“You’re the one in his bed every night. You should know.”
“Right,” Zack muttered. Which one would Roger pick? While Zack recognized the names of all the people throwing the parties, he honestly couldn’t tell if Roger liked any of them. He hadn’t interrogated Roger about his emotional connections.Because then we might have to talk about us, and I don’t want to.
His phone vibrated. For a split second, he had an irrational hope that his family had contacted him, but they’d never responded to any of his texts or calls from his new number. Instead, when he checked his phone, he saw that he had a new message from his friend Blake. She’d sent a pic of her handholding a cup of coffee while saying, “Can’t wait to show you my new fave place! Get here already!”
“Was that Roger?” Reed asked.
“Blake.” Zack slid his phone into his pocket. “Roger was going to see Kit and then stop by the donor house.”
“I hate that you’re leaving tomorrow night,” Reed said with a sigh. “It’s been nice having another mortal to talk to like this.”
“You’re literally surrounded by mortals,” Zack replied.
“Not everyone sees things the way you do.”
“Like a hunter?”
“With a natural intelligence. You’re clever, Zack, and you’re not afraid to be clever. You’ll find a majority of pets like the coasting they can do. And why not? They’re fed, clothed, have plenty of downtime. I don’t blame them for wanting to vibe their way through life. Most of them are picked because they’re pretty people who won’t overthink their situation.” Reed ran his hand through his hair. “Even Nell chooses people like that. Probably what leads your people to believe that we’re all bite junkies, though that’s not a thing.”
“And if you become a vampire, what kind of person would you pick to be your pet?” Zack asked.
Reed’s eyes widened, and then he relaxed, though his smile became rueful. “See,thatis exactly what I meant. I hadn’t connected those pieces, but you did.”
“You were talking about it. It was an easy leap to make.”
“Zack, I know the vampires have been harping on all the protocol, but I hope that you don’t forget how amazing you are. Nell wouldn’t have welcomed you into the house for a visit like this if you weren’t special.”
“I’ll try to remember that when I’m freezing my ass off because no one will let me wear more than a vest and shorts,” Zack replied. “I’m going to snag some alone time before Roger comes back.”
“Don’t forget, tomorrow night, goodbye dinner with the rest of the pets here,” Reed said.
“Already got a reminder set.” Zack picked up his notebook, waved goodbye, and headed for the bedroom he shared with Roger.
The trek felt fairly long. He had to go up two flights of stairs and walk more than halfway across the massive mansion to reach the door. His parents’ house was a fifth the size of Nell’s home. And it was weird that he was getting used oil paintings on the walls and uniformed servants completing tasks he would’ve had to do—like changing the sheets or doing the laundry.Maybe I shouldn’t be letting them do that.
Zack cracked open the bedroom door and was greeted with a blast of cold air. The heat was on in the mansion, not the air-conditioning, and Roger’s aura didn’t chill a room that far. And the lights were out.
Zack popped the bedroom door open as hard and wide as he could. The source of cold shifted, moving fast. On instinct, he ducked, and he felt a woosh as a fist sailed over his head. His dagger was in the bedside table because he’d foolishly believed Taliville was safe and he didn’t have to arm himself. He could sense the presence of the blade’s magic since it was tied to his soul, but he couldn’t drag it to him. He’d have to make it to the drawer.
First, he’d have to survive. After feeling the fist sail over him, he pivoted and swiped the light switch up. Soft illumination filled the room, and he used his momentum to kick toward the cold source. He didn’t connect, but the presence had to move away from him in order to dodge. He bolted for the bedside table.
A blur of motion stepped into his path. He threw himself to the left and knocked into the desk. He needed a weaponnow, so he grabbed the letter opener Roger insisted he needed. It wasn’this dagger and wasn’t silver, but it was at least something pointy to wield. He attacked and caught the edge of his assailant as the individual blurred out of the way. Vampires always zipped to a space behind their target, so Zack pushed off the desk and spun.
But this vampire wasfast. Before he finished moving, the cold presence was closing in, adapting to his tactic. When a hand grabbed for his throat, he reacted on muscle memory. He grasped the vampire’s wrist with his free hand and applied pressure to the hand so it had to let go. Despite all their magic, physics and biology could still bring a vampire low. Zack moved to stab the vampire, but she grabbed his hand and yanked him to throw him off-balance.
And she had finally slowed down enough that he caught a glimpse of her face.
Nell.
She was testing him.
Again.
He tumbled to the floor, gaining control as he went, and rolled to end up back on his feet.
Nell was already on top of him, and though he struggled, she eventually pinned him to the floor. He was panting, facedown, and she was twisting his arm behind his back. If he didn’t tap out, she was going to break his arm. He could feel it nearing that point.
Blinking back a pained tear, he snarled, “Mercy.”
