Definitely not Vegas. The desert didn’t have rivers.

“Good evening.”

I turned toward Vlad’s voice, seeing him emerge from the bathroom. His black hair was damp from showering, but he was dressed in a pair of dark gray pants with a matching charcoal jacket. A pale silvery shirt softened the ensemble and platinum cuff links added a touch of elegance, if one didn’t already notice the richness of the fabric and the custom tailoring.

I, on the other hand, was wearing only sheets and my hair was tangled enough for a hairbrush to cringe away from the challenge. What surprised me most was that I was also unchained.

“You left me alone while you showered?” I gestured at the nearby window. “The spell could have made me jump through that!”

“You wouldn’t have made it out of bed,” a familiar voice said to my right, then Marty’s head popped up from the space between the bed and the wall. “Hiya, kid.”

Vlad arched a brow as if to say, You really thought I’d leave you unprotected? Meanwhile, I snatched at the sheets, which had dipped far too low. No wonder Marty had chosen to lie on the floor instead of sit in the chair opposite the bed.

“H-hi,” I stammered. “And thanks.”

Marty smiled at me. “No thanks needed. Happy to do it.” Then he gave a far more reserved glance at Vlad. “Since you’re done, I’ll show myself out.”

He left, and the coolness between them reminded me of the conversation Marty and I had had right before Szilagyi attacked the castle. With everything else going on, I’d forgotten it. I still intended to address Marty’s return to the carnival with Vlad, but now wasn’t the time. Survival first.

So I started with the obvious. “Where are we?”

“New Orleans,” Vlad replied, sitting on the edge of the bed. The fragrance of soap still clung to him, adding a citrusy blend to his natural smoky, cinnamon scent. I found myself sliding closer and inhaling without thinking about it, then almost blushed as his gaze turned knowing.

“We don’t have time,” he said, though his fingers trailed a warm path from my neck to my collarbone. “You slept later than I anticipated, but your body no doubt needed to recuperate.”

At first, I thought he was referring to his sexual prowess since he’d more than exhausted me last night. Then my hands dove beneath the sheets to run over my body.

“I can still feel essence imprints,” I said in surprise. “You didn’t do it?”

Something dark flitted across his features. “Yes and no. I did burn your skin, but I didn’t cover you in my aura after, so all of the imprints you’re detecting are mine.”

I couldn’t have been more relieved that I’d slept through the burning. Maybe exhausting me beforehand had been to my benefit in more ways than one. “Why’d you skip the aura part?”

His sigh was harsh. “Because I will need to burn you again. You didn’t sleepwalk this morning, so either preventing you from linking to Szilagyi through his essence trail worked, or destroying your flesh weakened the spell. I believe it’s the latter. If I rendered you fireproof with my aura, I’d need to employ different methods to temporarily weaken the spell next time.”

My stomach lurched while the macabre saying There’s more than one way to skin a cat ran through my mind. Yeah, I’d prefer the fire. For one, I’d slept through it. For another, it would be far quicker than any “different methods,” and if I woke up during the event, speed would equal mercy. Besides, I never wanted to associate Vlad with the horrible memories I had of my skin being sliced off. Even the thought made me shudder.

Vlad caught it and another shadow flashed across his features. “I don’t want to do that, either. Burning you was difficult enough.”

Guilt hit me. “I’m sorry. I’ve been so busy dwelling on how I would deal with this; I didn’t give much thought to how rough it would be for you.”

“Nor should you,” he replied at once. “I’m not the one who’s been repeatedly tortured the past few weeks, first by enemies, then by me out of necessity. You need to be focused on your own needs, Leila. You’ll lose your mind otherwise.”

He had his shields up again, and it hadn’t escaped my notice that over the past few days, he’d kept them up unless we were making love. He must not think I could handle what he was feeling when passion wasn’t at the forefront.

“You’re wrong,” I said quietly. “I’m not the only one who’s been tortured. Szilagyi used me like a weapon to slice you open, and I know those wounds are still burning. You don’t have to hide what you’re feeling from me, Vlad. I can take it.”

A humorless smile curled his mouth before he brushed it against my ear.

“I’m not hiding my feelings from you.” His voice was so low, even at this proximity; I had to strain to hear him. “I’m hiding them from the other vampires I’ve made. Ever since I realized that the castle was under attack, all I’ve cared about is your survival. If I have to sacrifice every person in my line to ensure it, I will. That’s why I’m blocking off my emotions. If my people knew how little I cared about them now, it would destroy the unity that I’ve fought so hard to build.”

He kissed my ear after he finished speaking, then rose and tugged me up with him. I moved as if on automatic pilot, complying with his directive to shower because we had to leave soon.