Grayson turned to me, and I could barely keep from shrieking in horror: his beautiful, pale face had turned into the face of a monster, and was even creepier than Cedric's had been when he'd revealed himself to me. But I loved Cedric, and I didn't care that he was a monster. Grayson, on the other hand, I hated and feared-he was a monster, and I was at his mercy.
– Don't worry, you'll get used to my form soon enough," the vampire told me mockingly. – Morgan's never shown himself to you like this, has he?
– Once," I squeezed out.
He grinned-a smile that must have made me shake.
– Get used to it: I won't hide. – Grayson let go of my hand and opened the boot, pulling out my suitcase and tossing it at my feet. – Pick it up and carry it to the castle.
Picking my suitcase up off the ground, I set it on its wheels and dragged it behind me. The vampire and I headed towards the castle. As we walked in the sun, I tried not to look at Grayson, but in the shadows, my tormentor became handsome again. We climbed the stone stairs (I had to carry my heavy suitcase myself), and the vampire opened the tall wooden door in front of me, with a beautiful metal weave of leaves on it.
– Welcome to Sunset Hall! – he said in an unexpectedly friendly tone, and suddenly he pushed me through the door, causing me to fall face-first to the floor.
– Can you not yank and push me? – I blurted out.
– I can if you ask me to," Grayson said.
– So you don't know what it means to be polite! – I grumbled, getting to my feet and shaking off my jeans and T-shirt.
– You don't deserve to be polite," he replied calmly and shut the door.
Deciding to ignore him, I looked at the interior of the castle with curiosity: it was luxurious, but elegant. Every little detail seemed to have been taken care of, and everything seemed to rest so perfectly in its place, as if there were no other place for it. But one surprising detail caught my eye: all the windows were covered with dark, thick curtains, and the hall was quite dark, with only daylight coming through the small oval windows at the very ceiling, which was so high that I had to lift my head. On the very ceiling hung a huge, must have been a crystal chandelier. A wide, white, marble staircase led to the upper floors.
The vampire suddenly took the suitcase from me and headed up the stairs. Not expecting such a pleasant favour from him, I ran after him.