Chapter 41

Alina: Erick was right next to me when I woke up the next morning. One of his arms was folded under his pillow while the other was draped over my waist, and my hand was placed over his. He was fast asleep. His blond hair fell onto his forehead, swaying slightly from the sea breeze coming in through the huge open windows. He looked peaceful and normal, not at all like the mean and arrogant prince of all vampires. Keeping my hand in place so as not to wake him up, I ran the fingers of my other hand through his soft hair. My eyes went wide when the early morning sunlight caught on the diamond and was scattered into hundreds of fragments all over the room. My engagement ring! Why doesn’t it work on you, Alina? Even Erick couldn’t escape it, so why doesn’t it work on you? Suddenly, the reason for not being compelled by Emiel was crystal clear. Erick had given me his great grandmother’s ring especially because it helped deflect compulsion, as well as any attempt to contact mentally unless I