Color Me Crimson | 𝘙𝘰𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘝𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦

2͓8͢

For the past few hours I've sat in the back of a bumpy, half-full greyhound then switched to a not-much-better subway train. Keeping my mind busy to ignore the ache in my heart, I scheme about gathering information on Lucien and calculate how many shifts I need to work in order to cover my debt.

Turns out the credit card left in the envelope was the same used to book the hotel room, and all I did was recycle the funds from the room to my travel expenses, plus a small lunch. Using the remainder as rent money, for which I should just make the deadline, leaves me with a little over a week's paycheck.

By then I hope to have enough information on Lucien to form a real plan. And since I'm sure he'll notice my injuries, he might hold off on whatever he has planned. Meaning the opportunity to catch him off guard might arrive before I fully recover.

Levi wouldn't approve, but he isn't here. The sooner I can act the better.

Most of this plan rests on fate. I'm no vampire slayer, and I'm not a hero. But my mind is made up, I can't go back now.

Finally, familiar buildings come into view and I begin to recognize the train stops. Since I left so early, there should be plenty of time to make it to Transylvania before the shift starts, and from there I can explain everything to Mags. With her on my side, maybe it will be easier to recruit Kristi.

The automated intercom announces my stop and I gather my bag, then step off onto the underground platform. White fluorescent lights fill the open, two-story cement tunnel and people push by en mass. For a moment I'm disoriented, not having come from this direction before. Someone grabs my shoulder and spins me around, yanking me to the left past the stairs that lead down to the exit.

"Hey, watch it!" I shout, attempting to reclaim my arm to no avail. Their grip is unbreakable. As I feel claws sink past my shirt, my heart sinks. One of them.

The person drags me through the crowd towards a corner, where the wall of bodies finally breaks and allows my gaze to run up the black-clad arm. I freeze.

"Levi?"

I stumble to catch up with his unrelenting pace, then I'm pulled down onto a bench. He sits next to me, our legs flush, his eyes running over every inch of my face.

I stare back, blinking, wondering if it's really Lucien and I've only been put under Deception. I steel myself against the possibility. Against giving any indication of how thrilled I am inside that he's here.

"You left." His voice is cold, frostier than his touch.

You left. What the hell?

I suppress the outburst that springs to mind and instead cross my arms. The duffel bag slumps over on the bench beside me. "And? What does that have to do with you? Or was the hotel just a pretense so you could keep tabs on me from a distance—if so, I'd rather have stayed at the cabin."

His eyes widen, then close. "I told you it isn't safe here."

"Well, I have some things to take care of. I'm not going to ditch the things I've worked hard to get, or my responsibilities, and I'm no longer one of yours, either."

Maybe in his eyes Lucien wasn't technically my responsibility, but I need to prove to him and to myself that I'm strong. Stronger than either of us believe, and I need to prove Lucien deserves whatever comes his way. Ever since I stumbled on Transylvania and accepted Anne's offer that dark night, my life changed in so many ways. But as messed up as it may sound, I wouldn't change a thing.

"What could be worth more than your life?" Levi's eyes open, glaring into mine. The red is so vibrant—abrasive. It drags me away from the dispersing crowd and silences the echo of one-sided conversations and grumblings around us. Demands the truth.