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Hm. I knew fuck-all about living vampires, but I’d be willing to bet my tips for a week that her word choice was a clue about how she felt about it. “You don’t want to become a vampire?”
She chewed her bottom lip. “Stupid, right? I know it’s supposed to be this great awakening where I’ll see just how limited the human experience is, but what if this is really the better life? What if I turn, and regret it? I can never have this time again. I’ll never get this back.”
Sunny’s human life had clearly been far different from mine if she was struggling to choose between it and vamp life. Still, I understood uncertainty. “Are you expected to turn at a certain point?”
“I was supposed to last year. But now it feels like the longer I hold out, the more difficult it becomes.”
“Well, believe it or not, I do know what you’re going through. As much as I wanted to go through the change, I was still scared shitless. How about I promise to be there for you when you decide to take the plunge?”
She gave me a small smile and nodded. “Thank you. I think I’d like that.”
After a few moments, we regrouped and focused on the paperwork still spread out in front of us.
I scanned the purchase orders and delivery receipts, counting at least thirty different safe models, some of which I hadn’t even heard of. “Sunny, even if I could go to his tower, I’m not sure I could crack his safe. He’s got paperwork on models I’ve never heard of.”
She nodded. “I was afraid of that. Hopefully, King Julian will be back with good news on the negotiation side of things.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, we can’t exactly call for all-out war on each other. The risk it would pose to our people aside, it would endanger our very existence. The more overt our tactics, the greater risk we run of being discovered by the greater human population. That’s not something we can afford to risk so generations ago, the ruling families drew up rules to keep our in-fighting covert and as nonaggressive as possible. With that comes a formal negotiation period when the leaders of each side agree on the time frame and parameters for each incursion.”
Sounded like Cold War bullshit to me. “Incursion?”
“Each king gets three incursions—sanctioned events when each is allowed on the other’s turf. During an incursion, the goal of the hosting side is to protect their claim to the throne by whatever means necessary while the other side tries to undermine it. All under the guise of a party.”
That sounded incredibly strange, and I didn’t bother keeping the thought from showing on my face.
Sunny shook her head. “I know. You’re a new vamp, and you weren’t taught the importance of the incursions or what they mean to each side. You don’t know the history. And I admit, it must sound pretty juvenile to outside ears. But let me assure you, Eden, there are no stricter rules than those around incursions. And while it may sound silly to you, it’s saved countless lives.”
She lowered her lashes, back stiffening the smallest degree.
Sunny was hiding something.
“I’m hoping King Julian will have arranged ample time before the first incursion for more research.”
“Ah. I see. Well, how long does the negotiation period normally take?”
Sunny whizzed through the tablet. “Last time it took seventy-three hours.”
“Three days! Sunny! I can’t stay stuck here for three days. I have a job. A life! People counting on me.”
Sunny furrowed her brow at me. “Eden, you’re the king’s mate. That makes you one of the two wealthiest people in Laurel Cove. You don’t need to work. And the king won’t have it.”
My brain skipped over the wealthy part, needing to deal with that some other time. “Sunny, I can’t just quit and leave them in the lurch. Besides, I’m not even sure I want to accept this mate thing. I’ve agreed to help with the theft. That’s all.”
“You can’t seriously be considering rejecting the king.”
I shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t know anything about the guy, Sunny. What if he likes to run over puppies for fun?”Or he thinks the poor should just pull themselves up by their bootstraps and work harder?“I’m not just going to accept this bullshit mate thing just because—”
“It’s meant to make your life easier, Eden. Not harder.”
“Maybe so, but I’m not buying it until I know the guy. That’s not unreasonable.”
She nodded curtly, and we both went back to scouring the paperwork.
After some time my head went spinny again. “I need some blood,” I said, pressing the heel of my hand into my eyes.
Sunny checked the tablet before sashaying out. A few minutes later she was back with the Starbucks cup from this morning. The scent wafted over to me and my fangs descended without my say-so.
