by D. N. Hoxa
I sat up and didn’t see Kit sleeping by me until he jumped, startled. A squeak and he climbed up my arm, sniffing at my neck and hair like the crazy squirrel that he was. His tail tickled the shit out of me as he ran around my neck, sniffing me, licking me, trying to see if I was okay.
“Stop it, Kit!” I said, laughing. “You’re tickling me, stop!”
He jumped over on the bed and pulled the cover back, revealing three square chocolates wrapped in red. My mouth watered. I was so hungry it was ridiculous.
Then Kit offered one to me.
My mouth opened. “For real? You’re giving me a chocolate?”
He squeaked and put the chocolate on my lap. Laughing, I unwrapped it and ate it in two bites. Ugh, so delicious. “Thank you, Kit. It was delicious.” The only times he gave me his chocolate was when I crying or when he messed up the apartment and I got mad.
“Where are we?” I asked, and he squeaked louder. The room we were in was huge.
The king-sized bed I was lying on was in the middle. To my left, there was a door, and next to it, white leather furniture and a coffee table framed with gold. A gorgeous painting of golden flowers took up most of the wall behind the furniture. Across from the bed was a chest of drawers topped with a bookcase containing only a few books, and next to it was a mirror over a beautiful white makeup table.
But the view on the right took my breath away. The peach-colored taffeta curtains covered most of the wall, but through a couple of inches of space between them I could see large windows with no frames to interrupt the magnificent view of Manhattan.
“Oh, my God,” I whispered as I slipped off the bed with the silk sheet wrapped around my naked body. I walked to the windows and parted the curtains. The City stretched before me, more alive than I’d ever seen it before. My breath caught in my throat. I’d never seen it from so high up before. We must have been a hundred stories up. The sky was limitless, sprinkled with a million tiny stars and half a moon in the middle of it, shining silver. The world felt so wide suddenly, never-ending. The cityscape was a mass of shapes of all kinds and sizes, buildings big and small, the streets around them no more than lines with small vehicles driving along them. It was unlike anything I’d ever seen before, and I could stand there and watch it forever.
But eventually, my memories robbed the City of its beauty. I remembered my brother, Damian and his team, the wizard, the maneaters and the masked men…and the amulet. I looked down at my hand. Not a scratch on it, when it had felt like my skin had burned when I’d touched that blue crystal. So much pain. And now, I felt none of it. I touched my body, searching for it, for at least one spot where it would hurt against my hand. I’d been wounded. Those maneaters had bitten me at least a couple of times. But there was nothing.
I turned around to search for clothes, but there were none on the bed. There were two doors in the room, one of which I hadn’t noticed until now, by the chest of drawers across from the bed. Its design was the same as the wall around it. Huge green leaves that looked hand-drawn took over the entire wall, and the door led to a closet. I turned the light on to find only a few clothes hanging on the many hangers. The closet alone was the size of my room at my apartment, and all the clothes were male clothes.
Damian’s clothes. Two black shirts and one dark blue, two pairs of jeans, a pair of black sneakers, a leather vest and a leather jacket.
I touched the shirts for whatever reason, and they were soft against my skin. Would they smell like him, like sandalwood and orange blossoms? Kit squeaked behind me. He was right. I was being ridiculous. I left the room, too chicken to wear anything in there. Who knew what the vampire would do to me if I touched his personal items?
The other door led into a wide hallway with five other doors along it. I could hear voices coming from the right, so that’s where I went.
Ten steps later, I was looking at possibly the biggest kitchen and living room I’d ever seen. The kitchen was to my right, full of white wooden cabinets and a thick marble counter. Ahead, the living room was wide, every piece of furniture from the sofas to the paintings on the walls exquisite. The windows across from me were even bigger, taking up the entire side wall, showing me an even better view of the City.
“The sheet looks good on you.”
I jumped at the sound of Moira’s voice, as if I hadn’t noticed her there in the kitchen. But I had. And the others—John and Zane in the living room and Emanuel sitting on the counter with a bowl in his hands. It smelled of burnt sugar in there, and it was coming from the oven.
I looked at Moira, leaning against the counter next to Emanuel.
“How long have I been asleep?” It was dark outside, but I didn’t have my watch on my wrist. I must have lost it in the fight.
“The whole damn day,” Moira said.
The whole day? Goddamn it. “Where is he?”
“Out,” she said. “He’ll be back soon.”
This wasn’t good. This was definitely not good. “And the amulet? The wizard?”
“They took the amulet, killed the wizard,” she said with a shrug.
I flinched. They’d killed the wizard. The man who was going to tell me where Sonny was was dead. Fear gripped at my throat, and it didn’t help that Damian’s team was looking at me like they really disliked me. I wanted to ask them what the hell had happened to me, but I had a feeling they wouldn’t tell me shit. I needed to speak to Damian.
“Right,” I said, and without a word, I returned to the room.
I needed a shower, and screw it if Damian would be angry with me for taking his clothes. I needed to wear something because I needed to go back to the Shade to search for Sonny.
The bathroom was right next to the room I’d woken up in. I left the sheet on the bed and slipped into it. Just like everything else in this apartment, the bathroom made of white and brown marble was huge. It even had a tub in it, but after last night’s experience, I didn’t even want to get close to it. The shower would do just fine.
Even the shampoos were better than anything I’d ever used—and there were a lot of them. Four different kinds and two conditioners and three hair masks. Only one of them was for men. Maybe other women lived here with them? Maybe the Bane had more than just four members.
It didn’t matter. I rinsed the shampoo off my hair, the heavenly scent of vanilla filling my nostrils. I wanted to take my time, to enjoy the warm water, but there was no time. Way too soon, I stepped out of the shower and dried myself with a crisp white towel before slipping into one of the robes hung behind the door. I didn’t care whose it was—I was going to put it back when I stole some of Damian’s clothes.
I wiped the fog off the mirror over the three sinks. My reflection startled me. I looked…okay. My cheeks were a bit flushed, probably from the shower. My wet hair stuck to the sides of my face, and my eyes looked more green than brown. I looked at my neck, at my wrists—everything, just to make sure I hadn’t missed a wound. Or fang marks—the idea of having been bitten not too unbelievable. But there were no scars on me, which didn’t make any sense. I’d been hurt the night before. I was sure of it.
Maneaters They’d had the red eyes, the nasty smell, the black blood. How the hell had they found their way up here? Maneaters didn’t do groups bigger than three, maybe four, and they never came close to Shades. There were too many creatures who could send them back to the Underworld in there, so they steered clear of that part of the City. And maneaters weren’t as slow and as distracted as they’d been the night before. At least that’s what we’d been taught at the Guild during my training.
My eyes squeezed shut. It didn’t matter. I needed to find Sonny. Then, I’d figure out what the hell was going on.
I opened the door of the bathroom and slipped into the room. My heart skipped a beat. The light was on and Damian was standing by the bed. On it were four paper bags that hadn’t been there before.
“Um, hi,” I said, holding onto the robe, even though it didn’t exactly reveal anything I did
n’t want it to. It fell all the way down to my knees.
The vampire gave me a once-over, the gunmetal blue in his eyes darkening. Fuck, he looked good. He wore a green shirt this time, no buttons, and blue jeans that made him look a few years younger than usual. His dark, almost black hair was unkempt, giving him an almost boyish look, and his lips…ugh.
“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice like smoke tendrils wrapping around my body. Shivers broke on my back.
“Yes. I’m fine. I feel good,” I said and actually smiled.
What the hell was wrong with me? I didn’t know this guy. There was no reason to act like a schoolgirl at the sight of him. So he was gorgeous, so what? Plenty of gorgeous guys in the world.
“Great. I got you some clothes. Yours were ruined. Why don’t you get dressed and come to the kitchen? You need to eat.”
As if on cue, my stomach sang the ancient song of hunger. Would it be too much to hope he hadn’t heard that?
I nodded. “I’ll be right out.”
He lingered for a few seconds longer, staring at me while I pretended the white, fluffy carpet under my feet was just the best thing to have ever existed, and eventually he left the room, silent as a ghost.
With a sigh, I went to the paper bags and looked inside. Well, fuck. He didn’t just get me some clothes. He’d gotten me three pairs of panties, all of them red, a red bra, the soft fabric shimmering with a golden undertone, three pairs of jeans—light, medium, and dark blue—two white tank tops, one black, and a red shirt. In the last bag were two pairs of white socks, and sneakers—an exact copy of the ones I’d had on the night before, only these were brand new. In the last bag was a black leather jacket. Shit, it smelled so good!
These things must have cost a fortune—possibly what I made with two hellbeast heads, and it pissed me off. I didn’t want his fancy clothes—I wanted him to help me find my brother. But I was also naked, so I swallowed my pride and wore the dark jeans and a white tank top. They all fit me perfectly. How the hell had he known what size panties I wore? And my bra?
Never mind. I took the jacket with. As soon as I ate something, I would be going back to the Shade to find Sonny. I didn’t think Damian would have anything against it, considering he’d promised me he’d help me find him.
“How do I look?” I asked Kit, who was sniffing my new sneakers. He hadn’t decided yet if he liked my new clothes, but he came with me when I left the room.
I walked out of the hallway and found Damian all alone in the kitchen. John, Zane, Emanuel, Moira—they were nowhere to be seen.
Damian turned when he heard me, and his eyes scrolled down my body in a way that made me want to wrap my arms around myself. I resisted, of course.
“You didn’t need to get me all those things,” I told him. “And I’ll return them as soon as I get home.”
He didn’t give a shit. “Sit.” He waved at the square isle and one of the three barstools at its side. There I found my two daggers in their sheaths, my phone, and some money I’d kept in my pocket.
“Where is everybody else?”
“Some are out, some are resting in their rooms,” he said.
The smell of tomato sauce filled my nostrils. Then, I noticed he was busy with a plate in his hands.
“Are you…are you making me food?” Because that just sounded ridiculous. But what else could it be? Vampires didn’t eat food.
“I bought you food. Some steak and vegetables. You need your strength.”
My jaw hit the floor. “Are you trying to drug me, is that it?” Maybe he thought I wouldn’t be able to tell if he roofied the sauce.
He laughed and the sound made my skin vibrate. “I’m not trying to drug you, little thief,” he said and turned with a plate in his hands. My stomach growled at the sight of the roasted vegetables. Goddamn it, he was right. I needed my strength.
He offered me the plate, silverware, and showed me a wine glass. “Wine?”
“I’m fine,” I said, still a bit stunned. I didn’t want anything to impair my judgment. I had a long night ahead of me, but the steak I was going to eat. I was going to eat it until I could barely breathe.
He poured himself a glass of wine and drank a bit of it, just a tiny bit, like he was only wetting his lips.
The steak tasted like heaven. I was hungrier than I’d realized, and for a few minutes, all I could do was stuff food in my mouth—as much as fit in it. Damian kept staring at me, but I effectively ignored him until I began to feel full. Then, I took it slow.
“I didn’t know vampires drank wine,” I said. Vampires didn’t need food. All they needed was blood.
“We don’t have to, but we like it. Sometimes it rewards us with a bit of taste,” he said with a sneaky smile. “Only sometimes.”
I nodded and continued to eat, hoping he’d stop staring at me for a second. Attention always made me uncomfortable.
“I owe you an apology, little thief,” he said when Kit climbed over the island, demanding a taste. I looked up at him, my mouth half full. “I promised you my protection. I gave you my word that you wouldn’t get hurt, and you did.”
I swallowed hard. “I feel fine.”
“I didn’t tell you about what the amulet could do because I didn’t think we would be attacked. I put you at risk, and I’m sorry.” His eyes were wide and his face so…open. For the first time since I’d heard his name, it occurred to me that he was a man. He wasn’t just a creature of the night who drank people’s blood to survive. He was a man, too, and despite the rumors about the Typhon, he did have feelings. And right now he was feeling like shit. I could read it in every line of his face. It shouldn’t have come as such a shock to me, but he’d looked so cold before.
Well, fuck. How was I going to be mean to him when he’d apologized? For a second, I considered this could all be a dream. It made no sense that someone like him would apologize to someone like me.
I cleared my throat. “The way I remember it, you saved my life,” I said, looking down at the empty plate. Kit had already eaten everything that I’d left. I remembered the touch of death, slithering under my skin, searching for my essence to smother it. To kill me. “What that amulet did, it was unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. I was completely paralyzed, and if you hadn’t told me to take the wizard’s magic, I would have died.” I still had no idea how any of it had happened. “Can you tell me how the hell that happened? Why did it hurt so much to touch that amulet? What is it?”
With a sigh, he left the glass on the island and pressed his hands against the marble. “An absorber. It has the power to take the magic and life force of everything and everyone it comes in contact with. Only the one who activates it has the power to control the absorbed magic. In this case, it was the wizard.”
I nodded. “Who is dead.”
“Unfortunately. They took the amulet, too,” he said through gritted teeth.
“So what happened to me? Did that magic leave my body?” It felt like it had. I didn’t feel any different.
“It didn’t. The amulet is currently empty,” Damian said, searching my face for a reaction. I didn’t give him any.
“And what does that mean?”
He shook his head. “Nothing. We will find that amulet, and we will find a way to reverse its spell, take the magic that is now inside you back into it. Then the Guild can figure out how to secure it.”
“But I don’t feel any different. I feel just fine.”
“That’s because you took the wizard’s power and guided the magic into yourself. It won’t hurt you now that it’s settled. You’re all good,” he said, but he still looked at me like he expected me not to be.
“My wounds are all healed. How come? I heal just as fast as the next guy but not this fast.”
Damian raised his glass of wine to his lips again and sipped it slowly, his eyes never leaving mine. Then, he stepped to the side of the island and came closer to me.
“I called a doctor to do a check up on you. He’s very good at wh
at he does, and I needed to make sure that you were okay.”
“A doctor?” Was he serious? I’d never been to a doctor in my life.
“Exactly. Like I said, you’re all good.” He pressed his glass to his lips and watched me.
I tried to process what he said. I was fine, which was no big surprise because I felt okay. But a doctor? Fucking hell—and why was he still staring at me?
“Can you stop looking at me like that?” It needed to be said because I needed to be able to think for a second.
“Like what?” His eyes sparkled with amusement. He was messing with me.
I wanted to smack him in the head. “Like that. Like you’re about to eat me.” Like I was the prey to the lion hiding behind his pretty face. “I told you before—if you bite me again I’m going to cut your head off.” I just hoped he realized that I meant it.
Damian smiled. My toes curled inside my sneakers and I raised my brow. He didn’t look away. Fine. If that’s the way he wanted to do this, I could keep him busy.
“Who else lives here?”
He was surprised. “No one—just us.”
“Really? There were like four bottles of women’s shampoo in the bathroom.” I only had one, and it was plenty.
Damian grinned. “That would be Moira.”
“She doesn’t like me very much, does she,” I said, but it wasn’t a question. The elf seemed to hate my guts from the moment she laid eyes on me.
“It’s nothing personal. She’s just very impulsive.”
Impulsive? “She’s insane.” The way she looked at me with those huge silver eyes, like imagining killing me at night was her favorite pastime.
“Well, she lives with me.” He shrugged. “And I do have a reputation for driving women crazy.” The way he looked at me said he meant something else entirely from what he said.
I swallowed hard and looked down at my plate. I wanted to ask him if she and he were an item, but it felt rude to do it. Just the way she’d reacted to the woman at the club the night before, when she’d tried to touch Damian.
He took a sip of his wine, his eyes never leaving my face.