Chapter 3

• LYDIA
• Even when I try, I can’t keep my eyes open. My head spins and my body feels weak. My skin burns, yet a chill runs through me that makes me tremble.
• “Stay with me,” Dex says over and over as he drives through the empty streets. His voice is urgent, shaking slightly. The sound of the city fades into nothing as he speeds through the night. It feels like the world has stopped existing—like it’s only the two of us left.
• He stops suddenly, leaves the bike behind, and carries me in his arms. His heart beats fast against my cheek. I can’t tell if it’s fear or desperation.
• “You’ll be all right,” he whispers, almost like he’s trying to convince himself.
• I force my eyes open and see faint lights in the distance—colored lamps that once glowed bright. The shapes are familiar.
• “Are we in…?”
• “City Hall Station,” Dex answers softly. “We’re almost home.”
• His words sound far away. I remember coming here once. It was a tour that cost me fifty dollars, and I loved every second of it. But there’s a gap in my mind. I was with someone. Someone important. I can’t remember who.
• Dex’s movement pulls me out of my thoughts. He jumps down onto the rails, heading toward a tunnel sealed off from the public. The air is heavy with the scent of dampness and decay. Then, as if by magic, it fades away.
• We descend deeper, and I hear his boots striking metal steps. His grip on me tightens, protective and certain.
• “Not much farther,” he murmurs against my hair.
• When I open my eyes again, I see light spilling over stone. My breath catches. We’ve stepped into a space so vast it could hold an entire skyscraper. In the center stands a tall, magnificent structure.
• “Impossible,” I whisper.
• It must be the fever making me hallucinate. But Dex doesn’t look surprised. He walks straight toward the glowing building and slips inside through a wide entrance.
• “Brad!” he shouts as soon as we enter. His voice echoes across the massive hall. “Brad, it’s an emergency!”
• My surroundings blur. Sounds twist together. The people, the walls, even the floor seem to move in waves.
• “What happened?” a woman’s voice asks. She sounds young, sharp, and frightened.
• “Baron bit her,” Dex says quickly.
• “Oh no, Dex, this is bad,” the girl replies.
• “I know. Brad, she doesn’t remember anything…”
• I blink, trying to focus. A woman leans over me. She has smooth brown skin, full lips, and thick onyx hair tied behind her shoulders.
• “You have to save her,” Dex says beside her, his voice tight with pain.
• “I’ll try,” the woman answers softly. Her hand presses against my forehead.
• A sharp sting runs through my arm. I glance down and see a needle piercing my skin. Warmth spreads through me, and everything turns to black.
• When I wake, it feels like I’m drowning in air. My chest heaves, and someone screams nearby.
• “It’s not working!” the woman yells. “Baron’s poison has already spread too far!”
• “I can’t let her turn into one of them,” Dex says through gritted teeth. He’s holding my hand so tightly I can feel the tremor in his fingers.
• “What can we do?” he asks.
• “Your blood,” the woman says suddenly. “We need your blood to fight the poison. It’s the only way.”
• Dex curses under his breath. His hand leaves mine. I try to focus on him, but the world swims in and out of view. I see him raise his hand to his mouth and bite into his wrist. His blood shines dark against his lips.
• Before I can ask what he’s doing, he’s already leaning over me. His thumb brushes across my lips, parting them. Then his mouth covers mine.
• I feel the warmth of his blood between us, the heat of his breath mixing with mine. The taste is nothing like I imagined—not metallic, but sweet, almost intoxicating.
• The moment it touches my tongue, I gasp. Air fills my lungs again. My body comes alive. My hands clutch his arms as his lips move over mine, gentle but desperate.
• He pulls back slightly, his breath rough against my cheek. “Good girl,” he whispers.
• “She’s stabilizing,” the woman says quickly. “It’s working.”
• Dex doesn’t hesitate. He bites his wrist again, and before I can think, his lips meet mine a second time. I swallow the warm liquid as his tongue brushes mine, slow and deliberate.
• When he finally pulls away, I can breathe again, though part of me doesn’t want him to stop. He wipes the blood from his lip with his thumb and presses it to my mouth.
• “Lick,” he says.
• Without thinking, I obey. The taste lingers—sweet and strange.
• “That should hold,” Dex murmurs, his tone quieter now. He turns away, folding his arms, as though trying to compose himself. My heart beats wildly in my chest, but the dizziness is gone. The weakness has vanished.
• Now I can see the room clearly. It’s an infirmary, clean but dimly lit. The woman—Brad—looks exhausted.
• “That will slow the poison,” she says.
• “Poison?” I ask weakly.
• She nods. “Vampire poison. It entered your system when Baron bit you.”
• “It was changing you,” Dex says, his expression dark. “But my blood will stop it—for now.”
• “At least long enough for us to find a cure,” Brad adds.
• Dex exhales deeply, his face shadowed with worry. Before I can ask more, the door bursts open.
• “Lydia!” a familiar voice cries. “By the goddess, you’re alive!”
• A girl rushes toward me and throws her arms around me. Her hair smells faintly of jasmine and smoke.
• “I thought I’d lost you,” she whispers.
• When she pulls back, I stare at her. Her face looks like mine—but softer, prettier. Her eyes are blue, her hair darker. She looks like a version of me that belongs to another life.
• For a moment, I can’t speak. I only stare, trying to remember her.
• Trying to remember everything.