Page 17 of Hitched to the Vampire King
Those words didn’t provide as much comfort as I might have liked. Everyone perceived distance differently. To Avery, we might have been a mere ten minutes away. But to me, those ten minutes might be enough to rip away the person most important to me—myperson.
“How far?” I demanded, panic infusing my voice.
Gabriel leaned down and kissed my forehead, which spiked my fear. Maybe we could find something to wrap him in. Maybe we could dig a trench somewhere, bury him in the earth. At this point, I would consideranything.
I kept the spotlight aimed dead ahead, hoping for the moment?—
“There!” Avery shouted.
I peered through the darkness, then sighed with relief when I spotted the dock.Finally.
Avery expertly navigated the boat toward the shore, the propellers slowing to a stop as we neared. My heart pounded, each beat a critical reminder of our lethal countdown. I knew from experience that some vampires could remain awake during the day. But I didn’t know of a single one immune to the sun’s deathly rays if touched by them.
The boat nudged the dock with a soft thud. I gripped Gabriel’s hand and hauled ass, our movements swaying with the boat. I pulled him onto the dock with Avery hot on our heels.
She took the lead, our footsteps thumping on the weathered boards. Then it was back into the mud and vegetation again. A frustrated growl slipped past my lips before I could swallow it.
“I know,” Avery said, her voice soft, “but we’ll be through this in a few moments. There’s a boardwalk nearby.”
A few moments were a few too many.
I squeezed Gabriel’s hand, fear quickening my pulse.
But true to Avery’s word, the vegetation quickly thinned and we scrambled onto the boardwalk. We had no time to revel in that relief, considering the formerly dark sky wasn’t so dark anymore. Hints of pink and orange streaked through the darkness and pierced my heart.
“We need to move,” I urged.
“We’re almost there,” Avery said.
Gabriel hadn’t spoken a single word since we docked, and a glance back had my stomach clenching in terror. We’d never pushed it this close to sunrise before. Usually by now, he would have retired to a dark room, ready to sleep. Not running from the dawning sun. His skin was ghastly pale and his eyes pinched, as though every second caused him pain.
“Avery, we don’t have time!” I shouted as we bolted across the pathway.
“Look! The road!”
My gaze snapped up. “A road?”
“A road,” she repeated. “And where there’s a road…”
“There are cars,” I muttered.
“Not just cars. Houses,” she said. “Specifically, the pack’s safehouse. Come on.”
We were there? Oh please, oh please.
We ran toward the road, dawn stretching behind us. Every step felt like a race against time, the sky above us turning into a canvas of pinks and oranges that spelled death for Gabriel. His silence was louder than words, the effort needed to stay awake clearly sapping every ounce of his remaining energy.
The transition from the boardwalk to the road was abrupt, the firm surface beneath our feet a stark contrast to the sucking marshland we’d left behind. It was a sign of civilization, but not one I could revel in.
Avery led us down the road at a sprint, her familiarity with the area now our guiding light. Houses sprung up in front of us, and my heart leapt at the sight. Shelter. Safety. Everything a girl mated to a vampire could want right now.
“There!” Avery called, pointing to a house set back from the road, its façade partially hidden by overgrown foliage. It looked deserted, or at least uninviting, but it was a haven compared to the oncoming sun.
We didn’t slow our pace until we reached the front door. Avery kicked aside a rock, revealing a burnished key. Her hand shook as she struggled to unlock the door, and I felt like I might jump out of my skin at any moment. This wasnotthe moment to falter now.
“Come on, Avery!”
“I-I… I got it!” The lock clicked, and she shoved open the door to a dark interior that promised sanctuary.
