They had arrived at the cottage in silence where Lauren's lady's maid had received them.
Ember instantly retired to the guest room to gather her thoughts. At this point, even her brothers, whom she believed held all the cards against the vampire, had somehow gotten into his trap.
There was no escape for anyone. Not her, not her brothers. Certainly not the Duke and the people of Belmont.
There was only one way about this - flee. However, if she were to flee, who was it the safest to flee with? Her brothers or the Duke? She loved the Duke dearly, but her brothers were family, and leaving them to run away with another man was rebellious. So,—
Her thoughts are disrupted by a banging against the wooden door of the guest room.
Unable to garner the strength to shout a reply, Ember jerked onto her feet to answer the door.
It was Lauren's lady's maid, Violet. Ember thought Violet looked extremely familiar, but she wasn't in the state of mind to raise the topic.
"A letter arrived for you, Miss."
Ember nodded blissfully and accepted the letter extended by Violet.
It was when she shut the door and walked back into the room that she made a sacred discovery. She had just arrived at Lauren's mother's cottage barely an hour ago. How did the sender know her location?
Lauren couldn't be the whistle-blower. They had been together all the while. It wouldn't make sense for Lauren to have let someone know about her location.
Then, the lady's maid? No. She had been home all along, too.
Ember breathed out an anxious sigh and sat on the queen-sized bed to go over the letter.
She trembled as she unsealed the letter. The letter was sealed so pleasantly and exquisitely. This could only mean one thing...
Ember let her eyes roam the content of the letter before making her confirmation with the sender.
Indeed, it was the vampire as suspected by her.
Even if it wasn't a delicate handwriting and a captivating one, Ember would still recall his writing by merely a glance.
This time, the content of the letter was short.
And, it read;
"Hello, my sweet angel.
Welcome back to the land of the living. I think you and I have a lot to discuss. Do you think we should meet? We should, certainly. Come to the Brosque Square, I await you at the Fletchery Bar. I know you have quite a few questions you have to ask. Yours truly, I can answer them all.
And, oh, the seal of this letter is from the blood of your brother. But, not to fret, he is doing perfectly fine.
Yours truly, your biggest nightmare."
The letter had slipped through her fingers, falling onto the floor in a light land.
When Lauren dashed into the room to invite her for breakfast, she had speedily tucked the letter under the pillow.
Breakfast with Lauren at the dining table was quiet. Lauren barely touched her meal, and Ember could imagine that was a result of having met the vampire and even gotten manipulated by him.
Meanwhile, Ember...
She fought a war in her mind. At some point, she began to feel an ache in her head. A terrible war took place in her mind as she couldn't stop thinking about the letter the vampire had sent.
Too many things troubled her mind. First, her brothers thought she was dead. Second, the Duke had been the one behind her brothers, not investigating her supposed death. Third, the vampire had somehow interfered in her funeral and done heavens-knows-what.
Fourth, the vampire knew where she was. It was the most terrifying of all. She was glad Lauren couldn't see the trembling of her fingers or the sweat gathering in her forehead as she anticipated that the vampire might burst in and do something to her - frankly, that was a result of Lauren being in her world because she was very observant with such things.
Later that day, after Ember had informed Lauren that she would be leaving for her brother the following day, she had dressed in a fresh dress and sneaked out when Violet was fast asleep.
The night was drawing, but curfew hadn't started yet.
Ember, with a Cape draped on, padded down the alleyway towards the location the vampire penned in the letter for their meeting.
Occasionally, she rubbed her palms together, wiping off the sweat gathered there. She sweated profusely and breathed heavily as she drew nearer to Brosque Square.
Brosque Square was always busy, but due to the curfew, it was barely busy. Only a few people sauntered around, going about their evening.
Once Ember arrived at Fletchery Bar Club, she found an empty seat by the corner and occupied it. She could still run, saving herself the misery of finally meeting the vampire, a creature that had terrified her town and could end her life in a breath.
But, she feared she would as well be risking her life if she made a run for it. What if she provoked the vampire by doing that, and he goes after her brothers - their lives this time?What if it attacked Lauren for real this time?
Ember waited for several minutes, and when she was certain the vampire was once again pulling her legs, and he would never show up, she jerked up to dash out.
However, as she did, a strange voice with a French accent spoke in her mind.
"Leaving so quick? Sad. I presumed you'd be delighted to see me."
Ember whipped around so fast, throwing her head everywhere to find who the voice belonged to.
"You can't find me, Mon Cheri. I'm only found when I want to be found."
Ember settled back into her seat, her heart pounding aggressively fast against her ribcage. She fought to make her trembling invisible so as not to garner any attention.
How was he doing that? Speaking to her in her mind? How could she hear his voice so clearly, as though he screamed it into her ear when he was, in fact, nowhere in sight? Who was this man?
"H-h-how, can you do that?"
"I'm a vampire, darling. A god. I can do anything I please."
Ember swallowed. She didn't even want to start thinking about how he could hear her voice, which was an average whisper.
"I know you have a lot of questions. Ask away. You have until the sunset."
Ember's head whipped to the orange sun preparing to set.
"I-I-I," Ember breathed out to gather herself. "What do you want from me? Whatever do you need from me that made you spare me?"
"Your entire family, actually."
Ember frowned.
"I'm sparing your entire family and the people you love because of you. Barrett is a piss fuck. I desire to end him, but, I can't because of you."
"S-so, why? What do you need from me?"
"Is it not obvious? I want you, and I will get you. Barrett, notwithstanding the Duke notwithstanding"
What? The Duke? Of course, he knew about the Duke!
"I will make you mine even if I have to end ten thousand lives. So, don't think you can get away from me. Even if you dig the ground a million feet below, I will fish you out."
Tears slipped down Ember's face, and her lips quivered as she struggled to suppress her sobs.
She jerked on her feet and began to make it out of the bar. However, on her way out, she bumped into someone, almost sending her landing flat on her butt, on the floor.
"Watch where you are going, miss!"
The voice sounded familiar to Ember, and when she locked her gaze on the person, her mouth flew wide open. Barrett. A drunk Barrett.