or kitsune’s or
demon’s property.”
Meredith was shaking her head. “You never told us—”
“I told you that you wouldn’t like the way in!”
Even while answering Meredith, Damon’s eyes never left Elena.
Underneath his outward coldness, he seemed to be pleading with her to
understand, she thought. In the old days, she thought, he’d have just
lounged against a wall and raised his eyebrows and said, “Fine; I didn’t
want to go anyway. Who’s for a picnic?”
But Damon did want them to go, Elena realized. He was desperate
for them to go. He just didn’t know any honest way of conveying that.
The only way he knew was to—
“You have to make us a promise, Damon,” she said, looking him
directly in the eyes. “And it has to be before we make the decision to go
or not.”
She could see the relief in his eyes, even if to the other girls it
might seem as if his face was perfectly cold and impassive. She knew he
was glad she wasn’t saying that her previous decision was final, and that
was that. “What promise?” Damon asked.
“You have to swear—to give your word—that no matter what we
decide now or in the Dark Dimension, you won’t try to Influence us.
You won’t put us to sleep by mind control, or nudge us to do what you
want. You won’t use any vampire tricks on our minds.”
Damon wouldn’t be Damon if he didn’t argue. “But, look, suppose