the crook of my neck. Felt him inhale deeply before letting out a small sigh.

"They've brought me many sweet blooded humans in the past, you know. But none of them taste as sweet as you. I wonder why that is?"

I turned my head sharply and peered into his half lidded eyes. "Am I supposed to have an answer?" How was I supposed to answer that?

He chuckled darkly. "No." And then I felt his fangs piercing the side of my neck. I cried out, my hands darting out and grabbing hold of his shirt. I pulled violently on the thin fabric. In response, his arms wrapped around my back- not tight enough to feel like I was being restrained, but they were firm, folding me into his chest.

Exhausted, I let my head fall forward onto his shoulder. It dawned on me that this wasn't even the punishment - this was the preparation. The give before the take. He intended to injure me to the point that I would need to be healed by his blood.

My pounding heart stalled for a moment as I wondered what methods of torture he liked to use on his humans. The bites I received as punishment the last time were bad enough... What if he used a whip? Like the handlers in the dorms? What if he just beat me with his fists? He was powerful enough that it could do just as much damage as a whip.

I felt him lick my neck, closing up the wounds, and I shivered as the cold winter air kissed my damp skin. Gabriel straightened up to face me once more as I pushed away from his chest, swaying slightly.

Gabriel regarded me for a short minute, before reaching behind me. I heard something scrape against the dresser. He pressed a cold, condensation covered glass into my hands.

"Drink this first," he ordered.

After only a second's hesitation, I obliged. Sickly sweet orange juice flowed quickly when I tilted the glass. It was still cold... but I had no way of knowing how long it had been sitting there. It horrified me for some reason to think that Lukas or Markus had entered while Gabriel had been doing that to me.

I drank about half of the juice before stopping to look back at Gabriel.

"All of it."

I frowned as something in my stomach stirred, but titled the glass back, letting the orange juice flow even more freely, until it was empty.

Gabriel took the empty glass from my hand and placed it back on the dresser. I stared at the color of his shirt, noticing the frayed stitching of the hem along the corner. I couldn't tell what color it was in the dark, but it must have been the most informal attire I'd ever seen a vampire wear.

Around that time, the sconce lit up the room. I had to blink several times as my eyes adjusted to the sudden light.

Gabriel set me back down beside him and stood up.

"Come," he called, without looking to see if I would follow.

I hesitated for only a minute before I did finally follow him out.

I was led back into the living room. The merry decorations leered at me from the mantle, the archways, the walls, the door. The entire apartment had been transformed into the inside of Santa's bag Christmas.

I spied Lukas and Markus- Markus was sprawled on the couch as he was so prone to do. Lukas leaned against the mantle over the usually empty hearth. Flames danced within, warming the room and completing the look.

"It's about time," Markus mumbled.

Gabriel shot him a pointed look and the vampire sat up, actually looking nervous. I lingered just under the archway, swaying at the sight before me. Gabriel stopped at the tree, and Lukas bent down, handing over one of the handful of packages beneath the tree. Gabriel turned his head and saw that I had stopped at the entrance. He waved me forward impatiently. I crossed the room to where he stood, and he turned, holding out the package.

Holding the tightly wrapped present in my hand in confusion, I looked from Gabriel to Lukas and back.

"Open it, come on now," Lukas encouraged.

With numb fingers, I slowly peeled back the wrapping to find a book. I let the wrapping fall to the floor at my feet and turned the book over, examining the title. It was a fantasy book, another one that didn't quite belong with Gabriel's library. When I looked back up, no one was watching me, but I could tell they were waiting for my reaction.

"I don't understand...is this..."

"It's for you," Markus confirmed.

"We noticed that you were reading those same four books repeatedly. You'll grow bored of them eventually," Lukas added.

"And whatever keeps you from trying to kill yourself again..." Markus trailed off, almost sounding like keeping me alive was his bothersome chore.

Gabriel looked up at me then, his eyes dark, before he stooped down, picking up several more packages, and handed them to me in a small stack. They were heavy, a struggle to keep balanced. All books, from the feel of it. "When you've read all of these, just let Lukas and Markus know. They'll fetch more for you."

I felt like I was in a strange dream. As I struggled with the idea that my vampire masters had given me gifts on Christmas, Gabriel stared at me, waiting for a response. The easily excitable Lukas seemed to be bouncing from side to side, only slightly, on the balls of his feet. Even the usually disinterested Markus glanced at me when I didn't respond at first.

I finally thanked them with a barely audible "Thank you."

They didn't seem offended by my hesitation. In fact, my pathetic attempt at gratitude broke the odd tension that I hadn't noticed when I initially entered the room. A 'Christmas breakfast' followed the presentation of my gifts, and while I had gritted my teeth, preparing for the torturous dejavu, it never came. This Christmas morning was nothing like the warm, cozy events in my childhood household. It was quiet, filled with the conversations that the vampires usually carried anyway, only with garland on the walls and french toast on the table.

Unsure what to do with the books, I'd finally arranged them all on top of the dresser in my room. It was a small collection, but I wasted no time waiting. Diving in, I let the fantastical worlds consume me entirely. A numb, but comforting escape.

As it turned out, New Years was a huge deal to the vampires. Only two nights after Christmas, Lukas and Markus were talking about it nonstop. There was going to be a party downstairs, in what I imagined to be a grand ballroom on one of the floors below us. The twins talked incessantly about dancing and fireworks and drinks.

On the night before the dance, I sat down to find Gabriel had deigned to join us for supper. He had been absent since Christmas morning. He hadn't even summoned me for any feedings, much to my relief. I'd been left on my own, to read and wander the apartment and read.

As soon as I began eating, the vampires began discussing this party. My imagination ran wild as I listened to their words. I pictured a grand ball room with tall ceilings and marble floors.Beautiful vampires in flowing dresses of scarlet that matched their eyes. Their male counterparts in sleek, black tuxes. Long clothed tables that ran the length of the room topped with dainty sweets and goblets of blood.

"Why don't we bring Evelyn?"

My face paled and I sat up straight. My mind had drifted away, but was snatched back to reality by the ridiculous suggestion.

"Absolutely not.'

I let out a deep breath at Gabriel's immediate dismissal.

"Oh why not, she would look adorable all dressed up in a gown." Lukas' expression was something akin to adoration. I balked yet again at the idea that I'd become something of a pet in his eyes.

"We're bringing Talia. Evelyn will stay here."

Markus let out a low groan, and Lukas propped his elbow onto the table, supporting his chin in one hand while he pushed peas around his plate thoughtfully with the other. I frowned down at my own plate, a little confused.

"Evelyn has been locked up in the apartment all alone for the last several months," Lukas grumbled.

"And Talia...is Talia," Markus muttered, ignoring a low warning growl from Gabriel.

Despite my best efforts to remain uninvolved, my brow knotted in confusion. Question upon question tumbled around in my brain, but I shoved them out, not wanting to care. When I looked up from my plate again, I found the Original vampire staring at me.

I looked back to my plate quickly and started eating my roast. I ended up being the last to finish eating, which was unsurprising. Lukas came and picked up my plate before I could carry it to the sink. He noted when I raised my eyebrows, and motioned his head to the hallway.

"He wants you, in his study."

His words slid like ice down my back. But I'd been given nearly a week to myself, so it was overdue. Still, I had to force myself to stand, to go and face my inevitable duty. Every step down the hallway threatened to bring my dinner back up, but I swallowed. Acting as a vampire's half empty juice box wasn't an idea I'd ever be able to contend with.

I held one of the Christmas books in my arm, pressing it into my stomach as though it could remedy the nausea. If not that, at least it would provide the immediate distraction afterward.

In the study, the fire roared just as I'd left it before dinner. My chair, on the other hand, was now occupied. I froze, just at the edge of the rug, maybe three feet from his back.

He didn't acknowledge me for a while, but he knew I was there- vampire senses and all. I kneaded the spine of my book nervously, before finally padding closer to him, stopping just beside the arm of the chair.

"Do you get cold here?" he asked suddenly. "Is that why you always move this chair closer to the fire?"

I glanced from the chair, to the fire, then back to him, before nodding. "I can stop moving the chair if you want."

He shook his head, finally turning to face me. "No. Give me your hand."

I swallowed, offering up my right hand as instructed. He pulled me closer to the chair, angling me so that I was sitting on the arm, before biting into the tender flesh of my palm, just above the wrist. As he fed, I focused on staying quiet, clenching my teeth to quiet any gasps at the shock of pain. The instinct to pull away and run was harder to quell. It was rising up, panic blossoming in my chest, and as though he could sense my internal struggle, Gabriel tugged me down onto his knees where he caged me with his free arm as he fed.

My book fell to the floor, its pages rustling loudly. I stared down intently at the words which were too far away to read, and became hazier by the minute as I felt every drop of blood in my body being drained away. Of course, I knew that he wasn't actually draining me of blood, unless he was ready for me to die. He hadn't made any indication of that though.

Finally, he released my hand. It fell limply into my lap. I hadn't even noticed he'd healed the bite. My head swimming, I stared down at the unmarred flesh on my skin. Judging by the way the room wouldn't stop spinning, he had taken more than he normally did.

With a world-tilting maneuver, Gabriel rose and turned, placing me in the chair that he'd just vacated. My head pounded, but I sank into the soft leather cushions, taking my book from him when he handed it to me. He didn't walk away though, just stood in front of the chair, staring down at me.

"Why does Talia get to leave wherever she comes from, if I have to stay here," I asked, before I could stop myself.

His eyebrows rose slightly. "Does it bother you?"

I shrugged. Or at least I think I did. "No, I'm just curious."

He leaned down closer to my face, and I was helpless except to stare back into his shockingly calm eyes.

"Talia wouldn't try to pitch herself off the first balcony she saw," he finally replied, almost sounding patronizing.

I frowned. "I wouldn't jump off a balcony."

"No?"

"No."

"And why's that, you suddenly don't want to die?"

I bit my lip hard for a minute, looking away from his gaze toward the fire. "I'm afraid of heights."

Gabriel barked out a laugh, standing up straight. "You're not leaving this apartment until I'm confident that you are no longer a threat to yourself. On the night of the party, you will stay in this apartment. You can stay in either the study, or your room. It's up to you, but either way, the door will be locked."

"Why am I being locked up?" I hadn't been locked up since I first arrived. Not even after the...rat poison.

"I don't want you anywhere near the door during the party. There will be many vampires visiting the mansion, and although they aren't supposed to be on the residential floors, there are always a handful that take the risk and roam the hallways. Sweet bloods are becoming a rarity, and anyone with a sensitive enough nose will be able to sniff you through the front door. And while you might think life with me is pointless, well, you haven't seen how most vampires treat their humans."

I swallowed, images of the incident at the auction flashing through my mind, sprays of blood on the concrete. Pools of blood in the foyer of my childhood home, leading up the stairs. Staining the cream colored carpet a dark burgundy color. The coppery smell filled the hallway, embedding itself in my memory.

"Evelyn."

I blinked, meeting his gaze again.

"The study? Or your room?"