Free In the Face of Darkness (Lily Culpepper Book 1) by Sarah Dell Page A

bacon and eggs cooking.  “My cousins got in this morning” he told me.
    The house was full of a happy togetherness that I hadn’t felt since becoming a vampire.  Being a vampire was all about power plays and mind games.  I found the whole family breakfast to be wholesome and comforting.  I didn’t realize how much I missed being human.
    “Who’s the vampire?” asked one of two men sitting at the kitchen table.   He had big brown eyes that sparkled with the light of a smile that didn’t quite reach the rest of his face.
    “The better question is why is she here?” the other man at the table asked.  The second man had dark, narrow eyes that felt like they were boring into me.  His thin lips drew a hard line on his face.  I wondered if he got headaches from clinching his jaw.
    “She’s my guest.  I’m taking her to the Island” Matthias said.  I wished everyone would stop putting labels on me.  It was like I wasn’t a person anymore.  I was a vampire, but I wished I could just be Lily again.
    “Well, I guess Gran is letting anyone into the house now.  Next, we’ll be inviting the Queen over for tea” the man with the dark narrow eyes said.
    “These are my cousin’s Bryce” Matthias pointed to the man with the happy eyes, then to the man with the dark eyes “and Lucas”.  Megan was sitting next to Bryce and she was looking at him as if he was her whole world.  There was so much love in those small eyes.  I wished I could know what that felt like, but I was not destined for love or happiness.  I had accepted that, but now seeing it like this was bring up feelings I didn’t want to feel. 
    I did my best to push the unwanted feelings out of my mind as I took a seat at the table.  Matthias sat next to Nola who was at the head of the table.  I looked at the empty plate in front of me; I was grateful no one bothered to pass me any food because that would have been awkward.  Matthias’s family shared stories and laughed at inside jokes.  I tried not to pay too close attention to the happiness around me because I knew it would only remind me of the family I had lost. 
    After everyone was done eating, I tried to help Nola and Megan clean up, but Nola only gave me a hard look that told me I was not welcome in her kitchen.  I conceded the kitchen to Nola and walked into the living room where Bryce and Lucas had found a ball game to watch. 
    I walked out the front door and sat on the porch swing.  The swing was one of those wooden benches that were hung from the ceiling.  There was no padding, but I didn’t need it.  I held onto the chain as I rocked back and forth.  I smelled the warm sweet scent before I heard Matthias come out from the house.  He sat next to me on the swing.
    “So what happens now?” I asked.
    “We go to the Island” he said.
    “Then what?” I asked.
    “Then we will be at the Island” he said.
    “Then all our problems will dissolve.” I said.
    “You will understand once we are on the Island” he said.
    “Where were your cousins?” I asked.  The fact that I hadn’t heard them come in the night before was still bothering me.  There wasn’t much that my vampire senses missed.
    “They were hunting” he said.
    “What can you hunt in summer?” I asked.  My dad had gone deer hunting every winter.
    “Anything they can find” he seemed to not understand the question.
    “But it’s not hunting season” I said.
    “They don’t pay attention to hunting laws” he said with a smile. "We should get going.  The sooner we get to the Island the better” he said.  As we walked towards his truck I noticed that he was carrying a black duffel bag.  I watched him he load it into the bed of his truck as I took a seat on the passenger side.  We were driving for about an hour before I noticed that we were headed north.
    “If we are going to an Island shouldn’t we being heading towards water?” I asked.
    “The Island is on another plane.  The only way