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Chapter Fourteen<br />
Elena felt her flesh creep at the words.<br />
"You don't mean that," she said shakily. She remembered what she had seen on the roof, the blood<br />
smeared on Stefan's lips, and she forced herself not to recoil from him. "Stefan, I know you. You<br />
couldn't have done that…"<br />
He ignored her protestations, just went on staring with eyes that burned like the green ice at the<br />
bottom of a glacier. He was looking through her, into some incomprehensible distance. "As I lay in<br />
bed that night, I hoped against hope that she would come. Already I was noticing some of the changes<br />
in myself. I could see better in the dark; it seemed I could hear better. I felt stronger than ever before,<br />
full of some elemental energy. And I was hungry.<br />
"It was a hunger I had never imagined. At dinner I found that ordinary food and drink did nothing to<br />
satisfy it. I couldn't understand that. And then I saw the white neck of one of the serving girls, and I<br />
knew why." He drew a long breath, his eyes dark and tortured. "That night, I resisted the need, though<br />
it took all my will. I was thinking of Katherine, and praying she would come to me. Praying!" He gave<br />
a short laugh. "If a creature like me can pray."<br />
Elena's fingers were numb within his grasp, but she tried to tighten them, to send him reassurance.<br />
"Go on, Stefan."<br />
He had no trouble speaking now. He seemed almost to have forgotten her presence, as if he were<br />
telling this story to himself.<br />
"The next morning the need was stronger. It was as if my own veins were dry and cracked,<br />
desperate for moisture. I knew that I couldn't stand it for long.<br />
"I went to Katherine's chambers. I meant to ask her, to plead with her – " His voice cracked. He<br />
paused and then went on. "But Damon was there already, waiting outside her rooms. I could see that<br />
he hadn't resisted the need. The glow of his skin, the spring in his step, told me that. He looked as<br />
smug as the cat who's had the cream.<br />
"But he hadn't had Katherine. 'Knock all you like,' he said to me, 'but the female dragon inside won't<br />
let you past. I've tried already. Shall we overpower her, you and I?'<br />
"I wouldn't answer him. The look on his face, that sly, self-satisfied look, repelled me. I pounded on<br />
that door to wake…" He faltered, and then gave another humorless laugh. "I was going to say, 'to<br />
wake the dead.' But the dead aren't so hard to wake after all, are they?" After a moment, he went on.<br />
"The maid, Gudren, opened the door. She had a face like a flat white plate, and eyes like black<br />
glass. I asked her if I could see her mistress. I expected to be told that Katherine was asleep, but<br />
instead Gudren just looked at me, then at Damon over my shoulder.<br />
" 'I would not tell him,' she said at last, 'but I will tell you. My lady Katerina is not within. She went<br />
out early this morning, to walk in the gardens. She said she had much need of thought.'<br />
"I was surprised. 'Early this morning?' I said.