Page 78

I didn’t linger in the tainted water for too long. Instead, I let it drain, rinsing with fresh water from the faucet, then left the bathroom to put on a fresh nightgown. Even the short sleeves and short gown left me feeling overheated, but I slipped my arms into a robe to hide my scratches, braided my hair, and released Nidhogg from his cage. He draped around my neck like a scarf, his weight grounding me as I stepped out of my room.

I still didn’t sense Irving in the house—I couldn’t hear his heartbeat or scent him. There was no sign of life, no warmth. I wandered into the kitchen for some more blood, and as I was sipping it, I sensed him. I heard a click of the door, then his footsteps across the sitting room. I stepped into the space—into the darkness—as a couple of candles were lit.

Irving jumped when he spotted me. His brows were drawn, something like confusion crumpling his perfect features. I swirled the blood around in the goblet as Nidhogg twined around my forearm and stared at Irving. The snake’s movements hurt my raw skin, but it was somehow still calming.

“Oh,” said Irving, a hand to his heart. “I didn’t see you there, Aura. What are you doing awake?”

“Sleep evades me tonight,” I responded as Nidhogg’s tongue flicked at Irving.

He stared at the snake uneasily. “Ah, so tonight you get to be a normal vampire.”

His words, though innocent, sank deep. My skin itched, and it took everything in me not to scratch. I rubbed at the throbbing slashes on my arm and hoped they wouldn’t open again.

“Where were you?” he asked.

“Better question, where were you? I’ve been back for some time now. I was starting to think Bellatrix murdered you and went to dispose of your body or something.”

He scoff-laughed though his pulse raced. “I was out for a walk. I am a nightwalker after all. I figured I should get used to being out there with all the other monsters of the night.”

“Irving—”

He waved as if it was just a frivolous thing, but the struggle to come to terms with being one of the undead even years later was clear. Irving had a daylight ring, but he simply chose not to wear it for whatever reason. Perhaps he didn’t think he was worth it.

“I’m sorry, Irving,” I said. “I know what it’s like to learn to be someone—something—different.”

“How?” he snapped. “How do you, one of the highest on the food chain, know what it’s like to be me?”

My chest clenched. “Trust me, I know. I’m not even welcomed in my own household, in case you’ve never noticed.”

His laugh was humorless. “That’s because Bellatrix is a bitch.” He plucked the goblet from my fingers, and I took the time to drape Nidhogg back over my shoulders. When Irving lowered the goblet, blood trickled from his lips, and I stared at the trail it created until he wiped it away with the back of his hand. My eyes were still pinned on the faint stain it left behind when he waved his hand in front of my face.

“Aura?”

I snatched the goblet back from him and stalked off to the kitchen. Mid-pour, I heard Irving behind me.

“Where were you the past few days?” he asked. “I was worried.”

“I had some private matters to attend to,” I said, watching the remainder of the blood in the glass bottle. I took a swing from the bottle against my better judgment, against years of etiquette drummed into me, and every Primal Born’s obsession with image. Irving’s heartbeat was loud in my ears.

“Bellatrix was here briefly, you know. Very briefly. I swear she stepped into this place, and I don’t know what she did, but she was gone immediately.”

I frowned at him and forced myself to slowly sip the blood. “That’s strange.”

He nodded. “There are a lot of strange things happening in this city. I overheard nightwalkers talking about creatures stalking the night. Supposedly not vampires. And at the same time talk of lycan attacks, but often the attackers are not in wolf form, so it seems very odd. Was that what you were investigating? I know you like a good mystery.” He smirked at me.

I made a noncommittal sound and finished the goblet of blood. Immediately I wanted more. My skin itched with greater intensity, and I patted Irving on the shoulder and headed back toward my bedroom. I let Nidhogg slither onto the bed, and he settled in my sheets, curling up against leftover feathers.

The rest of the night I lay there, staring up at the ceiling and coming up with different ways to produce versions of a cure, thinking of sending Sylvan a letter with my findings. But it was too dangerous. I feared the letter would fall into the wrong hands. A half-human lycan wasn’t outlawed as bloodwolves were, but they still presented a threat to a society which thrived on strict separation of kinds.

Still, I wondered if he knew. I should send him a Raven Post to tell him to return when he’s able so I could speak to him in person. The thought of seeing him again made me want to slip into his arms and remain there for eternity. To feel his warmth rather than the overwhelming heat and simultaneous coldness. Sleep finally overtook me with the thought of his arms around me.

41

THE ALPHA CHALLENGE

SYLVAN

“So, you’re telling me there’s a possibility of you leaving the pack again?”