“Thank you,” I tell them, shutting my eyes as I feel the dawn begin to approach, pulling Paige closer to my chest.
“Good morning, Crimson,” Murad whispers.
“Good morning…”
CHAPTER 49: MY SWEET ROSE
Paige
I’m having the most wonderful dream.
I’m dreaming that I’m in Crimson’s coffin with her, wrapped up in her strong arms.
It’s amazing. I’m enveloped in a warm, lovely feeling of contentment. Of being seen. Of being cared for. Of beingloved.
I know, somehow, that it can’t be possible.
I know that this is only a dream, only a fleeting, impossible, dream…
But I wish it would last forever.
I wish I could stay here forever.
And then, suddenly…
I can’t breathe.
I gasp for air, but I can’t breathe. My lungs fill with dust, and I choke. My body spasms and terror overwhelms me. Where am I? What’s happening?
I try to scream for help, but my mouth is full of dirt. I try to move, but my limbs are stuck.
Panic seizes me, and my head spins from the lack of oxygen.
And I feel two strong hands grab me, pulling me up…
Pulling me through…
Through theearth?
My head breaks through the ground, and wonderful, cold air fills my chest. We’re outside somewhere, under a tapestry of bright stars. I cough up dirt, desperately sucking oxygen into my lungs.
Crimson pulls me up and out of the ground. Her face is covered in dirt, her eyes red and wide with amazement.
“You’re…you’realive,” she gasps. She puts a hand on my chest, against my pounding heart. “How is thatpossible?”
I recover from my coughing. “I…I don’t know,” I say, with a hoarse voice. “What happened? The last thing I remember is Oana…” I get a sudden flash of the dagger, sticking out of my chest. “Oh mygod…”
“Youdied, Paige,” Crimson explains, bringing a chilly finger up to wipe the earth from my cheek.
“Iwhat?” My hands go immediately to my chest, trying to find my heartbeat. But I’m definitely breathing. It doesn’t make any sense.
She continues, dark eyebrows low over her red eyes. “Murad, Celine and I tried to turn you into a vampire. We buried you in the ground…”
I look around. There’s a mound of soft earth below us. Crimson and I are both covered in dirt, three discarded shovels beside us.
And we’re not alone. Surrounding us is a circle of wide-eyed vampires, gazing at me with open mouths. Murad and Sabina are there, and Celine and Renata.
“How did I get back up?” I ask, although I think I already know the answer.
