“I prioritize you,” Luca says firmly. “Fromthere...” He blows out a heavy breath that rustles a strand of hair against my cheek. “Alistair, I think. This is Ciprian’s chance to come through for us. Malach needs a moment to breathe, but Alistair... My gut tells me he’s in over his head.”
I nod and check the time. We need to be at the club in two hours, which doesn’t give us enough time to ambush a surly vampire. “If he doesn’t come to the Fang tonight, we’ll go to him,” I say.
I collect Malach’s fallen sword, wrapping it with mine in a piece of sturdy fabric. While there are a handful of acceptable reasons a modern human might carry a sword around, none of them match my aesthetic.
“I’ll take those if you want,” Luca says.
Smiling, I hand them over. It’s not impossible to carry them on my bike, but it isn’t easy. His car is a much better choice. Luca holds the door of the gym open, kissing me again before heading for his car. “See you at home, baby.”
My heart flips. Luca sees my apartment as home. Our home. It should terrify me. It doesn’t.
Alistair doesn’t show at the club.
So, a little after three o’clock in the morning, we go to him.
The light above the door is off, and if Alistair has something on inside the apartment, it’s not visible through his industrial-grade window shades. I’ve never minded the dark—Vegas rarely sleeps—but I’m oddly nervous as Luca does his signature two-thump knock.
We wait but hear nothing. No movement, no rumble from the TV. “Maybe he’s not home,” I say, but my stomach is churning and my back itches ferociously.Something is wrong.
Luca presses his nose to the seam of the door and inhales deeply. “I smell blood.”
“He’s a vampire, Luca.” I try to keep the worry out of my tone and fail miserably.
“And vomit.” Luca sniffs again. “Definitely vomit.”
That makes me frown. Alistair isn’t a particularly heavy drinker, so why is he throwing up? “Should I break the door down?” I ask, lifting my foot.
Before I can bash it to splinters, it swings open with an ominous whine. I drop my foot, doing my best to hide the fact that I was about to kick the damn thing off its hinges to get to my... whatever the fuck he is to me.
Hunched in on himself, his face is hidden by lank strands of hair and the penetrating darkness. A shadow of himself, Alistair barely looks alive. It chills me to the bone.
“What the fuck, Ali?” I demand, surging forward to catch him as he collapses.
My momentum carries us both over the threshold, and Luca follows, shutting the door behind us. Alistair clings to me, and I half drag him to the living room couch.
It’s not overpowering, but now that I’m inside, I pick up the stale, sour scent Luca mentioned. It smells like sickness, but I didn’t know vampires got sick.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, my nerves humming as I imagine a million different worst-case scenarios. Did my father have him poisoned? Did one of his clients give him a rare disease?
“Careful, Celine,” Luca says warily.
I frown. Can’t he see Alistair is about as strong as a kitten? I try to look at him, but I’m unable to pull back. Alistair is latched on, his nose pressed to the curve of my neck. Nuzzling, no... He’s searching for my vein.
Not as weak as he appears, I guess, but not as strong as meeither. Forcefully, I detach him from my neck and shove him against the arm of the couch.
Eyes shining like rubies, Alistair snarls and lunges for me.
He’s painfully slow. Carefully, I brace my hand against his throat and hold him at arm’s length, narrowing my eyes as I study him. Alistair snaps his teeth at me, his fangs hanging half an inch past his lower lip.
I lick my lips and glance at Luca. “This isn’t normal.”
“Get ahold of yourself, Ali!” Luca approaches carefully. He doesn’t try to take over, and I don’t need him to, but I am relieved to have backup if I need it. I would never hurt Alistair. This creature, though... I don’t think it’s him. It’s thirst wearing Alistair’s face.
I gasp as my eyes adjust fully to the dark. “His skin!”
Wispy gray veins decorate his pale skin like cracks. His eyes are sunken in, and the half-moons carved beneath them are vividly purple. I shiver even though I’m actively trying not to freak out.
“Ali, can you hear us?” Luca asks.
