Heartlines ▹ Elena Gilbert [1]

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
A BLOODY BARGAIN

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

     Rowan woke up slowly and to a harsh pounding in her head. Every single muscle in her body ached, and her stomach was clenching in hunger. A groan slipped up her throat before she could stop it, and her hand moved to her head before she even found the strength to open her eyes. Moving her head a little bit, she found that she was lying on a hardwood floor, with nothing but a small pillow to support her neck. Squeezing her eyes shut tighter for a moment, she took a deep breath and blinked them open slowly.

Only to see a complete stranger leaning over her.

A scream scraped up her throat. She shot up and immediately started crawling away, scrambling backwards on the floor. The stranger—a boy who looked a few years older than herself—didn't even flinch at her scream. He just leaned back on his heels and continued to look at her. A wide smile was starting to stretch across his face. It took Rowan a few moments to realize that he wasn't reaching for her and that he didn't mean her any harm, at least for the time being. She stopped scrambling back to study him, air scraping roughly through her lungs as she panted. His hair was black and curly, falling into his eyes, which were a dark brown. He didn't feel like a vampire to her, but he didn't feel human either. A witch, maybe, which certainly made sense. Only a witch could have taken a vampire down with pain that intense without even touching them.

"You're awake!" the boy said, grinning wider. Clapping his hands together almost excitedly, he rose to his feet and turned his head, grinning at someone else. Rowan was too startled to look away from him, not until she processed what he said next. "Kitty Kat, get her something to drink, would you? Poor thing must be starving." Blinking rapidly, Rowan turned her head and watched in disbelief as Katherine poured blood into a glass and brought it over. She seemed perfectly fine, even sharing a smile with the boy before handing the glass over. "Thank you, Kat." He walked over to Rowan then and crouched down again, offering her the glass. "Here you go, sweetheart. Drink up, you're weak." Rowan pressed her mouth together, fighting the urge to chug it down as best she could. The boy's eyebrows raised in surprise. "No? Well, alright. Your choice, I suppose." He put the glass on the coffee table behind Rowan before standing again, and then it was like Rowan wasn't in the room at all. Katherine started talking like she was invisible, continuing a conversation Rowan must have interrupted when she woke up.

"You really think he'll let me go?" Katherine asked, anxiety in her voice. She was leaning against a kitchen island, and the boy went to join her, jumping up onto the counter itself to sit. While they were preoccupied, Rowan took a look at her surroundings. She was inside a small apartment. Considering Katherine was there, she could only assume it was Alaric's, since Klaus had taken over his residence for the time being. Alarmed, Rowan twisted to look out the nearest window and saw that it was still daylight outside. The sacrifice must not have happened yet, but Tyler and Caroline weren't there with her. Perhaps Klaus had dragged her along as an extra vampire, just in case. Her mouth twisted in displeasure as she climbed to her feet, shooting a glance over at the two people still at the island. Just in time to hear Katherine say, "I took the last of the vervain this morning."