Revelations (Belle Morte Book 2)

Chapter One

IMPORTANT NOTE, PLEASE READ: Hello lovely readers. Please be aware that if you're coming here from the published version of Belle Morte, then there will be some discrepancies in the early chapters of this book. That's because this is the original Wattpad version of Revelations, which follows on directly from the original Wattpad version of Belle Morte. The published version of Belle Morte has a slightly different ending, and all of the discrepancies in this version of Revelations will be cleared up when the published version is released on Wattpad and in bookstores next year :)

Renie

I drifted in darkness, blind and deaf to anything but the constant, gnawing ache in my stomach. Sometimes, something thick and sweet would slide down my throat and the hunger pangs would fade, but it was never for long. That terrible hunger always surged back, like fire.

Occasionally, there were odd snatches of awareness: the sensation of cool hands touching my face, the faint murmurs of a male voice. In some place at the back of my fevered brain, I was aware that I knew that voice, loved that voice. But then the hunger roared back, and everything was lost.

It could have been days, months, or even years before I finally cracked my eyes open. A corniced ceiling took shape above me, bright spots of light coalescing into a crystal chandelier.

Pieces of memory filtered back into my battered brain.

Belle Morte.

I was still in the mansion, though not in my own room. The bed was a huge four-poster affair, covered in black satin sheets and covers, and the walls were indigo-blue, much darker than the pale gold flocked wallpaper of the bedroom I shared with Roux. Light from the chandeliers winked off a pair of swords hanging on the wall.

Wait, I knew this room – this was Edmond's bedroom.

Slowly, I sat up. My stomach still clenched and knotted, but for now I was able to ignore it. How long had I been here?

"What happened?" I whispered. My lungs felt rusty and my lips were dry.

Movement flashed in the corner of my eye, and I turned to see Edmond standing by the side of the bed. He looked like a dark angel, his hair black as coal against the ivory perfection of his skin, his eyes glittering like diamonds. The breath would have caught in my lungs at the sheer beauty of him...but I no longer had breath.

I put a hand to my throat and then pressed my palm to my chest. No heartbeat. More memories rushed back, making me reel – June's escape, the mysterious attack on Belle Morte, my final attempt to help my sister that had ended with her plunging a knife into my chest. I lifted my eyes to Edmond's.

"You're in my room in the north wing," he said. There was something guarded in his voice, and he didn't make any attempt to get closer to me. Less than a foot separated us, but it felt like a chasm, like the two of us were standing miles apart and neither of us quite knew how to get closer to each other.

"Why am I here?" I whispered.

Why wasn't I back in my bedroom with Roux?

Edmond's expression didn't change, but his eyes gleamed with sadness. "Because you're a vampire, Renie. You can't live in the donors' wing anymore."

Because you're a vampire.

Because you're a vampire.

His words echoed through my head. When I remembered what June had done to me, I remembered what Edmond had done to save me – drained the blood from my body and fed me his own so that I would rise again as a vampire.