Night Walker

Chapter 4

"I mean come on Robert, I killed the Contas for you and you're going to make her queen." Lily Tanner was here, she was sitting in the back, covering her face, next to her, now revealing their face was her parents and her twin siblings Adelaide and Ezra.

"Liliana Tanner, always a pleasure."

Lily walked over to me, she looked right into my eyes, "It's like a curse, you have to kill your first moroi, dhampir, or human to trigger it."

"What?" Lissa asked.

"The answer to your question," She went back down and grabbed Maddie, who was hiding next to Steve, "You know, you sent this one to get the answer." She looked right at me, "We're cursed. I need to talk to them in private."

"I'm in the middle of a coup." Robert was annoyed.

"Then adjust your plan. The sun will be up in a couple of hours. You need to find a place to stay."

He tried snapping her neck but she stepped out of the way and grabbed the stake she had in her boot and cut the side of his cheek.

"I said go before I trigger all of their blackouts and they kill your men. I'm giving you a day to regroup and think of a solid plan, I'm on your side Robert."

"Or I stay here and I lock everyone you don't need up."

Lily looked over at Lissa, we all knew it was the best she could do, "Fine."

My parents, Malakai and his family, Alexei and the Dragomirs, the Ivashkov, the rest of the Tanners, Steve, Mark, and Davina followed all of us out of the ballroom. Lily trailed behind, as she was talking to strigoi. We went into the palace's common room. As soon as we walked in, my parents, Eddie, Mikhail, and Steve started to lock all the doors.

"We should be fine." My dad said. The palace rooms were designed as a panic room if strigoi did invade.

Lily uncuffed me. I didn't know how tight they were until they were off. I wandered over to a mirror. To my horror, I looked worse than they let on. I had choked marks and what was made to look like a strigoi bite on my neck, a black eye, dried blood on my upper lip and dripping from my ear, I had a cut on my lip, and smaller bruises running up my arms and legs. My hair was tangled with twigs and leaves sticking out. I didn't look or feel like myself.

Steve appeared behind me, he put his hands on my shoulder. We both stared at me in the mirror.

"I can't remember most of it. I was in a hotel, and Roman threw a bag of hair curlers, and for a second I thought he was going to hit me. He didn't." I paused, "He didn't do anything. Shane, from what I remember, he got mad, and he slammed me into a wall, and he, " I looked down at the floor trying to swallow my tears, "He put his hands around my neck, and he just squeezed," I put my hands on my neck, "That wasn't even the worst of it, I was in a cave, and Veronica Devin, she came out of nowhere and like compressed mt head, I don't know how to explain it, but I yelled, asking for help but no one came." Everyone was staring at me, as I turned around, "I need to get out of this dress." My hand started to twitch, "I need to get out of this fucking dress." my hands tightened it's hold on my neck.

Steve grabbed my hands and held them, "My darling, you aren't there."

I buried my face into his shirt. I let it all go, all the tears I've been holding in for the last couple of days, I just exploded. I almost died. I was drugged and beat, I'm pretty sure more was going on when I was drugged. All the pain from Veronica, just everything I felt I let it out.

After a few minutes, I looked up at Steve, "I need to get out of this dress."

He looked over at my parents, "I'm going to go take her to your home so she can shower." He nodded, and he walked me over to my house. He waited in my room holding my duster, the only thing that felt like me. I hopped into a steaming hot shower. I cried a bit more, letting all the pain drain with my shower water. I put on a red turtleneck, to hide most of the choke marks. I didn't even bother with make up. I blow dried my hair and brushed out all of the knots. I had cuts on my legs, that i banaged the bigger and depper ones, and hid them wearing mom jeans. I put my combat boots on and grabbed my duster from Steve. I looked in the mirror, and looked like Katerina Belikov, but didn't feel like her.