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I know nothing about throwing a party for vampires, and if I’m being honest, I want nothing to do with it.
“Lawrence is a bit of a playboy in New Orleans. He’s managed to compile a Rolodex full of high-rolling Louisianans who’d fall over themselves to attend one of his parties. You’ll be in good company.”
“Humans?” I ask incredulously.
“Stupid, arrogant, frivolous humans—but yes,” she says, picking at her fingernails.
“Don’t go getting any ideas, Marina. They won’t help you escape.”
I huff a laugh that’s anything but humorous. “I gave up that idea when I heard the Council would come after me. Seems safer here for now. I’ll stay.”
“Good girl,” she praises, patting my head. “Now, go wake your friend. She’s sleeping like the dead.”
I throw a reproachful glare at Katina for her terrible choice of words. In a house of vampires, jokes about death are not funny. She rolls her eyes, which seems to be her signature look as far as our interactions go.
“You have the next three hours free. You’ll need to be in the dining room for lunch with Lawrence,” she says, preparing to exit. “Please put on some clothes,” she finishes before going out of sight.
* * *
Forty minutes later, Stacey and I are dressed and in the library, scouring shelves that line every wall, floor to ceiling, with leather-bound books.
“What exactly are we doing in here?” Stacey asks with a raised brow. “Unless they have an entire wall dedicated to romance, I’m not interested.” She crosses her arms over her chest.
“We’re here to talk. I’m not sure if our rooms are safe,” I admit.
“Safe from?”
“From being overheard. This place might not be any better, but I’m hoping it is. We need to do some digging. Lawrence is here to protect the place and something valuable in Julian’s absence. We need to figure out what it is.”
“Their father’s dead body?” Stacey suggests.
I purse my lips. “Maybe, but I don’t think so.”
“What’s the plan?” she asks, sounding bored.
“Let’s start by searching for house plans, something that shows us every room. That could help us navigate where to start looking.”
“Is this going to get us killed?” Stacey asks with wide eyes.
“No. I won’t get you killed. Anywhere that’s off limits, I’ll search myself.”
“Great.” She throws up her hands. “So, you’ll just get yourself killed.”
“I’m not going to set out to, but I need to know what’s going on here.”
“Can’t you just be content, Marina? You’ve hit the vampire lottery here. Julian seems like a good guy, Katina is hysterical, you’re fed, clothed, not hurt or bitten... what more could you want? All things considered, I think you have it pretty damn good here. If we can’t be home, at least we have each other.”
“For one month, Stacey. Julian only got Marcellus to agree to one month.”
Stacey goes still, her face growing pale.
“Maybe we can find what his father was hiding. With that, we can barter with the Council for our freedom.”
She inhales, then exhales. “Fine. I’ll help.”
We go in separate directions, Stacey searching the far-right stacks of shelves, while I go left. After an hour of finding nothing but book after book of poetry, I descend the ladder and slide down to a sitting position. My head falls back into the shelf. “Ouch,” I groan.
“Find anything?” I ask Stacey.
