The bottom line was that she was stuck here for two weeks. She‘d spend as much time as possible with her plants and as little time as she could with the people living in the castle.

With that decision made, she climbed from the bed, peeled off her coat, and dragged herself into the bathroom.

A short time later she emerged wearing her warm nightgown and her fuzzy slippers. The comforting familiarity of both made her feel better. Climbing into bed, she propped herself up and buried herself in the latest plant journals. She hoped she‘d read until she fell asleep.

An hour later, she‘d read exactly four pages and felt as though she‘d never sleep again. At least not in this place. What if the people she‘d met were just the tip of the iceberg? What if strange beings were staying in the next room, the room across the hall?

But out of everyone she‘d met tonight, it was Dacian‘s image that was superimposed over every page she tried to read. He was the primal scream that lurked in the darkest corner of her mind. He was the ancient symbol of man‘s primitive fear. He was the ultimate terror that stalked the night. And yet…

She shook her head. No, there was nothing else. Cinn refused to even try to look past the horror of what he was. Vampire.

Finally, she gave up. Reading was impossible. She glanced around the room. An authentic-looking castle chamber: dark woods, rich colors, old tapestries, and a canopied bed. All it needed was the ancestral ghost. She peered into the shadows. Maybe you paid extra for the ghost.

Putting her journal aside, she slid under the covers and closed her eyes. And no, she wasn‘t turning the light out tonight. If she had to visit the bathroom in the middle of the night, she didn‘t want to open her eyes to a spirit perched at the foot of her bed. And yes, she was a giant wuss.

When Dacian was finally able to drag Taurin away from this madhouse, maybe he‘d bring the whole pile of stones down around all of their ears as a parting gift. He could do that when he was at full strength. And he was just pissed off enough to want to.

He hated taking orders. Stephan already knew that. Sparkle, Ganymede, and the sarcastic wizard would find out soon enough. But for now, he‘d pay for his stay here by doing what they wanted.

Powered by a string of silent curses, he took the last few strides to Cinn‘s door. He smiled. Scaring the crap out of her would improve his mood a little.

“Please watch where you put your big feet. I‘m guarding this door.”

Dacian glanced down. A cat was curled up in front of the door. What was with all the cats? “You‘re kidding, right?”