"Do you want to play a game?" he asked, the tip of his nose touching her ear.
"And what game is that?" she asked breathily.
"Hide and seek."
"That is a children’s game, Alec."
"Yes, it is. But we will do it with a little twist," when he said that, she felt more anxious than she already was. "You like gambling, right? I heard one of your hobbies is to play in those exclusive gambling houses wearing a full red mask to hide your identity."
Her lips parted. "You know even the color of my mask? You did a background check on me, didn’t you?"
"Hmm... I did. But I only found out a few things about you, things that most people in Evardin know. However, I know you are hiding so much under your sleeves which I found hard to uncover through a simple background check. So, I just decided to let your mysteries unfold before me. It makes this whole arrangement a lot more interesting."
Hearing his words, she wondered if he’d still find her interesting once he learned about her deepest secrets.
"Now about the game, I will play as the seeker. I will give you a minute to hide wherever you want. If I won’t find you within five minutes, I’ll do anything you ask, but if I win, it is you who will do something for me."
"I have a bad feeling about this," she muttered under her breath, knowing that Alec was one of the most cunning men she had met.
"You are a gambler, don’t tell me you are scared to lose over me?"
"Of course I’m not," she hissed. "But..."
"But?" he probed.
But she wouldn’t admit it.
"But this ship is huge and I don’t even know what kind of magic it is made of. I have never been around here before, while you must have explored what’s inside of this ship. Besides, you are an elite pureblooded vampire. I know it is easy for you to find me with your heightened senses. You can just follow my scent. You are trying to manipulate me, aren’t you?"
She turned to face him and found him smirking. The mischievous look on his face was enough to tell her she was right.
"You amaze me with your wit, but unlike what you are thinking, we can play the game fair. Once we go down this ship, we can’t make use of spells or our special abilities. We will be like normal humans so I can’t find you with your scent or hear every little noise you make."
Her brows knitted. "Is that really true?"
If it was, she wondered what kind of magic the ship was exactly made of. But then, there were many things in the world that no one could explain. Even her life was full of unanswered questions that she could only hope to be answered when the time comes.
"It is. So, do you want to play hide and seek with me?" He raised a brow at her.
Lauren had won most of her games every time she gambled and she wasn’t the type to refuse a challenge, but playing a little game with Alec made her anxious. They had not started yet, but why did she feel like she already had lost?
Still, like a reckless lamb jumping into her predator’s trap, she said yes.
Alec pulled out his gold pocket watch. "Here, hold this so you won’t think I’m cheating on you. Five minutes, Lauren."
"Is it dark inside?"
"The candles always stay lit, one cannot put them out. Don’t worry, there are no rabid dogs or black mages locked up inside. You will be fine. Now off you go." He cocked his head toward the entrance of the ship.
"Make sure you count sixty seconds before you start searching for me," she warned him.
"Of course. I will start counting once you are out of the deck."
She eyed him suspiciously before heading to the entrance of the ship while holding his pocket watch.
She took a deep breath before stepping out of the deck. She followed the steps heading down and as she descended, she counted in her mind to know if the sixty seconds was done.
A door came to her view at the end of the stairs. She pushed it open and when she went inside, she found herself in a balcony of a huge hall illuminated with huge chandeliers. When she was up on the deck, the ship looked like a ruined one so it surprised her when she saw what was inside. It was definitely not an ordinary ship.
As much as Lauren wanted to take a look at everything, she was reminded of the game she was playing with Alec. She hurried down and looked around to see where she could hide herself.
She exited the hall and found another staircase. When she arrived downstairs, she followed a hallway and saw a lot of doors on each of her sides.
Thinking that Alec would most likely think that she would hide in one of the last rooms to avoid getting caught easily, she was about to choose the third room to her left, but the second room on her right suddenly opened which caught her attention.
What were the odds that the ship was haunted by ghosts?
She had not seen ghosts of the deceased before but she had fought with evil spirits back inside the soul-eating mirror and she was not afraid of them.
She peeked into the second room and saw dancing white curtains. For some reason, she suddenly started to get curious about what was inside and found herself stepping into the room.
The door closed by itself the moment she entered, startling her.
There were white sheer curtains all over the room, dancing even with the absence of wind. Because of it, she couldn’t see what was the entire room composed of. She caught glimpses of some paintings, tall bookshelves, a table and chair, but she couldn’t look at them all at once.
She walked into the middle of the room, pushing the dancing curtains that came her way until she reached the other side.
Her eyes stopped at the huge portrait of a couple she was unfamiliar with.