11 | adronitis
the frustration of how long it takes to get to know someone

dedicated to flashingallen

WE ENDED UP missing Bake Off. By the time Nathan had regained consciousness and called an ambulance to take me to hospital, the show stoppers had already been judged, and one contestant had been sent packing.

After being diagnosed with mild concussion I was whisked straight into the surgical room upon, and had to repeat the cover story that I had tripped and fallen on my boyfriend's knife – Nathan's knife – during dinner more times than my head could process. Now, thirteen stitches decorated my shoulder on either side and I still couldn't raise my arm above my chest without screaming in pain.

The following morning, after spending the night in an uncomfortable hospital bed with Nathan by my side at all times, I was discharged following a final check-up. With a handful of medication and painkillers, we were thrown out of the hospital and left to hail a taxi to take us back to Nathan's hotel room. For the first time, I was relieved to enter the confines of room 306 and collapse onto the soft mattress until the crisp white sheets surrounded me like a protective skin.

Lying face down, Nathan had pulled the duvet over my shivering body and let me drift asleep. This time, the nightmares did not pursue; I was no longer plagued by the fragments of memories that kept resurfacing from my past. I didn't want to be. I knew that I had to find the desolate parking lot I had seen whilst in Elijah's custody, but without the blade in our possession and Damon a hostage to Sonoya, I wasn't going anywhere.

By the time I awoke, it was midday. Sun glistened against the windows, twisting the light until it created a cascading rainbow across half of the room, including my face. I narrowed my eyes and raised my good arm to block out the sun, bathing in the rich sunlight before it ultimately disappeared. In England, I was used to the sun hibernating throughout the winter. Even in summer, the sun rarely revealed itself. But I still loved the country – my country – from the rich history, to the Morris Men who used to dance at my local pub once a year back in Southampton.

"Hey," A soft voice echoed from across the room.

I sat up, startled. For a second I didn't recognise the handsome man without blood covering every single part of his body, but I recognised that smile anywhere. Nathan looked as good as ever in a white tank top and a pair of black sweatpants. His ancient necklaces were looped delicate around his broad neck, the beautiful carved pendants holding centuries worth of meaning.

"Hey," I muttered from the bed, hazily opening my eyes. My head still pounded, but with the wound cleaned up by the nurses during my hospital trip, it was as though the incident had never occurred. There were small things I couldn't remember, but it was nothing compared to the gaping eight day gap in my memory.

I pushed myself up from the bed using my good hand, allowing the duvet to fall off me in a wave of warmth. I was still in the same dress I had worn last night, my wound on full display. In some ways, I was proud of the stitches that would eventually form a white hole in my skin.

Getting to my feet was not an easy task. I leant on one of the four posts of the large bed to stabilise myself, finally managing to stand on my own two feet without one of them giving way. I walked over to the wooden table where Nathan was sat upright watching my every move like a hawk. But my heart skipped a beat when I noticed the perfectly brewed cup of coffee already made for me, accompanied by a beautiful bouquet of white, blue and purple flowers. The perfume from the pollen was sweet, and soothed my senses and anxiety as I took a seat across from the man.

"Flowers?" I asked, quirking a brow.

"Cordelias are your favourite," Nathan answered, his face as handsome as ever in the midday sunlight.

I nodded slowly. "Um- how did you know that?"

"Because you told me."

My brain filled in the blanks. I had told him before I was compelled to forget about vampires completely. "Right," I smiled. I wasn't a flower person, but the gesture had taken me aback. "Thank you?"

I slid into the chair opposite Nathan reluctantly. He raised a brow at me as I pushed my hands out over the table and clasped them together. "How're you feeling?"

I glanced over my hands which were scarred beyond recognition. I tried to roll my damaged shoulder, but a surge of fire washed over the area and I was forced to grit my teeth to bid away the pain. The scarlet dress had begun to fray at the bottom, and was stained with brown patches of dry blood that wouldn't come off in the wash. At least Damon had been the one to pay for it.

"Like shit," I moaned and reached out for the coffee. I took a sip of the bitter water, sighing against the cup as it slid down my throat. One sugar and a little bit of milk. Nathan had got it spot on. "But, to be honest, I always feel like shit."

Nathan cocked his head to the side and laughed. "Yeah, you look like shit too."

That earnt Nathan a slap on the arm with my good hand. "Thanks for reminding me."

Nathan waved his arms in the air. "Just being honest," He sighed, slipping his gaze directly onto mine. For a moment, I was unable to look away. His swirling dark eyes reminded me of an encapsulated storm, ready to unleash lightning. "But I think you look beautiful, anyway."

I blushed. "So much for being honest."

"I mean it."

I rolled my eyes, breaking up the staring contest. "Like hell you do, Nath."

"Cora, you're beautiful," Nathan muttered, leaning in closer until his nose was almost touching mine. The air surrounding us felt like electricity, sending my head into a frenzy of thoughts.

"Yeah," I whispered, inching closer. "Well 'beautiful' is was too cliché for me, sorry." And with that, I pulled away, the storm around us dissipating into nothing as though it had never existed.

I was a flirt; I knew that much, and with a man as Nathan sitting across the table from me, I couldn't help but act like an overly hormonal teenager. Scrap that: I was an overly hormonal teenager.

"Ok, then," Nathan narrowed his eyes as a challenge, his words taking me by surprise. He wasn't going to give up that easily, and neither was I. "I think that you have a pretty smile and that you're quirky."

"Quirky?" I stated in a raised tone. "Really?"

Nathan shrugged his shoulders.

"I'll take it."

As the conversation died, I went back to sipping my coffee with my right, undamaged arm. I tried to divert my mind from the events of last night, but my mind was going in circles, always coming back to thoughts of Damon. I had never known a man to look so hot in a ripped suit and blood-stained face, but Damon had even topped Tom fucking Hardy in that department.

I finished my coffee in three more gulps and wiped away the froth on my top lip with the back of my arm. "What're we doing about Damon?" I asked shyly, knowing that Nathan wouldn't react well.

Nathan's posture stiffened across from me. "Cora-"

"I get it, you hate him," I muttered. "But he's the only person who's been there for me throughout all of this. Nathan, you've gotta help me. Even if you just want the dagger. He may be a huge pain in the arse, but he doesn't deserve this."

Nathan placed his head into his hands. "Cora, remember what I told you about Damon?"

I nodded cautiously. "Yeah, but-"

"Blondie, I've known Damon for three centuries. So trust me when I say this, don't believe anything he says. He manipulates people, tells them lies until they do his bidding." He looked me up and down as the smile plummeted from my face. "Has he told you about Sage?"

"Yes," I scrunched my brows. "Why?"

"What did he tell you about her?"

Despite my mild concussion, I could recall the conversation I had had with Damon two nights ago as he struggled against the vervain plaguing his body. "He told me that Alexander turned her into a vampire because falling in love with a human made him weak."

Nathan shook his head and tutted, making the hydrochloric acid in my stomach churn until my body was numb. "Cora, Damon killed Sage," Nathan stated, my eyes widening. "Damon turned Sage into a vampire because Alexander was trying to kill him. Damon needed a new born to fight Alexander off, so that's what he did. He didn't love her; he used her."

I didn't realise my hands were shaking until I went to pick up my empty coffee cup to take a sip of air.

"I- I don't believe you," I said, words trembling.

"That's fine," Nathan continued. "Just don't trust Damon, either."

"We're still saving him," I muttered. I didn't know who to believe, but I knew Damon better. The look I had seen in his eyes couldn't be faked.

"Cora, Sonoya always leaves a trail behind. I've known her for longer than Damon's been alive, and she's awful at covering her tracks. Harry's finding their location right now, and as soon as we know where they are, we'll get the blade and save him, ok?" Anger lingered in Nathan's eyes as his spoke. Whatever had happened between the two vampires was difficult to comprehend, but I didn't press. I wanted to enjoy the moment while it lasted; a moment where I could drink coffee and smell the pollen of my favourite type of rose before the tranquillity was shattered like glass.

Nathan got up from the wooden chair, grabbing the flowers and placing them in a vase. He looked back at me as I stared out of the window at the skyscrapers adorning London's magnificent skyline. "And Cor?"

"Mm Hmm?"

"Remember that you can't save everyone."

My eyes rolled and I pulled my arms over my chest. Nathan underestimating people was one of his many flaws, and it had cost him dearly last night. He had put his trust in the wrong person, yet part of me knew he was already aware of that.

"No," I said. "But I can try."

"Some people aren't worth saving," Nathan exhaled. "Damon included."

I didn't know how to respond, so I sank back into my chair. Nathan placed the vase of flowers in the centre of the table before reaching into his pocket to retrieve something. Before I knew it, Nathan was holding out his iPhone towards me. I glanced up through my lashes, glancing at the object dazed. It wasn't my phone - mine had a screen cracked beyond repair and was far from the latest model.

"W- What are you doing?" I said. I unfolded my arms, good arm reaching out towards the slick black object. The screen reflected my face, as much as I didn't want to be reminded of how bruised beyond recognition it was. My red-gold tresses had formed large clumps against my scalp, the left side of my skull still smothered with dried blood clots. And we didn't even need to talk about the mascara caking the area under my eyes, nor the lines drawn on my face from frowning constantly at Damon's rude outbursts.

"To call your mom," Nathan stated, pressing the mobile device into my palm. It was freezing when it hit my fingers, raising the goosebumps on my arm. I slid it between my fingers and glanced down at the screen once it flashed on. I didn't know what I was expecting to see as Nathan's lock screen, but I was relieved when it was merely a picture of a beautiful street in Washington.

"I-" I paused, my heart warming. Calling my mother had crossed my mind - she meant more than the world to me. Yet with my phone missing and past erased, I didn't want to lull the woman who I owed everything to into a false sense of security. It was unfair to tell her that I was ok - or worse, lie to her completely about my winter break - when I wasn't.

"Thank you," I whispered.

I flicked the screen to the left to the emergency call pad, and began typing the landline number I knew by heart. Yet, halfway through the eleven digits, I stopped, unable to bring myself to finish the phone number. My thumb hovered over the 6 shining on the screen, but all I could do was click the lock button and place the phone face down on the table. A tear slid into my eye, but I wiped it away as soon as it appeared, hoping Nathan hadn't seen.

"I can't," I murmured. My hands pushed my hair behind both ears, agony spreading through my left arm in the process. "Not until this is over. I don't want her worrying - she doesn't deserve that from me." Anne Hawk deserved a phone call, and I knew how worried he would be about me if I hadn't called for an entire week and a half, but it wasn't the right moment just yet.

Nathan glanced at me with a sympathetic smile that caused my own lips to spread into a happier expression. "That's ok," he encouraged, and gathered up his phone and returned it to the pocket of his sweatpants. "You have a shower, Cor. Get cleaned up. If you need anything, just ask, ok?"

His words were beautifully soft, and I found myself nodding along to each syllable. There was a gentleness about Nathan that I was drawn to like a moth to a flame - a quality Damon didn't possess. He was thoughtful, and for a vampire, caring.

I got up from the chair slowly, and made my way back over to Nathan's large bed to gather my clothes bundled into the bedside drawer. I glanced over my shoulder one last time, taking in Nathan's relaxed posture before opening the bathroom door and drowning out my sorrows under a stream of boiling hot water.

SONOYA HAD TAKEN refuge in an old abandoned housing development in North London. Despite her best efforts to mask her location, Harry had effortlessly interrogated Sonoya's clan members, and had found the woman's location through her phone. The building, which appeared to be the start of a twenty-floor apartment block was merely concrete and walls, with the top half of the building left to the elements. The grey material had been corroded away by the typical English weather and storms, leaving the concrete dappled and unattractive. Beside the desolate building site were a cluster of half-built houses, also within the same development. Side by side, the semi-detached houses had plastic swaying in the windows where glass should've been inserted. If the houses had been completed, they would've been worth over one million pounds – a sum of money I couldn't even begin to fathom.

I didn't know Harry well, but his quirky personality had quickly adapted to mine. He had been turned eight years ago at the age of twenty-four, where Nathan had taken him in and helped him learn control over his blood lust. He had the same love for food that I did, and preferred physical books over digital ones. Plus, out shared fear of spiders and dater meant we would be useless if we were ever stuck in a boat full of spiders on the open ocean.

"This," I stated and scrunched my nose as my black boots made contact with a patch of mud. "Is where Sonoya chose to come out of choice?"

The three of us were lined up outside the development entrance, which had been barricaded shut from the inside. A huge, withered advertisement for the building company was displayed on the sides of the white panels, the letters peeling away and dilapidated until their original colour was unrecognisable.

With one defiant punch, Nathan created a dent in the white plastic and tore a hole in the wall until it was human-sized. The vampire stepped through it without another word, whilst Harry smiled at me and signalled for me to go before he did. I sent him a sarcastic twitch of the lips in return.

"Ladies first."

"How gentlemanly," I stated, entering the site with slight hesitation. The ground was covered in a slick sheen of mud that had been generated from the afternoon rain. The air stank of decay, making me wince as the unusual aroma infiltrated my sense of smell. To the left sat the unfinished block of flats, with a mounds of dirt piled up from where the ground had been levelled. To the right, the houses stood hollow, plastic creaking in the wind like an empty whisper.

My boot made a loud squelching noise as I stepped forwards through the piles of dirt, each double the height of Nathan's six-foot-two figure. Although the place was clearly not a graveyard, the lack of sound and rush of the wind against my ears made it feel like we were being looked down upon.

"You know what would make this better?" I sighed, following the pair of boys until we were stood on the dusty tarmacked roads between the two developments. "Food."

"Now is not the time, blondie," Nathan warned in a strict tone, but he chuckled immediately afterwards. "Although a pizza would be great right about now."

"Sign me up for a ramona," Harry chuckled, dragging his heels.

The road below my boots was caked in dust, the yellow signs beneath denoting the parking spaces which were hard to distinguish through the layer of grey. A leaflet caught under my shoe, the words advertising a beautiful new flat with graphics conjured up on a design program.

I laughed, but only from nerves. As my eyes wandered from one building to the next, I was thinking exactly what the two men were thinking – that they already knew we were here.

"Which one are they in?" I sighed, rubbing my shoulders to regain some heat through the soft material of my hoodie. I had gone back to my roots, wearing a fresh pair of black leggings and a grey hoodie with 'Southampton' sewn into the front with black and white thread.

Nathan shook his head, moving from my left to my right. His hand skimmed the small of my back before moving onto my arm and clasping it lightly. "Harry, you take the apartments on the left, we'll take the houses on the right."

I pointed to the row of half-built dwellings. "You do know there's, like, twenty? That's a lot of exercise."

"So, we'll start here," Nathan stated, dragging me towards the first house with a fitted red door. The colour stuck out like a sore thumb against the drab background. I twisted my arm around, releasing myself from the vampire's warm grip and continued to walk on my own accord.

"Nathan, think about this," I exhaled, stopping to observe the row of houses lined up on either side of the half-paved road. The houses at the end of the street were still merely wood and rubble, and others barely had a ceiling. "Sonoya's not going to choose a half-built house. She would've chosen something more developed. Something out of sunlight. And God, I feel like we're walking into a trap."

Nathan turned towards me and impatiently crossed his arms over my chest. He was no longer wearing his broad smile, but his eyes were blazing with dedication. Nathan wanted the blade, I wanted Damon.

"Cor, we don't have time for this."

"I know, Nath!" I sighed, using both hands to rake my hair back from my eyes. I pulled it behind my head, tying it loosely in a low ponytail. Thinking way too quickly for my brain to process each individual thought, I glanced at the houses closest to us. Out of the seven complete houses, only two had black tarpaulin drawn across each window. Even though sunlight couldn't kill a vampire, the burns it produced on a vampire's skin was uncomfortable and undesired.

I pointed to the two houses. "If she's here, she's in one of these two. You take that one, I'll take the other."

Nathan puckered open his lips, but I walked straight past him before he could dominate the situation once again. In a rush of air, Nathan was beside me and held out a hand to stop my long strides. I side stepped his arm, and lengthened my strides so it was harder for him to keep up. I reached the steps to the first house, and opened the gate at the front before Nathan caught my hand. Tingles shot through the limb and I gasped as he turned me around with ease.

Nathan's face was centimetres away from mine, with his lips directly in my eye-line. Temptation swelled in my body, but I pushed it down with a blush. "Cora, no."

"Nathaniel, yes," I hissed before retrieving the stake from my hoodie pocket and placing it on Nathan's heart. I could feel it beating against my enclosed fist, never ceasing to go at a steady speed. I wouldn't kill him, but I had to prove my ability to defend myself. "She can't kill me anyway."

"Blondie, that ceremonial blade Sonoya has can kill you."

My heart skipped a beat, and I had to swallow bile and it rose up my throat and stung my tongue like poison. "What?"

"That blade is the only thing that can kill something with pure blood, ok?"

I pressed the wooden stake harder against Nathan's chest. He clenched his jaw, but never moved away or flinched. "Ok," I uttered, bringing the wooden stake away from Nathan's heart. However, I fastened my grip around the splintering wood and kept it at my side for defence. "But I'm doing this alone, Nathan."

I hardened my stare. After three seconds, the superior vampire rolled his eyes in a way that had my ovaries bursting. How could someone be so fucking hot and serious at the same time? Why was this man not covering every single magazine cover and starring in TV commercials with a face that perfect? If I had been blessed with even a slither of beauty, perhaps I would know the reason why the modelling world was so harsh (aside from the obvious reasons stated in the media).

"Fine," Nathan sighed. He leaned in and took one of my hands in his own. Caught up in his gaze, I didn't wrench my fingers away until he spoke. "Just be careful."

I waved the stake in his face. "I'm Cora fucking Hawk," I smiled and bounded up the steps. "I'll be fine."

Which was a lie.

I didn't look back to take in Nathan's expression. Instead, I found myself face to face with the ruby painted door with a metallic number one and two hammered into the wood. The house itself was nothing magnificent; with a rectangular structure, and attached to numbers ten and fourteen on either side, the white painted buildings were the average seen dotted around the outskirts of London. Except, scrawled across the side of house number twelve were illegible words written in colourful graffiti. Broken beer bottles were smashed to the right side of the porch, and the rustic black door handle had been used so often, it had fallen off the door and been kicked to the side like a piece of trash.

I pressed my hand up against the door and lightly pushed, sighing with relief when the door creaked open effortlessly. Swallowing my fear, knuckles white around the stake, I took a hesitant step into the building.

Suddenly, as though the sunlight had been cut off completely, the world turned dark and the door slammed shut behind me with an echoing thud. I jumped out of my skin at the noise, a shiver running down my spine at the thought of being truly alone for the first time. It had been my decision, but without the warmth of Nathan or Damon at my side, I regretted going into the house without help. Everything suddenly felt like the arctic, and I blinked rapidly to adjust to the darkness. Light shimmered in from holes in the plastic windows, casting scars across the rotting inside. Without my phone, all I had was dappled sunlight to guide my way.

My knuckles were now a pure white, gripping the stake so hard my hand had begun to hurt. The inside almost mirrored the outside exactly; graffiti was abundant, and glass bottles were stacked beside the staircase that led up to the second floor on the left. To the right, the corridor split off into three rooms. One of the doors was open, but the door at the end of the hallway was sealed shut.

I took a step forwards, the floorboards creaking under my ebony footwear. Although the development was supposedly new, since being abandoned the house had clearly been used as a hideout for teenagers and other people alike. It was run-down, and mould had begun to spread to the walls where plaster had been torn away. It was like every cliché haunted house I had seen in horror films, and now that I was standing in one facing a similar demon, I knew why the characters were so petrified. In seconds, I could be dead.

I decided to head down the hallway first, my legs moving before I had the chance to hesitate. I peered into the open room, only to see an empty room with a fire pit burnt into the floor and a similar display of glass. Words snaked across the walls in varying pigments, and I stepped back as soon as I realised the room was desolate.

Letting the door slide shut quietly, I worked my way to the one at the end of the corridor. Here, the light did not reach, and my hand merged into the inky darkness as I pressed the wooden barricade open. Light infiltrated my senses as the room beyond was revealed. I hissed at the sudden brightness, and covered my eyes before moving into the kitchen area. An oven had already been installed, as well as a black marble island and surfaces, but aside from that the room was bare. Pipes stuck out of the walls at irregular angles, and I clenched my teeth as I knocked into one unintentionally. The plastic sheets covering the windows had been ripped through, leaving gaping holes and patterns in the material.

I sighed in relief that the room was flooded with light, yet there was still no sign of Damon.

Leaves crunched under my feet as I retreated, but I paused mid step at the sound of parting air. The door had creaked shut on its own accord.

Oh shit oh shit oh shit.

I squeezed the stake even tighter, and walked carefully to the doorway. The adrenaline was so concentrated in my blood, it was though I could feel it lurking like a snake in my organs. I didn't want to open the door – I knew what lay beyond it. Yet, I pushed it open anyway, only to reveal an empty corridor.

"I know you're here, you bitch," I uttered, moving along the empty hallway until I reached the bottom of the stairs. Looking at the uncarpeted steps, it took every ounce of will in my body to mount them. The mantra I was repeating in my head – I am brave, this is for Damon – was only just enough for me to reach the top of the stairwell.

The area that greeted me was tiny, but the rooms up here didn't have doors fitted yet. Instead, darkness swallowed the confines of the two bedrooms and bathroom until they were nothing more than an eternal abyss.

I tapped my stake against the wall, working up the courage to enter the room to the left. I was brave, somewhat smart, and mentally tough, but I was no match for a vampire. If I faced Sonoya, the most I could do was break her perfect nose before it would heal moments later.

My body froze like a statue as the stairs behind me creaked.

Creak.

The wind rushed against the building in a howl of rage.

Creak.

Bracing myself for the worst, I held my weapon away from my body and spun around, but instead of facing a vampire I was met by a rush of wind. It tore at my hair, throwing the red-gold strands in my face from my ponytail.

Creak.

Oh, two can play at that game, Sonoya.

At least I had found the right house.

Feeling my seconds tick by, I ran to the first room and peered into the endless pit of darkness. I couldn't see further than a meter, so I used my hands to feel along the wall until they reached the empty windows. Once I had reached my destination, I tore down the sheet of plastic to let the obscured sunlight into the dwelling.

The room opened up, the darkness fading away until I could make out the four walls of the room, which was once again empty. The interior mirrored the downstairs almost exactly, with 'sinners and saints' written across the wall in black and red spray paint. I rushed to the next room and did the same, tearing down the fake windows with my good arm until the view of the road across from the development was no longer obscured. It had started to rain again, and water pattered against the tarmac in little ringlets where water touched ground. It thundered against the ceiling, but I turned on my heel at the sound of the floorboards moving.

Creak.

Shit.

I gasped as my eyes made contact with a shadow huddled in the corner of the room. Propped up against the wall in a sitting position, the man had his eyes closed and lips pried open as he breathed slowly. Every spare inch of skin on his face was covered with blood, and the stab wound where Sonoya had plunged the dagger in last night was barely healing. Ebony blood oozed from the gouge in a stream, and the man's suit jacket had been thrown off his body, his white shirt brown with dirt and dried blood.

"Oh my god," I whispered, rushing over to the man. Keeping the stake in my right hand, I took Damon's handsome face between my hands, rubbing my thumb over his cheek and shaking him into consciousness. "Damon."

Damon sighed, the air rushing against my hands. His eyes widened, but didn't open fully from exhaustion.

"Hey."

Finally coming to his senses, the vampire began to move. He pushed himself further upright with his arms, but began to pant from the effort. He was too weak to open his eyes, let alone get up. If Sonoya turned up, I would be dead, and Damon would soon follow.

"You shouldn't be here," Damon hissed. His hazel eyes concentrated on mine, sending a wave of warmth through my bones.

"Where should I be then?"

"Eating a chicken kebab," Damon uttered, using all his remaining strength to finally get to his feet. Yet, the power he produced was not enough, and he flopped his weight onto me. He hit my bad shoulder, and I screamed in pain as he fell back onto the floor. Damon groaned, and rolled over by remained on the floor – he no longer had enough energy to do much else.

I dropped to my haunches, leaning over Damon's face as I examined his body. "We need to get you out of here."

Damon managed to roll his eyes. "In case that wasn't obvious, princess."

"Do not make me regret coming to get you," I warned sternly, looking around the room for a solution that simply did not exist.

"Ginger, you've got to get out of here. Soni will kill you."

"Shh, Damien," I said, narrowing my eyes. Damon was too weak to stand, and he wouldn't heal unless... unless he had blood. Looking at my wrist, I brought it up to Damon's lips as an offering. "I'm not leaving without you. So you need to drink, otherwise we're both dead."

Damon managed to muster enough energy to shake his head and push my arm away. "Cora, no."

"Oh, so you do know my name," I whispered, pressing my wrist once again against Damon's lips. They were soft against my skin, yet they did not part. I knew that he could smell the blood in my veins; feel the ruby liquid pump through the blood vessels. I watched as the veins under Damon's eyes merged to black and his eyes darkened with hunger. "Just drink, Damon. You won't hurt me."

Damon contemplated for a second before opening his mouth and sinking his fangs into the vein. I moaned in pain as the two teeth broke through the skin, biting my gums to keep me from screaming. All I could think about was Elijah. And yet – all I could think about was him. All I could think about was the handsome man who was feeding on my blood. He did not hurt me the way Elijah did; he fed slowly, patiently. We didn't have time on our hands, but with Damon strong enough to fight, it doubled our odds.

After thirty seconds, some colour had returned to Damon's white face. But he didn't have time to finish as a hand grabbed the back of my jumper, throwing me off Damon with enough power to make the floorboards to shudder under my weight.

I rolled across the uncarpeted wood, a scream tearing through my vocal chords as my shoulder thumped against the hard flooring. I didn't need to check to see if the wound had opened up – I could feel the hot liquid pour from the gaping hole, dripping down my chest and staining the grey cotton of my jumper.

I turned my head to the side, flicking my hair from my eyes. My stomach dropped at the sight before me. Sonoya was stood over Damon, her left fist wielding the weapon Nathan had come for. Even in the dim light, I could see the blood crusted on the ebony like shards of crystal.

My fist tightened around the wooden stake, and I pushed myself up with my good arm until I was standing firmly back on my feet. The world around me swayed, the dizziness from last night settling back over my brain, but I shook my head to clear the fog.

"Hey, Cora," Sonoya smirked, standing over Damon whose eyes were shut, lips encircled with the red pigment of my fresh blood. I wiped my wrist on my sleeve and sneered at the beautiful woman. She wore different clothes, with a broadsword strapped into a leather sheath. Her trousers clung to her toned legs, and her plain charcoal t-shirt allowed her to move effortlessly unlike the navy dress she had opted for last night. Sonoya swiftly tucked the ebony blade away back into her belt, and drew out her sword in a motion she had perfected over centuries. Suddenly, the piece of fucking tree in my hand seemed a lot less daunting and dangerous in comparison.

"Sonoya," I hissed, the woman daring to take a step towards me. "What do you want? What do you want with Damon?"

Sonoya's striking features contorted into a devilish smile. Without a millisecond to spare, she slashed her sword downwards, plunging the silver straight into Damon's abdomen.

I flinched and stepped backwards as the man yelled in pain. My hands covered my mouth, trying to stifle a scream as the woman twisted the blade, tearing Damon's guts and organs into bloodied fragments.

"For insurance," Sonoya stated, twisting the blade again before withdrawing the now-ruby silver. "I knew you'd come after Damon, and Nathan would come after the blade. Think of it as a way of killing three birds with one stone. I take out my biggest competition, Nathan, and the best fighter, Damon. That makes my competition for the next two days a whole lot easier."

Sonoya suddenly sped towards me at the speed of light, and pushed my up against the wall. My back slammed into the stone, but I didn't give her the satisfaction of seeing my pain. A moment later, the glacial metal of the woman's sword was under my neck. If she pressed any further, my throat would be split beyond repair. And yet, my death would lead Sonoya's to her own.

"Where's Nathan, Cora?" Sonoya spat in my face.

"I don't know, why don't you try calling him on this magical fucking device called a mobile phone?"

Sonoya smiled at my response, and withdrew her sword, only for her thumb to find the open wound on my shoulder and press deep into my flesh. Agony tore through every fibre in my body, and I screamed as it took hold of all my senses. The noise reverberated through every wall; every particle of air.

Fuck, that hurt.

"Ow," I grunted as the pain began to diminish, and the female vampire withdrew her thumb. "You're going to regret that." My anger had reached an all-time high, my vision turning red as the monster before me only smiled further.

"Oh, sweetie, I wouldn-"

I interrupted her my colliding my head with her own, the impact sending my world spinning. Yet, it had the same impact on Sonoya, and I kicked her away from me before she could regain her bearings. Using my limited strength, I plunged my stake right into the woman's stomach. She howled in pain, and retreated, leaving me panting against the wall.

Sonoya glanced at the stake in her stomach, and smirked as her whole body heaved with each breath. Her hands fastened around the top of the weapon, and my eyes widened as she began to pull it out. If I had no morals, she would've been dead. If I had better aim, she would've been dead.

Before the Beijing Clan leader had time to pull out the stake completely, I sprinted over to Damon who was still collapsed in a heap on the floor. His hands clawed at the wound in his gut, but the skin had already healed over, and the cuts across his face no longer existed.

"Damon!" I shook his body, which earnt a moan. "Get up off your arse righ-"

A hand smashed me across the face, sending me spiralling into the air and hurtling into the wall beside the doorway. I cursed, every limb in my body throbbing from pain. I rose a hand to my cheek, which had been split open by the inhumane impact.

A pair of fists grabbed my sweatshirt and hauled me upwards. They withdrew me from the wall before smashing me back against it. My brain rattled in my skull, eyes only able to open to slits and drowsiness enveloped me. I could no longer feel anything – everything was numb.

"Goodbye, Cora," I heard Sonoya's sweet voice hiss.

Using the last of my strength, I clawed at the woman's arms as they held me, but my attempt did nothing. My next option was to kick the woman in the shin, but she used her vampire speed and senses to avoid my attack.

Yet, after two seconds, the woman dropped me like a stone. I crumpled to the ground, coughing up blood and retching the entire contents of my stomach onto the ground.

"Nathan," Sonoya said in an amused voice, she turned around. That was the moment I saw the outline of Nathan's incredibly sturdy build silhouetted against the door. The man took a few steps forward, allowing the sunlight to cascade down onto his face. His clothes were damp from the rain, eyes narrowed at the scene before him.

Damon had finally regained enough strength to get to his feet, and moved over to beside Nathan with closed fists.

Sonoya drew her sword from its sheath, the metal refracting blinding light into my eyes. I blinked rapidly, yet the world before me swam like a tidal wave. The floor rocked back and forth like a weak earthquake. Elijah had been right – being a human in a world like this rendered you powerless. I hated feeling powerless.

With a reverberating battle cry, Sonoya surged forwards with her blade raised above her head. She aimed straight for Damon, who was still struggling to remain upright. My chest tightened as the blade sliced through the air, but Nathan stepped in front of the other vampire and met Sonoya's blade with a stake of his own making. The sword cut straight through the wood as though it was water, leaving Nathan staring at the sliced wooden object left in his hand.

Sonoya spun around with the sword in the blink of an eye, but Nathan and Damon both moved away from its wrath before it made contact. Now on the other side of the room, Nathan threw the remaining part of his stake at Sonoya. It landed straight in her left leg, and the woman paused to pull the weapon out.

Nathan and Damon used the distraction to their advantage. Nathan was beside Sonoya in a blink, landing a deadly punch to the side of the woman's head. The female vampire was sent skidding across the floor, the bloodied remnants of Nathan's oak stake rolling across the floor towards where I sat crumpled beyond repair.

Sonoya's balance was perfect, and she easily stayed upright whilst the two men opposite her stared warily at their opponent. For a moment, no one made a move.

The Chinese vampire was quick to slash with her sword, and the two vampires fighting for my heart ducked out of the way of the blade. Nathan blocked the woman's next attack with his hand as a fist went straight for his handsome face, but Sonoya was fast-thinking, and tore straight through Nathan's chest with the sword.

I gasped as Nathan staggered back, wrenching Sonoya's sword from her hand as he fell backwards. The man's dark eyes fell to the sword threatening to take his life, blood boiling up from his mouth.

Now Damon remained, his fists still clenched, and eyes still fighting to stay open. Without her weapon, Sonoya produced a high-sweeping kick, but Damon caught the woman's boot with his bare hands and threw her across the room as though she weighed nothing more than air.

Before Sonoya could stand up, Damon was stood over her, darkness writhing around her body like it was magnetised towards her. Damon grabbed Sonoya's black top, and thrashed her whole body against the wall three times before Sonoya slammed her knee up in Damon's groin. Damon hissed, but his fist met Sonoya's head in retaliation.

With her wounds already healing, Sonoya's face crooked into a smirk. She was older than Damon by three centuries, and therefore a lot stronger. She pushed Damon off her in one strike, and kicked him in his wounded gut. The man flew through the air, but managed to roll across the ground before he hit the wall and come up in a crouching position.

Sonoya and Damon glared at each other, the man rising to his feet. His hazel eyes had morphed into a monstrous black, and the veins under his eyes thirsted for revenge. He ran towards Sonoya, and connected his fist with her stomach. He went to jab her nose out of place, but the woman blocked his attack effortlessly. Damon kept up his fight, but Sonoya managed to evade attack each time. Both were skilled in hand-to-hand combat, and my stomach lurched with fear that Damon was not as talented in the field as Sonoya. If Damon died, I didn't – I didn't know what I'd do.

As the fight continued, feeling returned momentarily to my fingers. I leaned forwards, stretching out for the stake that had rolled meters away from my feet. I snatched up the splintering wood as soon, holding it tightly to my chest. Using my legs, I pushed my back up against the wall and was finally able to stand upright.

Nathan had also managed to haul the sword out of his body, and threw the metal object outside the room with a clang. He nodded at me, and I threw the wooden stake up into the air for him to catch. The dark-skinned vampire cradled the object elegantly, and pushed himself off the wall to re-join the fight.

My eyes moved back to Damon and Sonoya as she managed to knock my comrade to the floor with a skilful spinning kick. Yet, whilst she was still spinning, Nathan plucked the woman from the air and drove the stake straight through her heart.

Sonoya gasped as the wood entered her heart, her skin turning from pastel to grey as death seeped through her bones, and tore the soul from her body. The dull colour spread across the vampire's body in a wave, engulfing her face and taking the light from her eyes.

"Nobody hurts Cora and lives," Nathan hissed, wedging the stake in further. In a final breath of air, Sonoya's body fell away to dust beneath Nathan's fingertips. The ebony ceremonial blade, along with Sonoya's clothes fell to the ground in a heap.

Nathan sighed, and fell to his knees panting. His hands moved the dust until he found the dagger, and placed it carefully in the inside pocket of his suit.

Damon, on the other hand, was by my side in an instant. His wounds had all healed, and he carefully brought my good arm around his shoulders to help hold me upright. The world was still spinning, but with Damon's firm grasp on my waist, and the smell of his intoxicating cologne, I had never felt so safe. And even though his vampire nature scared me more than I cared to admit, he had always been there for me. He was the reason I wasn't dead.

"You ok?" Damon whispered, cradling my head delicately with one hand. My eyes stared into his, the hazel luminous in the darkness like a streetlamp.

My head involuntarily lulled to the side. "I- if you define 'fine' as almost being dead, but not quite," I panted heavily, world spinning. Yet, glancing into Damon's eyes, I was finally able to focus. "Then yeah. I'm fine."

Damon sighed heavily, pulling my head into his chest. Warmth enveloped me like a bonfire, and I exhaled as we stood there, not needing to say anything, his arms wrapped around me as though they would never let go.

"Damon, I-" I muttered into his shirt, unsure of what I was going to say before he cut me off.

"Shh, Cora," Damon hushed, stoking the back of my head delicately with his fingers. "What you did was not ok. I'm not worth saving."

I moved away from Damon's chest to glare at him. "To me you are."

"You almost fucking died," Damon protested. "And Ginger Spice... I wouldn't be able to live with myself if anything happened to you."

"Ginger Spice? That's a new one," I slurred.

Damon shook his head as my own fell back onto his warm chest. "God, you shouldn't be here," he sighed, before his body shifted towards Nathan's whose phone was ringing. Casting his brows into a look of confusion, he turned, causing my head to fall away from his chest. "Seriously? You have to take a fucking phone call right now?"

I switched my gaze to Nathan, who answered his mobile with a concerned, "hello?" No sooner had he uttered the words, his face paled. The vampire stepped forward, holding out the phone. For a moment, I thought it was for Damon, but when his eyes connected with mine, my stomach lurched as though I was riding Stealth at Thorpe Park. "It's Elijah. He wants to speak to Cora."

I slid my hand around the phone as Nathan offered it to me, and shivered once the plastic touched my hand. Nathan nodded, and I rose the phone to my ear.

"Whatever it is, Elijah, would you kindly please fuck off," I hissed down the line. Yet, the voice that met my ears was not that of a man, but one I knew like the back of my hand.

"Cora," Hannah's petrified voice echoed across the phone. Bile rose in my throat, and my limbs stiffened, heart shattering in the process. What had Elijah done to her? How did he even know where to find her?

My heart was beating so loudly, it was the only thing I could head.

"Hannah, oh my God, where are you?" I panicked, but the phone was quickly switched over to another person's possession.

"Cora, love," Elijah uttered. "How are you?"

"What the hell have you done to Hannah?" I demanded.

Elijah chuckled on the other end of the line. It was only then I could hear the music booming in the background, and the voices of drunk teens swirl in the night air. Was he at a party? "Nothing. Yet."

"If you touch her-"

"Love, we both know that your threats are empty," Elijah said, his voice as prevalent through the electronic device. It could only be described as haunting. "I take it Sonoya is dead, hmm?"

"How did you-"

"Know?" Elijah finished the sentence for me. "Cora, I know everything. I'm the king of London. I have eyes everywhere. Why else do you think I gave you the blade so easily, and compelled Sonoya to take the blade and hold Damon hostage where she could easily be found? Who do you think led you to her? I mean, I thought at least Damon or Nathan would die too, but one less opponent is good enough for me, and you know what the best part is?"

I swallowed, my mouth hanging open. Damon looked at me cautiously as he listened in to the conversation. "No."

"The best part is that I didn't have to do anything," The ancient creature sneered.

"How- how did you even compel Sonoya? Only vampires can compel humans."

"Love, I'm a very old vampire, and it's a trick I picked up a decade or two ago," Elijah bragged. "Don't feel too played, though. Unfortunately I couldn't compel your two little lovebirds since they take vervain."

"Why're you calling? What do you want with Hannah?"

Elijah exhaled on the other end. "You know that Ramera Halls throw the best parties?" Elijah chuckled. I stilled, unable to blink. Ramera Halls was the place I had called home for the past year-and-three-months. "Especially when they're compelled."

"What did you do, Elijah?" I shouted down the line.

"Love, I don't like you tone."

"Oh yeah, well I don't like-"

"Shh, Cora," Elijah warned, the hair on the back of my neck spiking. "I want the blade. If I don't have it here by midnight, I'll kill every single one of your friends. Starting with Hannah."

HOLY HELL I CANNOT CHOOSE BETWEEN MY TWO GENTLEMEN

sorry for the late update - i had my first week of uni (!!! which was amazing but my liver is hating me) and i honestly haven't had the time to edit this chapter or continue with chapter twelve. but i hope it was worth it and holy shit my heart is falling for nathan as well - can i have both as my husband?

hope you all enjoyed! what was your favourite moment of the chapter? and who's your favourite character so far and why?

thank you so much to bitchmafia for the gorgeous cover below!! tish, i'm in awe of your talent, but then again when am i not?

thank you all for reading, and next update will be either next tuesday or the one after ;) lots of love xxx