Layla was alone once again, sitting on the bed inside the cabin as she waited for Ravana's return. Her nerves were shot and she was still unsure of the plan that Niniane had helped her devise. All she wanted to do was run away from it all, but she couldn't leave Atreus to face such a horrible fate. So she sat and waited with the stake tucked into her jeans, praying that their plan would work. Just as Layla wondered once again when Ravana was going to make an appearance the all-familiar sensation of her surroundings warped around her with inky black smoke. Standing, Layla looked around for Ravana's cruel face. He stood mere feet from her and watched her with his fierce amber eyes. Slowly, a smile lifted his lips, revealing his pearly white canines. He watched her silently, his eyes sidling up her figure with a slow purposeful gaze. "Your beauty… it never fails to enthrall me," Ravana said, his voice dripping with honey. Layla glared at him. "Save your bullsh*t." "Such a foul
When Layla could see again, she first saw Ravana's dark smile and when she looked down, she saw her hand clasped tightly in his. They were still in Atreus' cabin at the moment just before Nolwenn had pulled her into the celestial garden. "Good choice, my dear," he said with a sneer as he transported them from the cabin. In the next moment, Layla found herself back in the audience chamber of Ravana's castle. Layla looked up at the stained glass mosaic of the sun on the ceiling then dropped her gaze and gasped. Right below it was a kneeling Atreus. He was chained down by what looked like iron chains with silver glints throughout. Layla could see how the chains burned at his flesh because his wrists were raw and pink with blisters all around his skin. "Atreus!" Layla called to him, going to move toward him when Ravana gripped her hand tighter, holding her back. Atreus looked up at her and the anguish that appeared in his eyes when he saw her, pierced Layla's heart with devastat
"Atreus!" Layla screamed. The ruby-inlaid dagger Layla had gotten from Niniane dropped from Atreus' hand before he crumpled to the ground. "Oh, God!"Layla ran to him desperately, a fleeting thought of how he'd managed to get the dagger running through her mind. Had he returned to the cemetery the night she was kidnapped to retrieve it? When Layla reached Atreus, his skin was still burning under the sun's unrelenting power. Ravana watched with a cold expression as Layla used all her strength to pull Atreus from the circle of light. Slowly, one tug at a time, Layla tugged Atreus' slack body until he was safe in the shadows. Turning him on his back, she dropped to her knees beside him and put her hands on his cheeks, trying to ignore the brutal cauterized wound on his throat caused by the dagger. "Atreus?" she sobbed. "Please, please don't go." Yet, the more that she tried to wake him, the more apparent it was that he was gone. His beautiful face, although covered with red blist
Layla gritted her teeth, as resolve steeled her gut. She wasn't going to run. She was going to fight until the bitter end. Glancing around, Layla looked for the First Chosen's wooden stake. She spotted it not far from the skirmish between the three vampires who battled against one another viciously. She bolted toward it, keeping her eye on Ravana, hoping that he wouldn't spot her. She swept it off the ground and turned toward the conflict and watched, waiting for an opportunity to strike. Cairo and Ravana were exchanging blows and Niniane was standing on her feet with shaking legs. She bolted back into the fray without hesitation, trying to catch Ravana off guard. Ravana roared with rage when Niniane managed to strike him in the arm with the stake. He grabbed Niniane by her throat and with brutal strength, he threw her hard against the stone wall. Niniane slid down the wall unconscious. "Niniane!" Layal cried, clutching the stake to her chest. Just then, Ravana struck out
A couple of weeks later.Layla sat quietly on her towel, letting the sun kiss her skin. People chatted as they walked past and kids laughed and played, splashing one another with water. She sipped from the cold tropical drink in her hand and watched the waves clash with the shore in soothing rhythmic motions. That and the feeling of her toes in the sand made this moment completely perfect. With a sigh, she shook her hair from her shoulders and closed her eyes against the warm rays of the sun, basking in the peaceful energy of it all. "Girl, you're still nursing that drink?" Mia asked as she plopped down beside Layla with a huff. "Here I am with two drinks in my hand, thinking you might need a refill." "I will happily take that burden off your hands," Layla said with a grin, looking at Mia with a renewed appreciation for her friend. "Gimme." Mia laughed as Layla took the second drink and set it down beside her. "What's got you in such a good mood lately?" Mia asked suspicious
She didn't know where she was as she looked around the candle-lit room. The silks underneath her naked body were soft and tantalizing as she writhed on the bed. That's when her eyes landed on him. His face was shadowed, but she could see a devilish grin lifting the corners of his mouth as he crawled over the expanse of her body. He gripped her wrists with his cool hand and pinned them above her head. The contours of his muscles were lit by the gentle glow of candlelight but she still couldn't see his eyes. He brought that beautiful mouth to her lips, but only teased her with a whisper of a kiss. He then ducked his head to the juncture of her neck. She gasped as the sharpness of his teeth grazed her throat. "I finally found you," he whispered in a hungry growl, before capturing her neck in his mouth. "Layla!" Layla gasped awake at the violent shaking her friend was currently delivering. Mia huffed. "It's about time. We are almost to the museum." Her friend sat back in he
'You didn't tell me your name.' The stranger's silky voice echoed through Layla's mind. Chills coursed through her body as she remembered his cool touch on her skin. Mia and Layla were in line at a local coffee shop after the class split off for some independent sightseeing. The shop smelled of roasted coffee beans and warm spices. The walls of the coffee shop were covered in paintings and artifacts, and bright sunlight shone through the giant windows. As Mia chatted, Layla only had one ear in the conversation as she mumbled noncommittally. When the two girls got their drinks and found a place to sit and sip their coffee, Mia frowned at Layla. "What is with you?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. "You are so mopey!" Layla shook herself from her daydream about the stranger at the museum and assessed her friend who was frowning at her. "Sorry," Layla said. "I just… I saw this weird guy at the museum today and for some reason, I can't stop thinking about him." Mia's frown dis
The class had just finished their tour of the Colosseum and were walking outside when Mia ran toward Layla with a smile on her face. "Uh-oh, what now?" Layla asked with a grin. "Some of the girls are going out tonight to a local club," Mia said excitedly as she did a little dance. "We should totally go!" Layla giggled at Mia's excitement and nodded. "Yeah, sure. That sounds like fun." "Woohoo!" Mia whooped and then nudged Layla with her hip. "But first, I gotta go shower. I'm covered in old stuff dust." After the tour ended later that afternoon, Layla and Mia joined their classmates on the bus and rode it back to their hotel. The hotel they were staying at was as beautiful as the landmarks that dotted the countryside. It had a vibrant fountain out front that was lit up in lights and intricately painted mosaic tiles that framed the doors and windows. Layla and Mia made their way through the lobby and their steps echoed across the marble floors. Above their heads was a gorgeo