Her eyes widen, and her nostrils flare again. “Goddess. Fuck. Fuck! Are youtheEloise Harcourt who killed Valeska?” She glances over her shoulder as if to check who else might be listening.
“The one and only.” Her reaction is not what I expected, but I’ll take it. I guess my reputation precedes me.
“Wow.” Her eyes spark with acknowledgment. “I heard you were turned, but…” Her nostrils flare again. “What are you?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” I point my thumb at the door. “So, can you help me get inside?”
Her smile widens, showing her fangs. “Hey, would you autograph my dagger?” She draws a six-inch blade from the interior of her leather jacket.
“Sure. Ah, do you have a Sharpie?” I’d sign her ass if it meant getting to the other side of that door.
“Wait here.” She zooms up the stairs at super speed, and I hear her have a quick conversation with the bartender. She returns with a black Sharpie, and I scroll Eloise Harcourt across her blade in big, looping letters.
“Can you let me in now?” I ask her, pointing at the door. I frown when I see a group of vampires gathered at the top of the stairs watching us. A man in front meets my eyes, smiles and waves nervously.
“It’s very nice to meet you. All of you,” I say kindly. “But I really need to talk to Cassius.”
Behind me, there’s a metal-on-metal scrape as the door finally opens, and the dark ebony skin and glowing amber eyes of my trusted friend come into view. “Eloise, what in the name of the old gods are you doing here?” he asks through a gleaming white smile.
“Making friends?” I spread my hands toward the gathering onlookers.
“My apologies, but master Sabrina is waiting,” he says to them, pulling me inside and locking the door behind us. “Honestly, Eloise Harcourt, I’d have thought you’d know better than to call unnecessary attention—” He draws in a deep breath. “Fuck me, you’re a shade!”
I flash him a slow grin. “Yep. I’m also married to your best friend, so it’s Eloise Hymir now.”
He draws me into a firm hug. “Congratulations. But why have you come alone? Where’s Damien?”
Another vampire edges around us to get to the door. “Can we go somewhere more private? There’s something I have to tell you.”
“Yes. Actually, your blood triggered a security alert, soTobias and Sabrina know you’re here. They’re waiting for us in their quarters.”
“Great,” I say, some of my anxiety bleeding through to the word. Meeting with the master of Lamia coven and her dragon mate would make anyone’s stomach flip. And although I expected my visit would eventually lead to this, I thought I’d have some time to get used to the idea, maybe run things by Cassius first. I take a deep, fortifying breath as he leads me through the underground vampire den they call the Star to their subterranean apartment.
“If I’d known you were coming, I would have met you,” Cassius murmurs.
“I stopped by your house at sunset, but the only thing inside was a mouse. I think he’s nesting in your kitchen cabinets.”
“Gerbil. His name is Mike.”
“You bought a gerbil?”
“It’s nice to have something alive in the house when I come home. When I have time to come home—I stayed here last night because we had some trouble with a band of werewolves on the Indiana border. Nothing too serious, but I wanted to make sure my men made it home safely before sunrise.”
“I would have called, but…”
He snorts. “I understand. It’s not like Tenebris has great cell service.”
“I no longer even have a phone, and I’m sorry to say I didn’t memorize your number.”
“But if you’re a shade, you can reach out using the shadows.” I feel a cool vibration at the base of my neck and jump away from his side, startled. “Sorry. I assumed Damien would have taught you.”
“He’s trying. I don’t have control yet. Not like you do.”
He studies me for a beat and then seems to figure it out. “Damien and I have always been this. We learn these things as children. You’ve had only… How long have you been a shade?”
“Going on three months.”
“Give it time. It’ll come.”
