The moment we stopped running, I pulled out me dagger. I whipped around. I pushed Damian against a wall. “Sunshine-“ he was cut off as I pushed the dagger to his throat.

“Talk, demon.” I hissed.

“Hey, that’s hurtful. I think of myself of more of a handsome-“ I pressed the dagger closer to hit throat.

My heart was pounding as I stared into his onyx eyes. They were filled with rage and confusion. I wasn’t going to fall into his trap. He was dangerous. Those were vampires. His last name was Vampire. He had to have summoned them. He had to have done something.

“What were those?” I asked.

“You know what they are, sunshine.”

“Why are they _here_?”

“You think I did this?” Damian was growling. He glared down at me.

“Don’t sound so surprised. _You’re_ a Vampire.”

He laughed humorlessly. “It’s a name. I’m not one of _them_. We haven’t even had contact with actual vampires in thousands of years. I didn’t do this. No one in my family did this.”

“Don’t lie to me! I’m not a fool! I know you had something to do with this!” I was shouting now. I had just seen a real vampire. My heart was pounding. My mind was racing. Where was my family? Were they ok? What about my sisters?

Tears pricked at the corner of my eyes. I pushed them away. I couldn’t cry now. I couldn’t seem weak in front of the enemy. I was gonna get the truth out of him.

He leaned in to whisper in my ear. “You’re not very scary if you’re trying to be. You’re not even holding that knife right.” He whispered. Then he grabbed my wrist.

“Wha-“ Then I was pushed against the wall with both of my hands above my head. Damian was pressed against me. His angry breaths mingled with mine. His chest was shoved against mine. I could understand why so many girls allowed themselves to be broken by him. With those eyes, he could trap anyone he wanted to.

“Listen closely, sunshine, I didn’t do this. No one in my family did this. We’re not like them. They are monsters. They will do whatever it takes to kill you and me. We have no connection with them. You need to trust me or we might end up dead.” He whispered in my ear.

I shook my head. I could never trust him. He was just like them. He was one of them.

“Have I done anything to hurt you?”

“You have me pinned against a wall.” I hissed.

“You shoved a knife at my throat. This was self defense. Also, you might want to learn how to use a knife properly before threatening a guy with it again. It makes you look pathetic.”

I glared at him. His eyes darkened for a second before leaving my face and examining the area. It was so quick that I thought I imagined it. Maybe it was just my imagination, but I was pretty sure that his heart was pounding as fast as mine.

“We need to leave.” He said suddenly. “If I let you go, will you try to hurt me?”

“Yes.”

Damian rolled his eyes, took my knife, and threw it somewhere. “Now you can’t hurt me.”

I glared at him. He was right though. There was no way I could even remotely hurt him without my knife I was defenseless again.

His hands slipped away from me. Then his warmth that had been pressed against me was gone. He took a few steps back and cleared his throat. He turned to look at the area we stopped at. It was a courtyard.

I shivered in the cold night air. It was freezing. Without Damian’s warmth, I was left tired and cold. “We need to find my family.” I said.

He shook his head. “No. We need to get you to safety.” He said.

“I need to find my family!”

“Shh. They might hear you and that would be bad, sunshine.”

“You just want me to shut up.”

He smirked. “Maybe. Now let’s go.”

I rolled me eyes. I had two options. Follow Damian and find a possible safe place or go find my family and possibly end up dead. I sighed.

I followed Damian.

We went into the palace and wandered through the hallways. “Where are we going?” I asked.

“Somewhere safe.” He replied.

“That’s not useful.”

We stopped at a door that was at the end of a hallway. Damian knocked on it. It opened.

Elle stood there in her nightgown. She looked like she hadn’t even gone to the festival. She glared at her brother instantly. Then she saw me. Then she glared at her brother harder.

“What happened?” She asked.

“There was an attack. You keep Vesper here while I go to help.” He said.

“Don’t tell me what to do.”

“Just stay here.” He said.

Elle glared at her brother. She ushered me into the room. I walked in. I sat down on the bed.

“Who attacked?” Elle asked Damian.

“Vampires.” He relied.

She gasped. “Do they think…”

“Your friend certainly does. I don’t know about the king. Things could go really badly or really well.”

“Where’s Aspen?”

“I’m gonna find him.”

Damian was about to leave when Elle stopped him. “Be careful out there.” She said.

“You know me.” He smirked. Then he ran off.

“That’s what worries me.” She whispered.

Eventually, I started crying.