Alethea has always been awkward - eccentric, even. On a typical day she spends her time cloistered inside a tiny apartment hiding from the world she doesn't really understand. When her therapist encourages her to push herself outside her comfort zon...
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I woke to the sound of my father crying. In all my life I had never seen him cry. He was as tough as nails and it took a lot to rattle him. Whenever I had been scared or upset as a child I would run to him, knowing he was willing to stare down death just to keep me safe and happy.
The sound of broken sobs and gasps coming from his chest were like a knife straight to the gut. It physically hurt me to know that I had reduced this strong, infallibly brave man to tears.
"Dad?" I croaked into the dark, reaching my bloody hand out toward the cell bars. "Don't cry, Daddy. I'm okay."
"Thea? Baby? Oh, thank God you're alright," he called out, and I could hear him shuffling as close as he could toward me. "I thought you were dead! Don't you ever scare me like that again!"
A half-hearted smile made it's way onto my face as he scolded me. I felt like I was five-years-old again and had gotten caught playing too close to the road. It seemed things could get back to normal now – or well, as normal as could be with us trapped in a vampire dungeon.
"I told him you'd be okay," my mother's voice whispered. It lacked a lot of conviction though, indicating she probably hadn't believed it despite what she claimed. "You're a tough old gal."
"Who're you calling old, grandma?" I tried to joke. It came out sounding forced and no one laughed, but the mood did seem a bit lighter.
I took a few moments to take stock of my situation. My body felt strange: equal parts agony and nothingness. One minute I would feel like I was dying and in another I would feel cold and empty. I assumed this was how I would have felt during my last vampiric transformation but I couldn't remember. The difference this time was I planned on completing the transition.
"Mama, are there any vampires down here with us?"
"No. After that one bit you they all ran off and haven't come back," she explained.
"Are you two okay? Are you hurt?" I asked; knowing Moroi had probably treated them badly.
Mama huffed and snapped, "Stop worrying about us. We're fine."
"No, Mama, you don't understand." I had to stop and take a deep breath as another wave of pain assaulted me. After a few seconds it passed and I panted out, "I have a plan to get us out of here and I need to know you can both walk."
"If you can get me out of this cell, I plan on doing a lot more than that," my father said darkly.
"Good because we may have to fight our way out of here. I'm not really sure how many vampires Moroi has or even where we are, so we need to be prepared for anything."
"Well as far as I know we are still in Rome," he explained. "He didn't take us out of the city. And from what I can tell there are only about five vampires, including the three you saw earlier."
"Dad! You're a lifesaver! What else do you know?"
"I'm afraid that's the best I can do, Thee."
"I just wish I knew what time it was," I complained.
