With my decision made, I grabbed a rag and started cleaning the desk aggressively. A plan began to form.
Work until it was late, drink as much blood as possible, then go out and find someone to get on top of. Easy.
Gripping the edges of my desk, my shoulders slumped and head hanging low, something ugly twisted in my chest, but I shrugged it away.
I had to make this work. For Rack, for Olivia, for myself.
17
OLIVIA
When Rack took me to the middle of the railing on the second floor and told me to wait, I thought he was crazy.
“There’s no third floor,” I’d told him.
He’d just smirked.
Then he pressed his palm against the metal railing and magic shimmered outward like heatwaves rolling across pavement. A staircase slowly appeared out of thin air, and I’d actually gasped.
Rack looked entirely too pleased with himself after that.
The entire third floor turned out to be one giant open room curved in a half circle, surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city.
I walked straight to the glass, stunned into silence by the view.
I knew firsthand that those streets were covered in dirt and grime, but from up here, it was a beautiful urban landscape and I was untouchable.
Standing there above the city, I finally understood something terrifying. Power changed perspective.
From the streets, the city swallowed you whole, but from up here? It looked like something you could own.
No wonder Calix walked around like he ruled the world.
With my hand on the glass, Rack slid up beside me and told me about the rune magic. No one could see in, and the sun’s rays would stay out.
While vampires could go out during the day, it wasn't very comfortable. Since the sun did micro damage to your skin as soon as its rays touched you, it made the natural healing process work overtime, which meant more blood intake was needed. For those of us who weren't rich, blood was something that got expensive the more you needed it.
Eventually, I’d turned around and asked Rack if he was seriously okay with me staying here. The whole place felt personal somehow, like memories still lived in these barren white walls.
Rack had smiled strangely at that.
“Calix used to hide up here,” he’d muttered. Then his mouth twitched slightly before he added. “At least now the room’s finally being used correctly.”
I wanted to ask what that meant, but he’d already moved on, opening the bathroom door like it was no big deal.
My jaw had nearly hit the floor.
The bathroom was bigger than the entire garage apartment I’d slept in for years. Then came an equally big walk-in closet.
I’d just stared at him.
Rack tried to act casual about it, but every few minutes his phone buzzed violently in his pocket. Not once did he look at it while he was showing me around.
Every time I spoke, his full attention was on me, hanging on my every word. Maybe that shouldn’t have affected me as much as it did, but I wasn’t used to that kind of attention. I only knew the kind that came with fear attached to it.
Eventually, he’d sighed and admitted he had work to finish, but before leaving, he paused in the doorway.
“I’ll come back later,” he promised. “We’ll go get whatever you need.”
