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He closed his eyes as he sensed the co sunrise When he was first made, the onset of the sleep of his kind had been scary as hell It was like falling into a deep black pit, with no assurance that he would ever wake again In the beginning, he had feared being discovered by a vampire hunter and destroyed while he slept, but that had proven to be a needless worry Soer; if necessary, he awakened long enough to defend hiy that roused hi for Kaitlyn, as the dark sleep overshadowed hi hiht in bed, her heart pounding, Zack’s na there, the sheet clutched to her breasts, she glanced quickly around the roo

"Zack?" Certain he was near, she slipped out of bed, opened the door, and peered into the hallway All was quiet The corridor was dark and deserted

Not surprising at this tiht their lairs before sunrise; most of the mortals who lived here kept the sa, she pulled on her robe and padded barefoot down the corridor, pausing to glance into every roon of Zack Or anyone else

Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling that he was nearby and so she kept searching Moving quietly down the stairs, she peered into the kitchen, the dining hall, and the laundry room Of course, he wouldn’t be here

The next floor here the sheep had been kept The dormitories and one of the dayrooms had been turned into apartly made their home in the Fortress The second dayroom had been turned into a nursery/playroom for their children Zack certainly wouldn’t be there

The vampire lairs were on the next level down He definitely wouldn’t be there

Was it possible he was in the dungeon? She tried to link to the blood bond he said they shared He had told her he would always be able to find her Why couldn’t she find hi to be afraid of, she went doo flights of stairs, then paused at the narrow door that led to the dungeon Her grandfather, Rodin, had not approved of her father er, he had imprisoned her father down here It was a snippet of family history she wasn’t supposed to know, but she had heard bits and pieces of the story while growing up, mostly from the sheep

She opened the door, surprised that it didn’t creak loudly, the ooden doors always did in scaryon her own, even though she knew there was a rinned as she stepped into the dungeon In this case, she was the monster

Thanks to her preternatural vision, she needed neither candle nor lamp to find her way in the thick darkness Iron-barred cells lined both sides of the room Someone had obviously mopped the floors and cleaned the cells, but the air remained rank with the s was low, the stark surroundings oppressive

She was relieved to find all the cells e to her room on the main floor, she crawled back under the covers and closed her eyes Itto see Zack so badly, she had i Even if he knehere she was, he wouldn’t be foolish enough to co, she did it quickly, and in grand style By Saturday night, the welco night Of course, there was little to do when one gave a party for vampires There was no need for an elaborate buffet The mortals elled within the Fortress had also been invited A lavish dinner would be provided for the, they would supply the refreshments for the vampires; if not, there would be a ready supply of bottled blood as well as a variety of wines and cha the party She was fond of her aunts and uncles, eager to see her grandain, and happy that Stefan had returned On the other hand, she was still angry with her father for whisking her to the Fortress against her will

She had considered refusing to attend, but that sees if she stayed in her roohter, she arrived in the appointed place at the appointed ti else in the world The walls and ceiling, lass, afforded a splendid view of the valley below and the star-studded sky above As a child, Kaitlyn had loved to play up here when they caht, she had pretended the ballroo the day, she had pretended the roo tables covered with gold damask cloths flanked both sides of the roolasses sparkled on the tables

Her aunt Miranda sat at the grand piano located on a s mirror took up leaers flew effortlessly over the keys, nevera note She smiled when she saw Kaitlyn; a moment later, the notes of "Clair de Lune" filled the roo

Kaitlynat Marta and Elnora and Torrance, who stood in a group by theed Stefan and her grand that Liliana looked even est son was ho with Andrei and Katiya, nodded at Ciprian, as dancing with a pretty lass of hen she saw hertoward her

"Kaitlyn, there you are," Elena said, s "How lovely you look!"

"Thanks, Moth dress h to be Kaitlyn’s sister

Elena frowned "You’re still angry, aren’t you?"

"I can’t help it He had no right"

"He had every right, Kaitlyn He’s your father Did you think he’d just ignore the danger you were in? If he hadn’t brought you home, I would have"

Before Kaitlyn could reply, her father joined theht Wearing black slacks, a gray silk shirt, and a black jacket with a velvet collar, he could easily have been a male erated formality

"Of course"