He frowned. “I had nothing to do with you getting shot. In fact, Ethan is the one who put you in danger, so don’t blame me.”
“Ethan is the one who saved my life. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be here.”
His eyes moved to my neck and his face fell. “No… he turned you?”
I looked away and nodded. I was still having trouble accepting the fact that I was now one of them. I hadn’t really wanted it, even if it had saved me from death.
He cleared his throat. “Have you fed yet?”
“Yes.”
He sighed. “I’m sorry you had to go through that. But don’t you see? These Roamers are the ones who’ve messed up all of our lives. Ethan dying is probably the best thing that could have happened.”
I pushed him backwards. “Don’t say that!”
He scowled. “He killed my father.”
I shook my head. “No, they were lying to you, Duncan. It was either Caleb or Faye. I swear to God.”
“But you don’t know for sure,” he said.
“I know that Faye is an evil, maniacal woman who will say or do anything to get her way.”
He turned around and walked over to the balcony. “I guess I can’t really argue that.”
“Look,” I said. “I need to get dressed and look for my family. I don’t even know if they’re still alive. Do you happen to know anything?”
Duncan turned around. “I think they’re all in Vegas.”
My eyes widened. “Alive?”
“I hope.”
“And Nathan, too?”
He nodded. “Celeste came for him.”
I released a sigh of relief. “Was he doing okay when she took him?”
“I think so.”
I sat down on the edge of my bed and put my head in my hands. It was the first good news I’d had in a while. “Thank God.”
“You have to get out of here, Nikki,” he said. “Faye is still looking for you. If she finds you, she’ll kill you.”
I nodded. “Will you come with me to Vegas?”
He blew out a long breath and sat next to me on the bed. “I suppose. Someone’s got to take care of you.”
“Thank you,” I said. “Wait for me downstairs?”
His eyes moved to my towel. “Are you sure you don’t need help getting dressed?”
I sighed. “Duncan...”
His lips tightened. “You know, you should have been mine. We had something good going, and Ethan fucked it all up. Frankly, I’m glad he’s dead.”
“Duncan,” I repeated, putting my hand on his forearm. Part of me still had feelings for him, but I wasn’t ready to forget about Ethan. My blood still burned for him, even if he was gone. I couldn’t just bury those feelings and move on. “We’re good friends. Let’s just keep it that way. I mean, I’m just so confused about everything right now.”
He brushed my hand away and stood up. “I’ll be downstairs.”
I got up as he walked out of the bedroom and quickly slipped on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. I then packed a duffel bag with more clothing and then went back into my mom’s room to grab the money she’d been saving for Vegas. I stuffed it into my pocket and went back downstairs. When I met Duncan in the great room, he was sitting in the dark, staring into the unlit fireplace.
“You okay?” I asked.
“Peachy,” he answered with a bitter smile.
I sighed. “Are you ready?”
He stood up and grabbed the duffel bag from me. “Have you flown yet?”
I shook my head. “I didn’t like it when I was human. I’m sure I won’t now, either.”
“That may be so, but it’s the quickest and cheapest way to get to Vegas. First, we’ll need to feed, though, so we have enough energy.”
Remembering the sweet taste of blood, my mouth watered. “I just fed a little while ago. I think I’m okay until we get to Vegas.”
Plus, I wasn’t sure if I could do it again. Doing it out of rage was one thing, but feeding on an innocent person was something entirely different. As far as I was concerned, it was still barbaric.
He sighed. “Fine. I’ll wait, too.”
I touched his cool cheek. “Are you sure you’re going to make it? You feel cold.”
“I’ll be fine,” he said, turning away. “Now, let’s go.”
We went outside into the back fields behind the cabin.
“Now,” he said, “it’s time for a few “Vampire Life Lessons 101”.
“I can’t wait,” I answered dryly.
He smiled. “Just be lucky you have me. I had to learn all of this on my own. It wasn’t easy.”
“Nothing about being one of these things appears to be easy,” I said.
“Agreed. Now,” he said, picking up a handful of snow and forming it into a ball. “You may notice that the climate won’t affect you the same way as it used to. You won’t necessarily be cold in sub-zero temperatures but the sun will no longer be your friend. So get used to staying out of direct sunlight and use sunglasses if you can’t avoid being out during the day, or you’ll be very uncomfortable.”
“Okay.”
He threw the snowball across the field, much farther than any normal person could. “We’re insanely dexterous and fast.”
I nodded. “So I’ve noticed.”