Emily grabs the bottle of conditioner, squirts it into her palms, slaps them together, and finger-combs it through her hair. “My grandma saw one when she was forty—about eighteen years ago.”
“After Mother left us,” I say, sliding the soap over my shoulder and across my moonflower tattoo.
“Yeah. So, she left the hills of Sahie—curious about what’s outside of the town. Little woman, big world kind of vibe, you know?” Emily dips her hair back under the warm water. “On the outskirts of town, she saw her first nightwalker. My grandma said she was beautiful. Moonlight in human form.”
“Did she have red eyes?” Manni asks.
Emily bobs her head. “Glowing red eyes and pointy ears.”
“What happened?” I say.
“My grandma said the nightwalker left like it wasn’t interested in her or something.”
“No midnight snack?” Manni giggles.
“No,” Emily laughs. “She saw my grandma and didn’t care, though I’m not sure if there’s something in Serun’s Law that stopped her. Something we don’t know about.”
I grab a razor and start shaving, my eyes narrowing as I ask, “Do they have powers?”
Emily’s voice drops lower when she says, “My grandma didn’t say, but she told me she couldn’t help thinking about that nightwalker ever since. Like an addiction. Some nights, I watched her leave the house and head to where she saw her.” She turns off her shower and grabs her towel. “I suspect nightwalkers have an invisible pull, so when you meet one, you want to see them again.”
Manni leans towards me. “Is there a reason you’re asking?”
Many, but I can’t exactly tell her I’m curious to knowif I look like a true nightwalker. “I thought I saw something last night in our room.”
Manni drops the soap, her eyes widening and her olive skin turning ghostly. “What do you mean yousawsomething in our room? Whatsomething?”
“Hellsgate,” Emily cackles.
Manni picks up the soap and throws it at her. “Not funny!” Dark eyes snap back to me. “What did you see? A nightwalker? You saw a fucking nightwalker, didn’t you?” Manni exhales deeply, the breath catching in her throat. If only she knew she was looking at one right now. Well, half a nightwalker. “I knew going into the airshaft was a bad idea. Nightwalkers used to use them, and they probably still do!”
Her fear is getting the best of her. Panic grips her just as it did me last night, but Manni is crumbling quicker than a shortbread cookie squeezed too tight.
From the doorway, the Bleeder looks over at us through the steam, a hand on their gun. Any more of this, and Manni may find herself taken to the private room.
I lean in and rest my hand on her shoulder. “I saw a shadow. That’s all. It was dark and hard to see—and Emily kicked me in the head.”
“I said sorry!” Emily hisses.
Manni takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, mustering the courage to make herself believe my words. “Just a shadow. Em’s Hellsgate story got to you, yeah?”
The Bleeder leans back against the wall and slackens their hold on the gun. With a relieved sigh, I step away, putting the razor back and turning off my shower.
“Yes. Besides, I’ve been crawling around the airshaftsfor years. If something were in there, I would have seen it by now,” I say as I step out of the shower cubicle and reach for my clothes.
After witnessing Manni’s panic and Emily’s dismissiveness, it’s safe to say that I will be keeping my mouth shut. If the nightwalker wanted us dead, it could have done so last night.
By the time I shimmy my gown on, the timer reaches zero. The shower cubicles click, locking us out, and we exit the bathroom and make our way to the bloodbank.
Jax is waiting by the doors when we arrive. He touches my back, leans in and murmurs, “You’re coming to my room tonight, yes? I nearly fucking grabbed Emily, thinking she was you.”
“Yes.”
He kisses my temple. “Good.”
I can sense his annoyance. I suppose my lying to him the other night is still bothering him. Our conversation tonight will be about that, not about fun, I know it.
But I also need to talk to him about Cole. So, if he wants to interrogate me, it is only fair that I interrogate him.
