She really had no one to run to, Zari thought painfully. None except her Master, but it seemed like even her Master wouldn’t be hers much longer.
“So, Lady Zari…” The doctor – Katarina – inclined her head to the side in question. “Would you like to talk about your—-”
Her eyes widened, and she belatedly remembered what Mrs. Humphrey had said. “I’m not pregnant,” she said quickly. “Mrs. Humphrey…she thought…wrong.” Her voice trailed off, her cheeks flaming in color.
“Oh.”
Was that, Zari wondered, relief in the older woman’s eyes? When Katarina smiled at her again, it also seemed warmer, and unease started to stir inside of Zari.
“I apologize for the misunderstanding.” The other woman paused. “But if that wasn’t what you’ve come here for, then…is there any other thing I may help you with?”
Zari bit her lip.
“I’m sure,” Katarina continued, “you didn’t come here for no reason.”
Hating how the other woman made her feel so defensive, Zari blurted out, “I can say the same for you, don’t you think?” Unable to bear being rude, she added reluctantly, “Dr. Anton.”
She expected Katarina to deny it, but instead the doctor’s smile faded, and her face turned serious.
“Very well,” Katarina murmured.
Unease turned into panic, and Zari suddenly didn’t feel like hearing the truth. She burst to her feet. “I don’t think—-”
But Katarina had also come to her feet. “I—-”
She shook her head wildly. “I don’t want to hear this—-” She hurried to the door, but of course Katarina beat her to it. Human speed would never be a match against vampires.
When their eyes clashed, Katarina said, “I was wrong.”
Zari froze.
The older woman’s voice shook. “I know, you have your own lives now. But I just can’t…I just can’t not…I know I was wrong. I was wrong to make him leave. To push him away.”
She asked tremulously, “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because I want him back.”
Shock caused Zari to sway.
Katarina’s eyes widened in alarm. “Lady Zari—-” She reached for Zari, and the moment her fingers curled around Zari’s arm, everything changed.
A vision.
One that may be her last—-
Zari started to scream.
Chapter Seven
“Where is she?” Alexandru roared. Rationality no longer had a place in his mind. He didn’t care how many vampires he had to knock unconscious, didn’t care how many he had to fucking kill. If he had to turn the entire dukedom upside down, he would. Whatever it took to find her again.
“Cease this.” Mihail appeared at the doorway, his eyes cold as he surveyed the destruction his younger brother had caused. Dozens of his own soldiers littered the ground, and their only sin was that they had followed the command of their marquis.
Alexandru whirled around to face his brother, his face white with rage. “I do not want to fight you, but I will if you do not tell me where she is.”
“I don’t know.”
“Stop with the lies,” Alexandru roared.
Mihail’s tone didn’t change. “Listen to me, brother. Truly listen. My voice. My heartbeat. I do not know.”
Alexandru staggered back.
“It was her choice to leave.”
A vision, just a vision, and visions can’t hurt.
She whispered the words over and over to herself, but still her fears escalated, still Miranda kept walking towards her, and the closer she got to Zari, the less she resembled a human. When she was in front of Zari, she was no longer Miranda but a demon.
He lunged at her, and Zari screamed.
DON’T INTERFERE.
The demon threw her into the water.
She flailed and gasped, but it was as if someone was forcing her down. Water rushed into her, and she began to choke.
She squeezed her eyes shut. A vision, just a vision, and visions can’t hurt—-
ZARI.
The voice.
That voice.
It was her Master’s voice.
ALEXANDRU WAS BACK in the mainland, scouring nearby towns in the off chance that he could sense the demon’s presence, when he heard his pet scream.
The sound was filled with so much terror he immediately checked on her using their blood bond.
Her pulse was faint, but her heartbeat was racing, and he knew she was having a vision. The kind where the person she was seeing had also sensed Zari’s presence…and turned the tables on her.
Zari. He used their bond to call her name. Cold sweat enveloped his body as he waited for his pet to respond. He dared not do anything, concentrating all his efforts on reaching out to her.
Something in their bond stirred.
Zari.
M-Master?
Come out of your vision.
I’m drowning.
No. You’re not. The panic in her voice made him want to kill someone. Just follow my voice—-
B-but I c-can’t b-breathe—-
ZARI. His voice turned into a command. Do you trust me?
Her heartbeat raced faster at his question, and he knew, whatever Zari was fighting, it was trying to literally scare her to death.
Master…
If you trust me, follow my voice and I will take you out of your vision.
KATARINA BREATHED A sigh of relief when she saw Zari Baltimore’s eyes blink open. Vampires didn’t really have heart attacks, but if they did, then it would probably be similar to what she had felt at seeing Alexandru’s pet scream herself into a faint.