– The weatherman was wrong: instead of rain, it's sunny all day today," he said.

– No problem," Grayson said, letting go of my hand, "it's only two steps away. – He pulled on his gloves and took the umbrella from his servant, opened it, and grabbed my hand again, stepping out into the sunlight, the huge umbrella hiding him from the sun's rays. Mitch followed us.

The bright light was still blinding me, and I had to cover my eyes with the palm of my hand. I looked around at the thousands of people around us, hustling, shouting, rushing, and I envied them for being free, while I felt the icy grip of a vampire on my skin.

– So, what do you think of Brazil? – I heard Grayson's voice.

– I'm afraid I won't get to see it because of you," I told him grimly, walking obediently beside him.

– You have beautiful hair," he said suddenly, giving me a fleeting glance.

That out-of-place phrase made me smile mockingly.

We were getting further away from the airport building. The wind blew my hair around, tangling it, but I had no way to keep it out of my eyes as I dragged my wheeled suitcase behind me with my free hand.

People looked at us in surprise: we must have been something funny. Two men in black suits, hiding from the sun under big black umbrellas, were clearly asking for attention. I was the only one dressed for summer.

We walked and walked. I was starting to get exhausted from the heat and was breathing heavily. My loose hair only made it worse. Finally, we reached a small building and stood under its graceful shade. There wasn't a soul around. Grayson closed his umbrella, but didn't take off his gloves. As we reached the place, I noticed girls smiling at him as we passed, but he didn't seem to pay any attention to their smiles.

Grayson let go of my palm, pulled my phone out of his jacket pocket, and held it out to me.

– Call him.

I looked into his face and knew he wasn't in the mood for jokes: the blue pupils of his eyes were as cold and sharp as shards of broken ice. They dug into me with an almost physical pain.

The vampire left me no choice: I picked up the phone.

– I switched it to normal mode. But remember, no jokes," Grayson warned me in a serious tone.

I nodded absently and dialled Cedric's number. Tears of self-pity suddenly came to my eyes. I put the phone to my ear and held my breath as I heard the long beeps. Grayson was watching my every move, and I was afraid to breathe.

But suddenly the ringing stopped. Cedric hadn't picked up.

That fact startled me, and I froze, with the phone to my ear. Then I took a deep breath and closed my eyes: actually, my soul was rejoicing that Cedric hadn't answered, because now I had a chance to convince Grayson that I was nothing more than a distraction, a toy to Cedric.

– He lied to me! – I whispered, trying to look mortally hurt. But I didn't have to squeeze the tears out-they just flowed down my cheeks, and I didn't bother to wipe them away. Let the vampire think I was terribly upset!

Grayson seemed to believe me: the smile faded from his face, and it took on an expression of deep seriousness.

– So you're not as important to him as he claimed," he said, taking the phone from me again.

– He was playing with me! – I sobbed, not looking at Grayson, but as if I were talking to myself, desperate. – How did I deserve this? How could he do this to me? I mean, I love him so much, and he …

– If he hasn't responded, it's not a sign of anything. I think he's busy now, or he's among us, so he couldn't answer you.

– No! He said he'd wait for my call! He promised he would answer under any circumstances! – I exclaimed, praying that Grayson wasn't right and that Cedric wouldn't call me back.

Grayson silently pulled a clean, white, neatly folded handkerchief out of his pocket and held it out to me, "Wipe your tears and stop being hysterical. You're starting to get on my nerves.

Accepting the handkerchief from him, I wiped my tears. Waiting patiently for me to finish my task, Grayson took the handkerchief from me and tossed it into a nearby rubbish bin. Then the vampire opened his umbrella again, and we walked out into the sun-drenched square. Fortunately, it wasn't a long walk-I realised I was being led to a small plane.

But then, to my horror, my phone, which was in the vampire's jacket pocket, rang loudly.

"No, Cedric! Don't call me! – I thought with despair. – Why are you calling!"

Grayson stopped abruptly, turned to me and looked mockingly into my eyes, and something strange flashed in his gaze that made me go cold despite the heat around me.

The kidnapper silently held out my phone to me.

– Cedric! – I exclaimed in a purposely cheerful voice as Grayson kept his eyes on me. – I just landed in Rio! It's so hot here!

– Viper, how excited I was! – I was beyond excited to hear Viper's voice on the phone. – I'd already thought of a thousand disasters! – But I kept silent about how apprehensive I was about her possible encounter with a dangerous vampire, since I didn't want to scare her with something that wasn't really there: she called me as promised.

– Don't worry, I'm fine! I was a little scared when the plane started to shake, but, on the whole, the flight went fine," Viper said.

– I'm sorry I didn't answer right away – I had to leave the castle to call you back," I said, feeling incredibly relieved. – Did you notice any vampires around you?

– No, not at all. You put me on the plane yourself!

– But I didn't have time to check it out. I mean, I couldn't.

– It's okay, Cedric! Sorry, I'll call you back or text you later. I have to pick up my luggage.

– I'll do that. I'll wait for your call. – I listened to every note in her voice.

– Okay, I'll go. Just please don't worry about me," Viper said softly.

– 'I miss you already. But be careful and don't go outside after sunset. Remember everything we agreed on.

– I will! I love you!

Viper disconnected.

I felt so happy and at peace. I was suddenly ashamed that I'd almost gotten in a fight with Markus over my misconceptions about Grayson. But now I was at peace.

***

I silently handed the phone to Grayson.

I was surprised to find myself talking to Cedric as cheerfully and carefree as if there was no danger, as if Grayson and his servant didn't exist. It might have been our last conversation. Now that I heard my lover's voice, I felt a little better. I wanted to call my parents one last time to tell them how much I loved them, but the vampire didn't give me that chance: he took the phone from me, grabbed my hand, and we walked to the plane.

As we walked up the ramp to the rather spacious cabin, sparsely but comfortably furnished, I wanted to sit down on the small couch and rest, maybe even sleep, when I heard the vampire's icy voice over my ear.

– Were you trying to trick me? – Grayson asked in a dark tone, and I was suddenly lying on the green carpet that covered the floor. My left cheek was flaming.

He'd hit me.

I was insanely scared, and my body shook with a fine tremor.

No one had ever laid a hand on me in my life, and now this hard slap threw me into a daze and a maelstrom of fear. I didn't understand: why? Why had he slapped me? Had I not fulfilled all his demands?

Grayson towered over me like a threatening dark rock.

"He's going to kill me!" – A frantic thought raced through my brain, and I shrank back and hid my face in my hands, waiting for him to hit me again.

The vampire set me roughly on my feet and pulled my palms away from my face. The expression on his face was terribly stern.

– Did you think you'd tricked me? – he said quietly and began stroking my hair.