Full night had fallen before we’d left the hotel. I’d had a long sleep, a large meal—charged to the room—and enough time to slip out of the blackout shades in order to sit on the small balcony and watch the setting sun. The weather was sublime, cool and moist without being humid, and the gentle lap of the water on thesupport beams under my section of the hotel had helped me relax.
Not long after sundown, Darius had engaged the mechanical mechanism to open the shades before stepping out to join me. Without a word, he’d sat down in the chair opposite me and looked out over the blackened waters, allowing me to enjoy the moment unmolested. Or maybe just enjoying it with me.
“Do you wish you could see the world in the sunlight again?” I’d asked quietly, letting my voice melt into the moment.
“That desire has reawakened for me recently. A new vampire misses the sun keenly. That sentiment goes away, however. In time. I do not have an explanation for the return of that desire, just as I do not have an explanation for how my primal side is reacting to your presence. I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
“How is your primal side reacting? Or is it just the constant desire for my blood?”
He gave me a sideways glance. Silence took up real estate between us, and I started to think he wouldn’t answer. I was probably better off not knowing. But a moment later, he did.
“For some reason I can’t identify, I feel an overwhelming need to protect you. The primal side of me views you as mine, solely. I cannot pinpoint when this need took hold, just that it continues to grow stronger. Icrave you constantly. I dream of you when I haven’t dreamed in over five hundred years. I take blood from others, but nothing quenches my insufferable thirst. We are not tied through blood, and even if we were, the bond shouldn’t be this consuming. Yet I am powerless to absolve my desire for you. In addition—”
“Oh good, there’s more. I was worried the crazy was about to end.”
“—you are incredibly valuable to me. Your abilities and lineage ensure it. There has never been anything as precious to me as you, be it as my beloved or as a bartering chip. My primal side wishes to claim you, but worse, my logical side realizes I must do that as a man claims a woman, as a husband claims a wife, in order to sustain your happiness. It is absolutely unheard of, not to mention absurd, for an elder to feel this way, yet…”
“I can see that this is sitting with you about as well as it is sitting with me.”
He looked away. “Something is causing this, but I have no idea what. I would like to undo it, but I need to find the root. A vampire in my position needs to think strategically. Without emotion. You are making that impossible.”
“Well. As is often the case with you, I’m sorry I asked.” I stared out over the blackened waters.
“I wonder if it has something to do with what you are. I want to ask Vlad, since he has been around longerthan most of us, but I fear it will give away your true identity.”
I nodded and let the silence fall between us, until a new thought occurred to me. “He’s been around longer thanmostof you? You mean, there are vampires older than Vlad?”
“Yes. A few. They don’t engage much in political maneuverings, choosing instead to stay quiet, mostly in the Brink, letting time pass. They’ve let their minds go to sleep, it seems. They are content to live within the flow of humans.”
“And you can’t ask them?”
“I could. And they might know—one of them, at least—but they are unpredictable. It is not rare for a vampire to take a hundred years off, but then come back with drive and ambition. I don’t want to create that problem. Vlad is bad enough.”
“Being a vampire sounds exhausting.”
“You are young and within your first lifetime. That sentiment is to be expected.”
I didn’t have anything to say to that, so I stalled for a moment longer, letting the cool breeze ruffle my hair, before summoning up the gumption to go to work.
The policewoman’s eyes flicked up when I stopped in front of her. Her hard gaze took my full measure—what she could see from beyond the desk, anyway—pausing on my leather tank top. To her credit, she tookmy weird in stride without furrowing her brow or shaking her head. When she got to Darius, she only let slip a tiny moment ofholy crap that guy is hotin the widening of her eyes and small smile before closing it down, resuming her hard, straight face. I was pret-ty impressed, I had to say.
“Hi, I’m Reagan Som—”
“Ms. Somerset. Hello.” A man with glossy black hair, slicked back on his head, hastened toward us from the side. When he reached me, he stuck out his hand. “I’m Detective Allen. You can call me Oscar.”
“Hi. I’m Reagan.” His shake was firm but didn’t last long. He glanced at Darius. “This is my…associate, Darius. He’ll be helping me.”
“Not likely,” Darius said, shaking Oscar’s hand before stepping back.
“He’s a real charmer.” I shrugged and threw up my hands comically. Apparently, despite what he’d said on the airplane, Darius would only be playing the completely unnecessary role of bodyguard. Whatever.
“Right, sure. Okay.” Oscar gestured back the way he’d come. “Please, come with me. I was coming out here to see if you were waiting for me. Good timing.”
The woman glanced after us for a moment, but went back to her work without comment.
“Just in here.” Oscar led us to a small office at the back of an open space littered with messy desks. In hismid-forties, he carried a little extra weight, the kind you’d expect from someone with a slower metabolism and a settled life. This guy wasn’t physically chasing magical people, that was certain.
“An office?” I asked, seeing him gesture toward a seat and choosing to stand instead. I hoped we’d be leaving soon.
