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“It’s so good to see you,” she said, giving me a warm smile.
I sank down onto the stool next to her. “How did you know I wasn’t a vampire?”
“I knew,” she said simply.
The back of my neck prickled like it always did when Asami spoke like that. She seemed to have a deeper understanding of everything. Like she knew things that others didn’t. A sixth sense or something like that.
I cleared my throat. “How’s the city?”
“Tense.” She reached over and grabbed my hand, squeezing it. “PARA is on edge about something. Do you think they know about this city? That vampires are here?”
I nodded. “They raided it a while ago. They know.”
She stared past me thoughtfully. “They’ll come back, then. They can’t have a city of vampires this close.”
I’d already guessed that. Zan and his brothers didn’t seem worried about PARA attacking anytime soon, so I didn’t let it bother me. It wasn’t like I’d be able to do anything about it anyway.
“How’s the library?” I asked quietly. “I miss visiting you.”
“It’s slow,” she murmured. “There’s a new curfew in effect. Everyone has to be in their homes by six every night. It doesn’t give much time for people to come in after work.” She paused, looking at the cages. “Are you happy here, Kali?”
I let out a laugh. “Happy? I’m in a world of vampires. They think I’m one of them. Well, except the three you just met and one other. They know I’m human. I’ve been using the lotion to mask my scent.”
“You don’t look completely miserable.”
“It’s not terrible,” I said carefully, knowing Zan was listening to every word. “But I’m stuck here, Asami. I’m in so deep that there’s no leaving.” I dropped my voice to a whisper. “I met Amaros Kane.”
Her eyes met mine, shock and fear flashing in them. “Why?”
I didn’t respond right away. I couldn’t tell her that Zan and the twins were Kanes. If she knew their secrets, they wouldn’t let her leave.
“PARA is keeping things from civilians,” I stated, changing the subject. “There’s so much I’ve learned since being here.”
“I know that already, Kali.” She let go of my hand. “The government is just as secretive as vampires.”
“Did you really come here just to see me?”
“I wanted to give you something.” She pulled the small satchel off her shoulder and dropped it onto the bar counter. “Remember my room under the library?”
“Of course I do.” I’d spent hours down there, reading articles and newspapers from before the war. Fiction books that the government had banned.
“Here.” She pulled out a stack of yellowing papers, setting it gently on the counter. “I want you to have these.”
I eyed the paperwork, nerves fluttering in my stomach. “What are they?”
“Just read them when you can,” she said, an edge of desperation in her voice. “I think it’ll help you, Kali.”
“Help me with what?”
“What did I tell you years ago?”
“You’ve told me a lot.”
“The uprising, Kali.” She drummed her fingers on the bar as she spoke. “It’s going to happen. Soon.”
I frowned. “How do you know that?”
“I just do. Things are changing, and not for the better.” She sighed and then forced a smile on her lips. “I think you’re here for a reason. That you’re part of the future.”
