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I laughed. “Then you understand.”
“I’d rather not, so I try to remind myself to be in the moment and not let my thoughts control me too much.” He pointed to a line outside a club across the street with a floating sign above the door that read Vanitas. “And that’s why we’re here tonight. It’s a chance for you to stop worrying and simply be in the moment.”
I spotted a familiar Japanese beauty at the door, her hand high above her head as she waved at us.
“Rehema? You know Rehema?” I asked Brian, who nodded.
“Her werewolf nanny is from our pack. So yeah, we know each other a little.”
I glanced his way to see him struggling to hide a blush. I'd only known Brian for a few hours, but so far, I liked him. He was laid back and easy to talk to. His voice was monotone when he spoke, even when he was being friendly, but when he smiled, his whole face lit up, revealing even teeth with slightly pointy canines. And his eyes would glint beautifully.
If he liked Rehema—and I had the feeling he did from the way he watched her as we picked our way through the crowd—she was a lucky girl.
I shouldn’t have been surprised he knew Rehema. She’d said she knew Elinor, but at the ball, they hadn’t bothered with each other.
“I saw her and Elinor walk right by each other at the ball,” I said as we watched Rehema. She was standing on the opposite side of the line to get into the club, beside the bouncer. Her hair was in a sleek high ponytail, and she was wearing black leather pants and a black cropped top that had ‘Afterlife’ printed across on it in bold golden letters. “I thought they didn’t know each other that well.”
“They probably didn’t see each other. Mom adores her. They have similar healing abilities.”
Rehema stepped away to greet us, and Brian jerked his head at the bouncer by the door, a centaur, a half-horse, half-human supernatural.
“Hey,” Rehema greeted Brian, “What took you guys so long?”
“Sorry,” Brian apologized as the centaur held the door open for us. Straight away, we were engulfed by music. "Mom forced us to stay for dinner."
“Not forced,” I argued. “And it’s my fault. I might have had two plates. The meal was incredible, cooked and served by robots and using god magic. Elinor waved a hand and the dishes vanished and our glasses refilled!” I was still in awe. “I’m getting one of those robots. She said I could order them through my bracelet.”
She looped her arm through mine, looking a bit too excited. “The robots are great and eating two plates is understandable. My nanny is from the Bloodmoon Clan, and when I was a child, I devoured everything she put in front of me. My dad never got one of those robots though; he still believes in doing certain things ourselves. But I know you're full and ready to get wasted, right, Natalie darling? Say yes, because I am.”
“I’m not looking to get wasted.”
“We’ll see about that.” She grinned as Brian stepped aside for us to enter the club first. We walked down a dimly lit hall towards open double doors, and already, I could see the sea of people inside. My excitement grew, and the music got louder and louder the closer we got.
Rehema bumped my hip with hers. "So, question. Is Elinor your great-aunt or cousin or what?”
I paused. There were so many centuries between us and so much about our family that was lost, that I wasn't sure just how we were related.
“I’m not sure," I told her. “That’s something I’ll have to look into. Do you know, Brian?”
“I just said cousin because it's less of a hassle," he answered. Rehema smiled and shook her head. Obviously, she’d expected this from Brian. “I only visited Earth once, centuries ago. So I really don’t know much about the Blackwoods, other than what Mom’s told me.”
I’d never seen a Blackwood family tree—hell, I didn’t even know if one existed—but I was going to make it a priority to find one, and if I couldn’t, I’d create one myself.
We came to the end of the long hall and stepped through the doors. The smell of alcohol and sweat perfumed the air, but the energy inside the club was infectious. Creatures of every species were dancing with each other, their loud chatter and laughter rising high above the music.
Rehema grabbed my arms, and I laughed as she pulled me into the crowd. She started to dance, holding my hips firmly to force me to do the same. And I was glad.
I’d agreed to come here because I needed to relax and not think about my mate situation, what I was going to tell Ruby, or what I was going to do about the vision I’d had.
But being here, seeing how great this place was, I couldn’t help wondering if my vision was warning me that this could all come to an end, just as it had on Earth. The vampire war had left its scars on the world.
"Natalie!” Rehema yelled. “Get out of your head. You might be dead, but you can still live a little!" Around us, several supernaturals screamed in agreement, jumping as the music’s tempo picked up.
Brian appeared, holding out two shot glasses filled with a glowing green liquid, and Rehema quickly took hers and downed it. She scrunched up her nose and shook her head before throwing her hands into the air.
"Come on, Natalie! Live!"
“Only if you want to, cuz. Only if you want to," Brian said to me, and I eyed the drink in his hand. "She's a bit of a drunk, so don't listen to her."
