Page 63 of Malice

“You didn’t tell me they were serving dinner,” Antonio says as soon as I get over to him. “I’m fucking starving and I can’t eat. I’m a vampire. Can I?”

I laugh and put my hand on his forearm. “I know it’s going to be hard,” I say seriously, “but you will survive. I can sneak some food into the bathroom or something for you.”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I wanna do. Hide in a stall and snarf down some hors d’oeuvres.”

“I mean, that cheese thing they’re passing around does look pretty good. I would totally eat cheese on the toilet.”

“What do you do with these things?” Antonio asks. I grab a glass of champagne off a tray as a waiter walks by.

“Honestly, kind of stand here and look pretty,” I say. “I don’t really like to make small talk and I fucking hate politics.” An older couple walked by right as I said that. Oops. Bringing the champagne flute to my lips, I take a drink. “Xavier and Theo are good at talking to people. They know exactly what to say and how to act so I just kind of follow their lead.” I lean in. “Just remember, they are humans and vampires here so whatever you say can easily be overheard.”

“Got it,” he says.

I look at the groups of people mingling and talking and am happy to spot Delphi. I raise my hand, waving. “That’s my friend, Delphi.”

She sees me, and waves back. Excusing herself from a rather handsy old man who is talking to her, she comes over. “I am so happy to see you, Wren!” She gives me a hug. “You look amazing.”

“You do as well,” I say. She’s wearing an a-line red dress with a sweetheart neckline. “That color was made for you.”

“I wasn’t sure,” she starts. “Red doesn’t always look good on a redhead.” She laughs.

“Well, it suits you. Oh and this is my brother, Antonio. Antonio, this is Delphi.”

“Brother?” She arches her eyebrows and looks between me and Antonio several times.

“Nonbiological,” I say. “The one from the Order I told you about. And to catch you up to speed, a demon killed him and he died but I made a deal that brought him back to life and tonight we’re pretending he’s a vampire.”

“Oh, okay then. I’m Delphi, nice to meet you.”

“It’s okay. She’s a werewolf,” I whisper to Antonio before he shakes her hand.

“Well, that might’ve been the weirdest introduction I’ve ever had,” Delphi laughs. “But it’s nice to meet you. Having fun?”

“You know me. This is totally right up my alley.”

We both laugh and an older woman I recognize from another event comes up to me, wanting to get my opinion on the new flower garden they’re putting in in front of the library. It surprises Antonio—and myself as well—by being able to talk to this lady, schmoozing like the best of them.

Delphi, Antonio, and I hang out for the next hour or so, walking around talking to people who stop us. It’s a bit of a running joke by now that Delphi and I are eating and drinking in front of Antonio.

Deciding to be nice, I tell him to go outside to one of the courtyards where I will meet him in just a few minutes with a plate of food. I get caught talking to somebody else on my way out, but not long after I sneak outside, going behind a stack of lawn chairs to find him sitting on a bench tucked between fake evergreen trees.

“Okay,” he says with his mouth full. “These cheese balls are good enough to eat on a toilet.” We both laugh and I pick one off his plate and put it in my mouth. It’s quiet out here, with the sounds of the event drumming on softly around us. Sirens echo in the distance and I laugh.

“Something amusing about sirens?” Antonio asks, looking at me as if I’ve lost my damn mind. To be fair, there is a good chance I have.

“Not particularly,” I tell him. “It’s just something Xavier said. Sirens are my ice cream truck.”

“Come again?”

“You know how kids go running when they hear an ice cream truck? The same thing when I hear sirens. It could be a hunter thing because we all do.”

“Yes, agree. We do like to run towards danger.”

“Not tonight, though. I need to be on my best behavior besides, I have enough going on.”

“I had no idea what your life was like after you left,” he begins and sweeps his hand out at the hotel. “This is not what I would’ve imagined.”

“Trust me,” I agree. “Me neither.”