Page 57 of Vameer

Maybe I’m truly just losing my mind.

Skin pricking, I drop the ice cube into the sink, walk back to the table, pick up the box cutter, and press the corner of the sharp blade to the slightly numbed flesh of my thumb.

As soon as the skin breaks, I drop the cutter onto the table and watch a small bead of blood form at the tiny cut.

With my hands trembling, I lift my thumb to my mouth. Close my lips. Close my eyes. Swallow. And…

I open my eyes.

Still in my apartment.

The person behind the checkout desk lifts their brows as I walk past into the library.

Yeah, I know. It’s chilly outside. And I’m still in my same outfit from earlier, cardigan still around my waist.

I shrug, adjusting my backpack, and look around.

I haven’t been to this local library before, but I need to be somewhere other than my apartment right now. So I stuffed my laptop into my backpack and hustled to the closest bus stop.

The open area with tables for studying is mostly filled with groups of students, so I turn toward the back wall, where I spot a row of empty comfy chairs.

My eyes already feel sore from how much reading I’ve done today, but my plan for the evening is different. I’m moving on to photos. And I remembered my glasses.

I pull my backpack off and settle into the chair at the end of the row.

This all feels… crazy.

All of it.

The birthday mountain adventure. The weird sexual awakening. The heat. The heaviness. The way I can possibly see in the dark.

Talking to a vampire in my mirror. Feeling the heat of his hand through said mirror.

It’s all crazy.

It’s all so nearly impossible to comprehend.

Nearly.

Because my clothes were wet.

My bracelet is missing.

My body is suddenly immune to the cold.

And he feels so incredibly real.

So real that every time I try to convince myself it’s all in my imagination, I feel the urge to cry.

So I’m going to find him.

I’m going to find proof of who he is. And I’m going to find him. And maybe I’m his mate. Or maybe he’ll shove me away. Or maybe I’m turning into some unknown type of Alt who sees the future. Or the past. Or I don’t fucking know. I just need to find him!

Three hours later, I drag my glasses off, drop my head back, and blink at the ceiling.

I’ve looked through every vampire photo I can find. And none of them were him.

There aren’t any official databases. Or at least not any that the public knows about. But seven decades of human fascination means there are several sites that document every vampire sighting. And even more sites that deal in rumors and speculation.