Free Falling Between (The Vaettir Serial, #1) by Sara C. Roethle Page A

be awake yet,” a voice said from behind me.
    I nearly stumbled as I tried to turn around too quickly. A man stood framed in the doorway. He wore black slacks and no shirt or shoes. It was an odd look that made it seem as if he simply hadn't finished dressing yet . . . or perhaps he just hadn't finished un -dressing.
    I grasped at the ends of my gray tee-shirt and tried to cover at least a small portion of my bare legs. I realized as I looked down that my legs were still covered in dirt from my experience in the woods.
    The man chuckled at me. His near-black hair fell well past his shoulders. It framed his pale skin and dark brown eyes perfectly. My mouth went dry with a mixture of fear and apprehension. He took a step forward. He was tall, I placed him around 6'2”, given that I'm 5'9” and still had to look up to meet his eyes as he came even closer.
    I held up a hand in front of me. “S-stop,” I stammered. “Where am I?”
    The man cocked his head at me. “Where do you think you are Madeline?”
    “It's Maddy,” I corrected. “And how do you know my name?” I asked quickly as I backed away.
    He met me step for step until my back was against the hard stone wall. He pushed his body against mine, half threat, half seduction. “Don't you want to know my name?” he asked casually and he twirled the ends of my messy hair around his fingers.
    “Leave her alone Alaric,” a woman's voice barked from the doorway.
    Alaric stepped to the side to reveal a woman that looked startlingly similar to the man still standing way too close to me. She strode into the room confidently, trailing the ends of her gossamer-thin white dress behind her. Her dark hair hung nearly to her waist, intermingling with the loose white fabric like oil on snow.
    Alaric left me to stand by who I had to assume was his sister.  He tugged on her long hair playfully, eliciting a steely glare from her dark eyes. “Out,” she ordered sternly.
    Alaric gave her a mocking salute as he glided towards the door. Glided was the only word I could think of to describe it. He moved like a cat.
    The woman came towards me, taking my attention off of Alaric's back as he left the room. “I'm Sophie,” she introduced. The introduction would have been nice had it been accompanied by a smile, but I decided to keep my opinion to myself. I caught a glimpse of sharp canines as Sophie sniffed the air around me, and was glad that I'd chosen not to speak. “You need a bath,” Sophie said with a sneer.
    “Um,” I began. “Would you mind telling me where I am?”
    “That is none of your concern,” she snapped.
    None of my concern? I found my lack of knowledge on my whereabouts extremely concerning, thank you very much. 
    “Come with me,” she said, then turned around expecting me to follow her.
    I debated not following, or else following and attacking her while she wasn't looking, but decided against both options. I'd rather not get onto Sophie's bad side just yet. My legs felt numb and shaky as my bare feet hit the ground step after step. I was pretty sure that I was in a mild state of shock. It's not every day a girl gets swallowed by vines only to wake up in some stony lair lorded over by a disturbingly attractive pair of siblings.
    Sophie led me down a hallway made of the same stone as the room we'd left and into a large bathroom. Against the far wall was a claw-foot tub made of white porcelain that stood on tarnished brass feet.
    “Bathe,” Sophie ordered.
    “I don't-” I began, but she cut me off with a stern look.
    “I will keep my brother at bay,” she said, finally offering me a hint of a smile. With that, she turned and left the bathroom, shutting the door gently behind her.
    I ran to the door and quickly twisted the lock. I did a quick scan of the bathroom, but didn't find anything that could aid my escape. There was no shower, just the bathtub, a toilet, and a small pedestal sink. Another fire burned in a fireplace that was set in the wall