“Sirens are real, yes.” Sebastian nodded, smiling. “As are vampires, and a number of other creatures I won’t bother mentioning right now because it’s irrelevant. A part of you must have known, right?”

I gaped at him, unsure, ready to spout the lie on the tip of my tongue. That I could never have suspected such a thing. Something held me back though. 

“Others became obsessed with you,” Sebastian continued, “and it wasn’t just your looks and your voice. It was something more. Something connected to your voice. Something that comes out when you put your heart and soul into a song. Something that draws others to you in a way that is indescribable.”

“Are…are you saying that I caused my ex to stalk me?” I blurted, half furious, half curious. 

Sebastian shook his head, “Not in the sense that you’re thinking. You’ve sung around so many, and most of them were left with the incredible sensation of just having heard the most beautiful voice they will ever experience in their short lives. They were swept up in a blissful trance, like the most incredible dream. But as reality set in, they simply dismissed it as one amazing performance and nothing more. Men like your ex, Jeffrey, become obsessed on a different level. There are those who want to possess beauty, to destroy it rather than share it with the world. That is the sort of man Jeffrey is. He sees beauty and divity in you, and would do anything to keep it. And you have it in spades.”

I realized I was feeling lightheaded now. 

“I think-I think I need to go lie down,” I said. “To rest and clear my head. Can I, would you be alright if I headed to my room?”

“Of course, you must know that you are not our prisoner, nor will you ever be. You’re free to come and go as you please,” Sebastian said, gesturing toward the doorway. 

I tried not to think about the pathetic soul locked up behind me as I stumbled out toward the stairs. 

“Shall I help you upstairs?” Joel asked. 

“No,” I shook my head, waving him away. “No, I’m okay.”

Somehow I managed to find my way up all those steps. When I got to the top, my first instinct was to bolt right out the door, away from this strange nightmare of a place. 

My second, more immediate thought was to go upstairs and get Emily. I rushed to the elevator and waited impatiently for it to reach the first floor, not trusting myself to take any more stairs just now. Finally, I was rushing out of the elevator on the second floor, hurrying to Emily’s room. I stepped inside and quietly closed the door behind me. I gently nudged her sweet sleeping form awake, watching her blink in confusion before turning her face to me. 

“What is it?” Emily asked, rubbing her eyes, “what’s going on, Calista?”

“We have to go,” I insisted, wondering if Sebastian already knew what I was up to. If they had cameras I didn’t know about, or worse, if he could hear me with his supernatural abilities. 

“Go where?” Emily asked, putting on her glasses as I grabbed her wheelchair. 

“Your uncle isn’t who he says he is. I don’t think you’re safe here,” I insisted. 

Hee look of confusion suddenly turned to one of realization, “He told you, didn’t he? That he’s a vampire?”

I looked at her in shock, then a number of remarks and moments came to mind. Her mentioning how Bangchan’s vampire character from Railway reminded her of her uncle, and the way Joel had so casually changed the subject. Sebastian’s comment about children being the cause of them having to move. Of course they would be if they found out he was a freaking vampire because a little girl couldn’t keep a secret. 

“We have to go,” I said numbly. 

Emily shook her head, “I’m never going to leave uncle Sebastian. He saved my life. He’s my family. I love him.”