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It’s all too much for me to even think about.
I leave the bathroom, slip through his bedroom, and then go out into the hall.
Quick as a wink and I’m back in my room, closing the door.
I sit on the edge of the bed and try to think about what to do next. Do I go back to the hotel? That seems like the best course of action. I need to get away from here. It felt safe earlier, but now I’ve ruined it.
I get up and I’m about open the door when suddenly there’s a knock at it.
My heart jumps around, thinking it might be Solon, even if it doesn’t feel like it is. I sniff, catching a whiff of ginger, and when I open the door I see Amethyst on the other side.
“I have your purse,” she says brightly, lifting it up. “Mind if I come in?”
“Uh, sure,” I say, opening the door wider.
She walks in, her hair leaving a scent trail of vanilla and coconut.
She places it on the dresser, then turns around to face me.
“Were you going somewhere?”
I close the door. “I was going back to my hotel.”
“Oh,” she says, looking around the room.
“Aren’t you afraid to be with me?” I ask her bluntly. I must look a fright too, with my hair all messy and wet, my makeup smudged, and there’s probably some blood on me somewhere.
She gives me a small smile and sits on the edge of the bed. “No. I know you just fed.”
I swallow uneasily, hating how that word sounds now. Especially when a normal human says it.
“You must think I’m such a monster,” I tell her, suddenly hit with shame. I feel my knees buckle and then I’m sinking to the floor.
She’s at my side in a second, crouching beside me.
“Hey, you’re okay,” she says. “It’s Solon’s blood. I’ve seen this happen before.”
She pushes my hair off my forehead, forcing me to look at her. “And you’re not a monster. You’re just a vampire. For you it must be even tougher, you have to balance the witch in you too.”
She pulls me up to my feet and then leads me over to the armchair in the corner. “Here, sit,” she says. “Want me to get you some tea?”
“I don’t want to be a bother,” I tell her, attempting to get back up.
She pushes me back down. “It’s not a bother. Lemon balm okay? It calms the nerves.” I nod and she takes out her phone and sends a text, probably to her mother. “It will be right up.”
“What do you mean you’ve seen this before with Solon’s blood?” I ask her.
“Oh. Well not with his blood specifically, just vampires in general. We’ve had a lot of them in this house, and I’ve had to walk into the Dark Room plenty of times. It’s ugly stuff but…” she thinks it over, her pretty lavender eyes looking at the ceiling. She shrugs. “It is what it is.”
I have to say, I feel a bit of relief to know that it wasn’t Solon’s blood. He had said earlier that it’s something he doesn’t let happen by accident. Made me feel special in a stupid way, like I was worthy of him.
“What’s the Dark Room?” I ask.
“It’s the, uh, private events room in the lounge. You can’t miss it.”
“The one with the metal floors and the chains?”
“That’s the one.”
“And what’s that for?”
“Sometimes it’s for vampires that turn. Families will bring them here, knowing they’re safe and taken care of. You went through it, you know you have to be restrained. You also have to feed.”
I shake my head, wondering how she can deal with all of this.
“You said sometimes,” I comment. “What else is it used for?”
“The volunteers,” she says, frowning. “They didn’t tell you about them?”
“No,” I say, wondering what else there is I don’t know. A ton, probably.
“The volunteers are humans,” she says. “It’s how I started. Well, I brought a friend here about six years ago. She was obsessed with vampires, she heard stories about this place. Rumors. She made friends with Ezra, and the next thing I knew I was accompanying her to the house.” She pauses. “I had to wait outside. But my friend went in.”
A chill runs through me. Other humans know about this place and willingly come here? Then again, given the history of this place, I shouldn’t be surprised. I’m certain now that’s what Anton LeVey and Manson were probably doing here too.
“What do they do in there?”
“They give their blood. The vampires are the ones that go in the chains, though. It gives the humans control, keeps the vamps from going mental with bloodlust. A lot of people have fetishes when it comes to blood play or getting bitten. They get to indulge those fetishes and the vampires get to feed.” She tilts her head as she looks at me. “If you didn’t have Solon, that’s where you’d go. Better than killing people on the street, am I right?”
