Chapter 10 #2
She nodded, standing as Silex stepped up next to her, hand on a stake at his belt. The car stopped with a jerk, and Asher and I stood, exiting into the crowd, the noise and motion swallowing us whole.
“Two o’clock,” Celia whispered to Silex.
“I see him. Just keep moving,” he told her calmly.
I swallowed hard when Celia’s hand slipped into mine and she tugged me toward the exit, her grip grounding.
I peered to the right, where they’d been looking, and saw a man with dark brown skin and glowing red eyes. He was watching a woman as she slipped into the bathroom.
Vampire.
I felt my whole body tense as we passed him, every instinct screaming. His eyes seemed fixed on the woman who’d just gone into the bathroom, hungry and intent.
“Should we help her?” I whispered to Celia as we reached the stairs going up.
“I’m on it,” she told me and I looked over to see that she was typing out something on her phone.
Speaking of phones. Now that we were earthside, mine was buzzing like crazy with missed texts and messages.
Rae: Did you sleep over at some rando’s house? So unlike you, tell me everything.
Rae: Girl call me back!
Rae: Okay now I’m worried. Should I call Linda?
Rae: Now I’m pissed WTH Stella, you’ve been 18 all of one day and you go MIA like this!
Rae: Call me or I’m calling the cops.
That was sent an hour ago.
“I need to call my friend,” I told Celia as I dialed Rae.
She picked up on the first ring.
“You better be half dead in a hospital, Stella. This isn’t cool!” she barked.
“I’m sooo sorry. I’m totally fine,” I blurted out.
She growled. “Stella, this isn’t like you. Where the hell are you?”
“Um, in the Valley. That guy I made friends with is a model scout, and he wants me to go to New York with him.”
Where did that come from?
I was a horrible liar.
“Model scout living in Spokane Valley, Stell? Huge red flag. No way.”
“He lives in New York. He’s staying at an Airbnb. Listen, I’m going to stop by later today and see you. I have something for you, and I’ll explain everything. Will you be around?”
She sighed. “You really had me worried.”
My heart pinched, and I had to swallow a few times to clear the emotion from my throat. Rae was such a loyal friend. “I’m sorry about that. It’s been a crazy forty-eight hours. Just… I need you to trust me, and I’ll see you by dinner?”
“Fine.” I could tell she was hurt and confused by my behavior, which was totally valid.
“I’m sorry. I’ll see you soon.” I hung up.
“Model scout, moving to New York. I like it,” Celia commented.
I could practically feel my cheeks pinken. “I should be banned from lying. It was the first thing that popped in my head.”
We were on street level now, and the road was busy as Asher stood with Silex, holding his bouquet of flowers, the city roaring around us.
Two people dressed in black leather with stakes and swords on their hips approached us.
Hunters?
“Down there?” the one with blond hair asked Celia.
She nodded. “Stalking a young woman in the bathroom.”
They gave her a small head nod and headed down the steps to the platform.
Whoa.
“Are there hunters all over here?” I peered around the city, scanning faces, half expecting to spot glowing eyes or a concealed blade on every passerby.
“We have about sixty thousand licensed hunters all over the world. Most work the night shift, but we still need a presence in the daytime for things like this,” she said, and my mouth practically fell open. Sixty thousand!
“And they all live in Veil Haven?” I asked.
She nodded. “And their families.”
“Can others see their weapons?” I indicated the stake and sword that hung from Celia’s hip.
She shook her head. “Permanent concealment rune on all weapons. Only fellow hunters or vamps can see them.”
That made so much more sense and explained why I had seen Asher’s sword that first night.
“All right, well, I’m gonna get going,” Asher interjected with a wave.
He moved to leave when Celia reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. “Tell your mother I said hi, and I miss her snort laugh.”
A full-blown grin broke onto Asher’s face, and it nearly knocked me over. It completely transformed him, softening the sharp edges I’d grown used to seeing. He looked so handsome when he smiled, which I realized now he rarely did.
“And tell your father he still owes me ten dollars and he’s lousy at poker,” she added, and Asher’s grin grew wider if possible.
“Thanks. I will,” he said, his eyes growing a little misty before he turned on his heel and walked away toward Park Avenue with Silex in tow.
“Does Asher’s mom live in New York?” I asked, confused. I thought all hunters lived in Veil Haven. And I thought I’d heard that he lost his parents young too.
Celia’s face fell. “No, they don’t live here. His parents both died in a raid on Central Park when he was eleven. There is a hunter memorial there that he visits every year on the anniversary of their death.”
I gasped. Today was the anniversary of their death? No wonder he’d been in such a bad mood. And it explained the flowers. I suddenly felt like I should have given him a bit more grace, but also, mourning was no reason to treat people badly.
“That’s awful. Both of them in the same night?”
Celia nodded. “Gracie was a classmate of mine, a really sweet woman. After she and Collin died, leaving Asher an orphan, the Hunters Guild made a new law that two parents can’t be on the same night watch.”
Orphan. One word with so much weight. Ugly yet accurate. Asher was an orphan, and so was I. Parentless. Untethered.
“Come on. You have an appointment with a private banker, and we don’t want to be late.” Celia jerked her head to the left.
I nodded, a numbness settling in my chest. I’d grown up abandoned, never knowing if my parents wanted me or not. Asher had them, loved them, and then lost them both in a single night. Eleven years old. Old enough to remember them. That felt cruel in a way I couldn’t name.
I followed Celia a few blocks until we reached a gleaming high-rise. Glass and steel rose above us. Inside, everything smelled clean and expensive, like leather and freshly washed sheets. Celia checked us in with security, and we took an elevator to the top floor.
Number forty-seven.
“Steven can be trusted. He knows of our world,” Celia told me as the elevator doors dinged. “He’s married to a hunter. She lives in Veil Haven, and he lives here. They make it work. He’s been managing your mom’s inheritance with Judge Jason for years. You can speak candidly with him.”
I nodded, relief loosening the knot in my stomach. I had no idea how I would explain any of this to a normal person.
A thought struck me as we stepped off the elevator. “Do you need money? Are you and Derek…okay financially?”
She smiled, cocking her head to the side. “Oh, you’re so much like your mother. Derek and I are totally fine financially. Thank you for thinking of us, but this is your money.”
I nodded, still dazed. Becoming a millionaire overnight felt surreal, like wearing someone else’s life. It seemed like it should belong to someone who cared about Louis Vuitton bags and Range Rovers. I thought they were flashy and overpriced. I had no idea what to do with this much money.
We stepped up to a woman seated at a sleek desk.
“Stella Sinclair for Steven,” Celia said.
The woman nodded. “He’s ready for you.” She gestured toward a set of closed double doors.
We moved that way, and Celia stopped. “I’ll be out here if you need me,” she said, taking a seat in the waiting room.
Oh. She wasn’t coming with? I almost asked her to stay with me, but I was an adult now. And there was one thing in my mother’s letter I needed to act on privately.
I nodded and opened the double doors, clutching the manila envelope in my hands that I’d brought, and a tall man in his mid-forties stood to greet me.
“Miss Sinclair, so nice to meet you.” He held out a hand.
I shook it.
“Please, call me Stella.”
He nodded. “Lost-born finding out she’s a Sinclair. You’re the talk of Veil Haven.”
I let out a nervous laugh. “No one is more surprised than me.”
He typed a few things on his computer and then turned the screen toward me. It glowed with charts, bars, and numbers that climbed into the tens of millions.
“We currently have your funds spread across a diverse set of assets including?—”
I held up a hand. “Okay, this is going to sound really bad, but I don’t really care. I just need ten grand cash and maybe a debit card?”
He paused, then smiled like he’d been expecting that. “I can do that, Stella. Is there anything else you need today?”
I hesitated. My mother’s letter had been paranoid and a little unhinged, but it had also felt urgent.
“Can you get me in touch with a real estate agent?”
He tilted his head. “In Veil Haven? My understanding is that you’ll live on campus for three years, but you can certainly add to your real estate portfolio now.”
I swallowed. “No. I need to buy something here…not in New York but in the…mortal world?”
He nodded slowly. “Gotcha. You know you can’t live here though, right? That it wouldn’t be safe.”
“Oh, I know. This is for a human friend. I want to bless her with a house,” I hedged.
He smiled. “That’s very kind of you. I have an agent at Sotheby’s who would be perfect.” He handed me a card. “Krista is the best, and she does international too.”
Perfect.
He handed me another card. “Here’s my cell and personal email. Anything you need paid here in the mortal realm, just forward it to me. Most hunters keep a dual phone and car in their posted city.”
“A dual phone?”
“A phone that works in Veil Haven but is also linked to here.” He walked over to his desk and pulled out a black smartphone with cord. “I got one set up for you this morning per Celia’s instructions.”
I nodded, taking the phone. “Thanks.”
He walked over to his computer and began to type out something. “I’m also setting up a ten thousand a month transfer to your new Veil Haven account so you can buy what you need for school.”
“Ten grand a month! I don’t need that much.”