17. Vameer #2
He looks bigger than I remember. And I wonder if he had the same thing happen to him when he met his mate.
My mouth pulls into a smile.
Too bad for him, I found mine too. So I’m still bigger.
Then a woman steps out of the building, stopping beside Volik. And even though I can’t see anyone else, I hear gasps.
This must be my new sister.
“Nix!” an invisible voice shouts above the murmurs. “When did you grow horns?”
I listen as the man beside Volik quiets the crowd. And I try to understand my sister’s answer to the question.
“What are they talking about?” I lift my eyes from the image to Jack, remembering now that he said something about horns right before my belt broke. “I’ve never met a vampire without horns.”
His brows lift. “She’s a human.”
I look back down at the image.
Black eyes, fangs peeking out while she speaks, black fingernails. Horns.
I look back up. “Explain.”
He does.
And after the press conference, he shows me more moving images, videos, of Volik at the university when the mate bond hit him. Photos of Nix from before the mating. Human eyes, no fangs or horns. Photos of her with the eyes and fangs, but no horns.
The answers regarding how and why the changes occurred are vague. But when I find Volik, I know he will tell me.
And now I know exactly where to find him.
Stalden University in Hemlock Hills.
I just need to find my mate first.
My human mate.
The moment I woke and looked into her eyes, I knew what she was. And I knew who she was to me.
I have never met a vampire mated to a human, but I didn’t question it.
One does not question the fates.
But it can’t be a coincidence that my brother and I are both mated to humans.
Nix isn’t a human, though. Not anymore. Not completely. Maybe not at all.
Vampires can’t turn humans. No matter the tales. So this transformation… It’s going to bring danger. It will have the attention of all the power-hungry men who wish they could be more.
Volik’s spoken threats were the correct response. But if a war is coming, he will not fight it alone.
I think of the man beside him in that video. The shifter. And I remind myself he isn’t alone. He’s found his way. Made friends. Allies.
The fact does not ease my guilt. But it does ease my worry.
And once we are reunited, I will make sure he knows that I will not leave again.
Holding the phone in one hand, I run my finger over the beads on my wrist. My gravito is still thick, concealing the colorful hearts from sight.
I want to tell Alex that I got this bracelet from my mate.
I want to tell all of them that I’m on my way to find her.
I want to tell them that she’s a human too.
But I haven’t survived for three hundred years by trusting people. So I don’t say anything.
Silently, I wonder if my mate will also turn into a vampire.
I don’t want to change her. I don’t want her to lose the eye color I woke to. But I do want her to be invincible.
Humans are so fragile.
They rarely act like it. But they are.
And if she can have the protection that comes from becoming a vampire, then I can shed some of the remorse I have over our bond. I still don’t like that my mate will be in danger because of her connection to me. But if she is more than human… I can justify keeping her.
“Here.” Grace approaches us. “This might be easier since your hands are so big.”
She hands Jack another much larger rectangle.
“Good thinking.” Jack grins, then unfolds the rectangle.
“Another phone?” I ask when I see the inside light up.
“Pretty much. This one is called a computer, though.”
“Computer,” I say, grateful for my mimicking capabilities that allow me to repeat words exactly.
He nods. “This’ll be easier at a table.”
I look at the puny furniture. “If I sit on that chair, I will crush it.”
My gravito pulses around my wrist.
I ignore it. Because yes, I could use my powers to hover on the seat and not crush it. But I don’t want to dedicate any attention to that. I only have a few hours to learn as much as I can.
“The bar might be the right height for that barrel,” Grace offers.
I look over and see she’s correct.
“Thank you.” I stand slowly, not wanting to startle her again.
“We can help you roll—” Alex stops when I lift it.
It’s an empty barrel. Humans are so weak.
I sit at the bar, and Jack sits on the stool beside me while Alex joins Grace behind the bar.
I memorize everything Jack says as he shows me how to use the computer.
“Don’t stress out if ya break it. But try to be gentle.” He touches one of the keys, and I take note of the force he uses.
“Also, not to sound paranoid.” Grace keeps her eyes on the bar top. “There are people who monitor the internet, so if there’s something that’s, like, a secret. Don’t try to look for it.”
“Please explain.”
She finally lifts her gaze to mine. “I’m sure there’s loads we don’t know. Like we just learned about shifters. If there’s more out there… As much as I’m dying to ask ya about…everything. I don’t want ya to out a secret by accident.”
I think about druids. And portals. And magicked daggers.
“Thank you. I will not share my secrets.”
She looks at Jack and blows out a breath. “I’m making a drink.”
Jack laughs as she steps away. “Gonna drive her mad wonderin’ what those secrets are.”
“When I can, I will come back and tell you.”
Jack grins. “Brilliant.”
Grace hands out shots of whiskey as I read about The Reveal.
The trio lifts their full beers off the bar when anger rolls out of me, vibrating the glasses, as I read about The Trials.
I block out their chatter as I read every article I can find on Volik.
Without typing in the word druid, I’m positive that secret is still hidden.
It was clearly a portal that brought him, and the wolves, to Versailles. But he’s made it seem like it was his own power that made it possible. Putting the target on his back. And I wonder about the druid that helped him.
I read several summaries of what happened over the last hundred years.
I read fast. And I retain everything.
I learn the history of the internet. I understand how phones work. Computers. Radios and televisions. Cameras. Social media. I read about current slang, fist bumps, and other gestures.
I read as quickly as I can. Clocking the difference in spelling over time. The difference in American English. I watch videos at double speed and listen to pronunciation. Memorizing.
Mimicry has always been a talent of mine.
If I hear something, I can repeat it.
If I see something, I can do it.
I keep reading.
The scent of food fills the air.
“You hungry, boss?”
I lift my head and look at Jack.
He’s still seated beside me. His eyes are glassy. And the smile on his face tells me two things. First, that he’s drunk. Second, that he doesn’t understand what he just asked me.
And in this moment, I decide that we are friends.
So I fuck with him.
“Famished.” I add a hint of a hiss to my tone as I pull my lips back and lean toward him.
Jack lets out a drunken shriek and tips backward off his stool.
A boom of laughter leaves my chest even as my gravito catches him.
His eyes are comically wide as my power lifts him back onto his stool.
The other two dissolve into drunken giggles.
I grin and hold my hand up, palm out. “Joking.”
Jack’s mouth pulls into a matching grin, and he slaps his hand against mine. “Fucking nuts.” He shakes his hand out. “Shite. It’s like high-fivin’ concrete.”
“That was great.” Alex wipes at his cheeks. “But if you want an empanada or something, let us know.”
“Thank you, but I fed from a whale earlier, so I’m good.”
All three stare at me.