The Corollaria by Courtney Lyn Batten Read Free Book Online Page A

disgust flicker in his dark eyes. She suddenly felt bad for Curtis.  Was it her fault he’d been dragged into this? She laced her fingers with his and squeezed.
    He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbed, and as he continued, his voice grew hoarse, “He made me feed, and he gave me instructions... orders .”
    “Orders?” Emily echoed.  A familiar cold sensation tickled her skin.
    “I was told I had to find you, I had to bring you to him,” he said, his voice even quieter now, strained.
    “Why?” Emily asked. She felt like everything she had been told still wasn’t adding up.
    Curtis tugged on Emily’s hand, pulling her closer to him. His free hand came up, brushing along her cheek as he tucked a stray blond curl behind her ear. He started to lean forward and Emily stiffened. She wasn’t sure why exactly, she’d kissed him before, but right now her thoughts were still on Luke.  If he noticed he didn’t show it except the tightening of skin around his eyes.
    “All I know Em, is that it has to d o with your blood,” he revealed. Emily scrunched up her nose.  He elaborated when he saw her expression, “its... special .”
    “Special? ” she repeated, her voice rising.  This whole conversation seemed unreal. “What does that mean? How is it special?”
    “I just know that when I drank it, it made me...stronger. Not just the way other human blood does, but...like, I feel this surge of something still. L ike I’m invincible or something.”
    Curtis’s eyes got brighter as he spoke like he was talking about some powerful drug.
    She shivered, and knew from the look in his eyes that he was fighting against something: the desire to feed on her blood.
    Emily’s frown intensified and she tried to keep her voice from shaking as she spoke, “I thought, vampires, were invincible or immortal or whatever.”
    He snorted, “Not exactly. We deteriorate very very slowly. Something about an ancient curse. Blood keeps us going. But your blood—”
    Curtis sucked a sharp breath and dropped his eyes . He slowly shook his head.
    She was quiet for a moment.  Emily dropped her eyes to their still joined hands and watched his fingers brush over her knuckles. She was trying to process all this information. Slowly the pieces began to click into place.
    Emily finally broke the silence, and raised her bright blue eyes to his, “So, Samuel wants me because of my blood, right?”
    He nodded.
    “Because my blood somehow makes vampires...stronger?” she asked, pursing her lips together.
    “I think...I mean it’s more than just stronger. All human blood, every time we feed we are stronger, but something about your blood makes us less... vulnerable to—”
    “Deteri orating,” she finished for him.
    Curtis furrowed his eyebrows and cocked his head to the side studying the almost electric blue her eyes had turned. Samuel’s answer to her question from the night before echoed in her thoughts, Immortality.
    Emily gasped suddenly as so mething clicked. Her hand flew up to cover her mouth, “My blood makes you...immortal.”
    Curtis’s eyes went wide for a moment and he sucked in a breath out of habit.
    “But, then why is he keeping me here? Does he have to kill me? Drain me completely first?” Emily sat up on her knees facing Curtis. She could feel the fear humming in her veins, and knew she was at least close to the truth.
    “Or,” Curtis began, his voice low and thoughtful, with a hard edge, “Maybe it doesn’t last.”
    Emily’s eyes were as big as two shimmering pools. Her body trembled, her vision danced. Curtis wrapped his arms around her and drew her close. Was Samuel planning on keeping her here, locked away as a prisoner, slowly drinking her blood? Her stomach twisted and fresh tears form in her eyes.
    “Shhh,” Curtis soothed. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
    Something was tugging at Emily’s memory. Luke exploding into a wolf. She couldn’t be sure, but that invisible connection