Thea’s face split into a wide grin. She jumped up in excitement and pulled me into a hug.
“Oh, Sam, I’ve been waiting for this moment! You need to get out more, and trust me, you picked just the woman to show you around.”
I wished my answering grin was as genuine. “Great.”
“Oh, I know just the place for us to go,” she assured me, already running her hands over my dress to smooth out the lines. The warmth of her touch was palpable, compared to how my own skin felt now.
It almost made me feel human.
Until I looked past her shoulder and saw the empty carafe I’d drained earlier.
Amalthea led me down the winding halls of Damerel with purpose. We’d split up to dress, since her chambers were a distance away. Yet I braced as we left the top floor, waiting forthe aching pain my distance from Raphael would bring, but none came. Perhaps drinking the wretched blood had lessened it?
Good. I didn’twantto be leashed to the vampire king. Especially not after this morning. Perhaps I could even leave tomorrow, if the bond only lasted a few days and already I could manage such a distance.
But tonight I needed to test a different theory.
We went down to the second level, to the city. Not down the streets where I’d seen the donors before, but also nowhere near the shopping district.
Instead, we went down a particularly dark alley. I looked about nervously while Thea practically flounced over to a door and knocked in a distinct cadence of short and long pauses.
A wooden panel slid over at eye height. A pair of red eyes glared. “Password?”
“Amalthea,” she replied.
The door opened, and I followed Thea inside past a burly vampire.
“The password is your name?” I asked as quietly as I could.
She cut me a glance. “The password is whatever I say it is. I advise Raphael.”
I snorted. There was the Thea I knew.
Of course, she ruined it by adding, “As the king’s Chosen, your name will let you into any room you want to be in.”
I faked a smile, but it came out like a grimace. As we entered, it became obvious Thea had brought me to a… gentleman’s club.
Okay, that wasn’t precisely accurate. Women and men meandered about, and all were vampires, based on the fact the only heartbeat I heard came from Thea. It might have bothered me, the exclusion of humans, but with the way my thirst persisted even after draining a glass of blood earlier today, I was grateful.
Besides, I told Thea I wanted to be around vampires, and now I was. They were spread throughout the room, lounging over couches, confiding in bent conversations by chairs, leaning against the walls. The men were dressed in coats and buttoned shirts opened at the top to expose the neck. The women wore a mix of outfits, but most skirts were a great deal shorter than what was typical in court… and some even more than that.
Rich hues of purple and green decorated the rooms. Despite the decrepit entrance, the space was well maintained. It smelled lightly of earthen smoke and a mix of perfumes. They were faint, of course, as to not offend vampire sensitivities, but they reminded me of the wall of perfumes I’d once enjoyed in my bathing chamber.
“Here we are,” Thea declared as we reached an entryway to some random room. She pushed her hands into the silks that served as a door.
She poked her head in, and a chorus of protests immediately sounded.
“Oh, beast’s blood, Amalthea’s here!”
“Who let her in?”
“Not again!”
“That’s it, I’m cashing out.”
Thea wore their complaints like a crown and ushered me in.
“I’ve brought company,” she said proudly. “Now, make room.”
