Chapter 52

Elizabeth's POV

The hallway was far too quiet. My heart thudded like a warning drum in my chest as Damon and I walked side by side, the sterile hospital lights casting an eerie yellow glow on the walls. Every sound felt amplified-the buzz of the ceiling lights, the squeak of my shoes, even my breathing. I hated this feeling. The feeling that something was coming. Something worse than what we'd already seen.

Damon suddenly stopped. His body went rigid.

"Don't move," he said, voice low and sharp. His eyes narrowed as he turned his head slightly, sniffing the air like a predator catching scent.

"What is it-" I didn't even finish.

Like the wind, something dark rushed toward us, a blur I could barely process. Damon moved faster-inhumanly fast. One second he was beside me, the next he had slammed the figure so hard into the wall that I heard the crack of bones and a dent formed in the plaster.

The guy-definitely a vampire-slumped to the ground, hissing. I stepped back, heart hammering.

Damon didn't hesitate. He moved like it was second nature. With one swift motion, he snapped the vampire's neck.

"Well, that's not my sister," he said, his voice oozing sarcasm. "But he's wearing her sweater. That's why I felt like she was close." He yanked the sweater off the limp body and tossed it aside.

I swallowed hard and stepped closer. My eyes were fixed on the corpse, trying to make sense of all the chaos that had already happened. But I didn't have time to process. Because if this guy was a decoy, then Bella-Damon's sister-was close. Maybe already in Chloe's room.

Damon looked at me. "You don't want to see this part," he warned, nodding toward the body.

For once, I listened. I turned around. I didn't need to see him rip someone's heart out like he was taking out the trash.

When I heard that grotesque sound-the wet squelch of a body being torn apart-I flinched and started walking. My legs moved faster, carrying me back toward Chloe's room.

God, I shouldn't have split up with Vanessa. One of us should've stayed behind. I felt it in my gut-something was wrong.

And I was right.

As soon as I opened the door to Chloe's room, my world tilted.

Bella stood in the center like some twisted goddess of destruction. Her long blonde hair gleamed under the fluorescent light, and those silver eyes... soulless. She held Chloe up by the neck like a doll. My best friend. Dangling, gasping, kicking.

Chloe's mom lay unconscious on the floor. And surrounding them-five male nurses. Blank-eyed. Still.

Compulsion. I had recently read about it on the internet especially after Chloe started acting weird.

Bella had compelled them. To attack Chloe's mom. To help her get Chloe out unnoticed. That's why Vanessa's protection spell hadn't been triggered. They didn't break in-they walked in, invited.

"Let her go!" I shouted, heart in my throat.

Bella turned her head slowly, her lips curling into a smug smile. "Elizabeth," she said like she was greeting an old friend.

"I'm sorry," I blurted out. Pathetic. I didn't even know what I was apologizing for. "Please don't hurt her."

Damon stepped in behind me. "Bella. Don't do this," he said coldly. "Let her go. Or I swear to you-"

"Swear?" Bella laughed. "Oh, big brother, you and your noble threats. There's always 'consequences' with you. Always repercussions. You've never just picked me. Not once. Not when it mattered."

She sounded bitter. More than bitter-broken. Her voice cracked like old glass, and I felt it.

"I didn't come here to argue with you, Bella. Let the girl go. We'll talk at home," Damon said through clenched teeth.

"Home?" Bella whispered, her silver eyes gleaming. "There is no home, Damon. You made sure of that."

Then she smiled. But it wasn't sweet. It was pure, evil joy. My stomach turned.

"I won't really kill her," she said. And just like that, she bit into her own wrist.

"No-!" I screamed.

Bella shoved her bloody wrist against Chloe's lips, forcing her to drink.

And then-snap.

Chloe's neck cracked like a twig.

"No!" Vanessa's scream echoed as she and Elijah burst into the room.

Bella licked her blood-stained lips and vanished, like a wisp of smoke.

I stood frozen. Chloe's body hit the floor with a thud. Damon tried to stop me, but I shoved his arm away, racing toward her.

Vanessa was already on her knees, sobbing. I knew she was already blaming herself for everything but all this was my fault not hers. "Chloe," she whimpered. "No, no, no."

"It's not your fault," I told her. "It's not your fault."

Elijah bent down and gently lifted Chloe's body. His face was unreadable, but his eyes-his eyes were hollow.

Damon sorted out the nurses quickly, snapping them from their trance, then carried Chloe's mom to the VIP couch. I almost forgot Chloe was the mayor's daughter.

"She's not dead," Damon said after checking her mom's pulse. "Just knocked out."

Vanessa looked up from Chloe's body, and for a second, there was hope in her eyes. "Liz-look."

I turned just as color flooded back into Chloe's pale cheeks. Her chest rose and fell. She was breathing.

"Oh my god," I whispered.

Elijah stepped back, watching Chloe like she was a ticking bomb. Vanessa clutched my arm tightly. "What's happening?" she asked.

Damon stepped toward us. "She's turning," he said simply.

Vanessa reeled back. "Turning into-into one of you?"

"Would you rather I ripped her heart out?" Damon asked, dryly. "Because those are the options."

Vanessa said nothing. She looked completely lost. I didn't blame her.

I crouched beside Chloe and took her hand. It was ice cold. Not like before. This was... different.

"She's still our Chloe, right?" I asked, my voice shaking.

"Yes," Elijah said gently. "She'll still be her. Just not human."

I nodded slowly. "Then we don't hurt her. Not ever."

Vanessa wiped her face and came closer. She knelt beside me and took Chloe's other hand. "Don't hurt her," she repeated, staring at Damon.

Two of the previously compelled nurses wandered back into the room. Their faces were confused, like waking from a dream.

Damon's eyes flicked to them, and without saying a word, they moved to the bed.

"What are they doing?" Vanessa asked warily.

Damon didn't blink. "Tying her down. Hands. Feet. As strong as you can."

Vanessa looked at him like he'd grown horns. "Why?!"

He looked her dead in the eye. "Because when your friend wakes up, she's going to be very hungry."