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Then again, those claws plus a metal tube in the air don’t exactly scream safety to me. They say there are only three ways to kill a vampire—witch’s blade, fire, and removing the head—but surely falling from the sky would do it too.
A vampire hostess with perfect teeth comes down the aisle in a black, skimpy uniform that was no doubt Kaleid’s idea, and serves us all a glass of champagne. I notice that neither Solon nor Kaleid put on their seat belt.
“Well,” Kaleid says, sitting across from me. He raises his glass. “Here’s to a smooth ride there. Lord knows it will be a rough one after that.”
I’ve never been able to fall asleep on a plane before, and I certainly didn’t think I would, surrounded by both Solon and Kaleid, but somehow I did, waking up only when the wheels hit the tarmac.
“Welcome to Finland,” Solon whispers to me.
I raise my head, blinking.
Solon is sitting right beside me, gazing down at me with a hint of a smile.
I slowly sit up, find myself smiling right back at him.
“And good morning,” he adds, watching in amusement as I try to tame my bedhead. Ugh, and I was drooling too. “You were out like a light. Good thing too, because the jet lag is no joke. Even vampires have to suffer. If anything, we’re more sensitive to it than anyone.”
“Were you watching me sleep?” I ask wryly.
The corners of his eyes crinkle, a softness coming over his expression. “I was.” He pauses. “I’d missed it.”
I swallow hard as our gaze interlocks. Everything inside me feels so tender and bruised and I know that if I kiss him, press my lips to his, that it would heal me. That my heart would fill up again, that the permanent ache between my ribs would stop. He’s so close that the smell of roses and tobacco is seeping into my brain, making me feel intoxicated with him, almost dizzy.
Kiss me, I whisper inside my head. Please.
His eyes flare and he’s wrestling with the idea, perhaps even losing to it.
“Sorry to disturb your little moment,” Kaleid’s voice comes through, breaking the spell. Solon immediately pulls back, and I hadn’t really noticed how close our faces were until now.
I glare at Kaleid, who is sitting there looking not very sorry at all.
“I’m sure there will be plenty of time for your, uh, reconciliation once we get to the hotel,” he says. “I’ve decided to keep it respectable. I’ve put you both in adjoining rooms.”
“We aren’t staying with you?” Solon asks, frowning.
Kaleid laughs. “I didn’t think you’d want to. I know your feelings about the red world.”
“What’s the red world?” I ask.
Kaleid looks at me in surprise. “Solon didn’t tell you? My, my, so many secrets between you two. Well, I suppose the best way to describe it is like the Black Sunshine. Except it’s red. Hence the name.”
I try to picture this in my head. I think I prefer the gray world better. “And that’s where you live?”
He grins at me. “That’s where all the vampires live in Helsinki. It’s safer that way.”
“They only leave to feed,” Solon says grimly.
“That’s not always true,” Kaleid says. “Sometimes we bring the victims back to the red world and have at them there.” He clears his throat, wincing. “Sorry. Victims. I have to stop thinking in that term. They aren’t victims anymore. See, I’ve tried to borrow a page from my brother and find donors. Volunteers. I have to say, it’s a lot more fun keeping them around. They get off on it.”
“And I suppose every vampire has followed your lead?” Solon asks dryly.
Kaleid shrugs. “I’m not in charge of them. Or anyone. They are free to do whatever they like. If they want to keep killing people and bringing them into the red world, that’s their doing. But some are coming around to the idea of consent and all that. It at least keeps the police off our backs.”
Soon the plane comes to a stop and we get out. It’s surprisingly hot and sunny and by the time we get to the black Land Rover, complete with Kaleid’s personal driver, I’m almost sweating. I know it’s early June, but for some reason I didn’t think it got hot here. I was wrong.
The drive into the city from the airport is fairly boring. Lots of bland, box-like apartment buildings and shopping centers, with rows of tall pines in between. But inside I’m absolutely bursting with excitement. Okay, maybe that’s not the right word—more like anxiety. My head is a bit swimmy, probably because my body thinks it’s god knows what time back at home, or because I’m sitting next to Solon, shoulder pressed against his, and my gut keeps twisting on itself.
I have no idea what to expect here. In a way, I wish I had stayed awake on the plane so that I would have had time to think. Suddenly, we’re here and I know we’re at the mercy of Kaleid. Back in San Francisco I never feared Kaleid. Not even on the plane. But here? In his country, his world, his turf, and so close to Skarde? The fears are starting to creep up.
