Once Burned: A Night Prince Novel Read Online Free PDF Page B

again,” I said, silently cursing them. I walked the short distance to the bathroom and shut the door. At least none of them tried to insist on coming in with me.
    That stalling tactic only bought me a few minutes. Soon I was back on the bed, shivering under the air-conditioning and reaching for the silver knife.
    “Why not the belt?” Jackal asked at once, stopping me.
    I glared at him, too mad over his dinner threat and worried that Vlad had changed his mind to feign politeness. “It’s easier to develop a connection through something I’ve already used.”
    He grunted. “Fine. Get to it, and we’re not leaving unless you want us to find that family.”
    More rage flared, but I pursed my lips and said nothing, picking up the cold blade. Neddy’s death washed over me again, and I pushed through those memories until I found the link to the fire starter. To my surprise, it barely took any time. A vast expanse of indigo replaced the hotel room around me. Vlad was in the middle of that dark expanse, stretched out full-length, his eyes glowing emerald as he looked at something I couldn’t see.
    For a moment, I was confused. He almost seemed as though he was swimming in his inky surroundings, except he had on a long gray coat that wasn’t wet. What . . . ?
    “I’m not swimming, Leila. I’m flying.”
    Vlad’s voice flowed over my mind, sounding amused. I realized that the endless expanse around him wasn’t water, but the night sky. He had to be high up, too. I didn’t see any lights below.
    If I lived through this, I was kicking Marty’s ass for not telling me some vampires could fly! What if Marty could fly, too? What if all vampires flew? My escape chances would be blown to hell if that were the case—
    “Who is Marty? You didn’t mention him before.” Vlad’s cool voice interrupted my train of thought.
    Marty’s a vampire, too , I thought, still trying to absorb this new information. But he’s not involved in any of this except for probably being worried sick about me .
    “You belong to another vampire?”
    A note of suspicion was back in his voice, and the way he said “belong” implied sexual or edible benefits. Or both. I scowled, forgetting Vlad couldn’t see it.
    No! We work together and we’re friends, but that’s it.
    Ew , I couldn’t help but add. Marty was like a second father to me. The idea of him poking his fangs—or anything else—into me was repellent.
    What’s taking you so long? I thought, getting back to the most important topic. It’s been hours. Did you change your mind?
    It sounded like he snorted, but with the whooshing wind all around him, I couldn’t be sure.
    “I didn’t change my mind. I was very far from Florida.”
    So he was still coming. Relief competed with anxiety. They made me find you again , I told him . I tried to stall, but they threatened to eat a family. Said telling them you were at your house wasn’t good enough and they’d need to know where you were when you were away from that place .
    A grin stretched his mouth. I didn’t find anything funny in my statements, but we must have a different sense of humor.
    “Are they with you now?”
    I couldn’t see them at the moment, but I knew Jackal, Twitchy, Pervert, and Psycho were still clustered around me.
    Yeah. They wouldn’t leave me alone this time .
    “Good.”
    If I didn’t know the others could hear me, I would’ve let out an audible scoff. Vlad could at least pretend to care that my neck was in danger of becoming a Capri Sun.
    He chuckled, flipping up his coat sleeve to glance at something. Whatever it was seemed to please him, because his teeth flashed in another grin.
    “I want you to start narrating, Leila. Tell the others exactly what you see me doing.”
    Why ? I almost blurted aloud, catching myself just in time.
    That emerald gaze seemed to laser on me. “Because I told you to,” he said, his tone implying that he didn’t appreciate having his directives questioned.
    I hope