30

“Meh.” She waved a careless arm and the whole mattress shifted with the gesture. “There’s no true biology. Nicky’s natural and the rest of us are made.”

“Oh, yeah. I forgot. I think Nic mentioned something like that. It’s more like being adopted, right?”

She grinned and more of the avocado face mask shifted out of position. I stuck my finger in my mask and then into my mouth. Oh, who the hell was I kidding? I was lying on a bed next to a vampire, with guacamole on my face. Hello, Twilight Zone.

“Yeah, I guess it’s like being adopted?” She made it into a question. “I mean, if being adopted comes with immortal life and family members who drink blood to survive, then it’s a hell of a lot more like being adopted than I thought.”

I chuckled but there was a little more tension in the room, and she was quiet for a long time. I almost thought she’d fallen asleep or gone to a quiet meditative place, or whatever vampires did.

“I was human once,” she said.

I jumped at the sudden words.

“It was a long time ago, and I don’t remember it, but I looked up my birth records many years ago. Did the whole genealogy thing. The rest of my family is long dead. I have no idea what they looked like or if I even loved them. I expect I did, but maybe they weren’t good people, you know?”

I made a noncommittal noise. This didn’t seem like a conversation I could really join in with.

“That’s the thing with hundreds of years. You forget. If we didn’t, we’d never move on. How could I love Tomas if I was still pining for human parents? How could I embrace technology and wearing fucking food on my face if I could still remember riding in a horse-drawn farm cart while I was a human?” She fell quiet again. “Still, there’s a lot of things they don’t tell you.”

“I don’t think I’d want to be vampire.” I spoke with quiet certainty.

She didn’t say anything, but my skin prickled like she was watching me so I spoke again.

“I wouldn’t want to lose everything I remember about my mom. I lost her too early as it is. And I’ve worked too hard on everything to just… to just let all of that fade away. Or to let it get taken by whoever steals your humanity, you know?”

She chuckled but the sound was uneasy. Maybe even nervous.

“Shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to suggest anyone had stolen your humanity. I put that all wrong.” I sighed. “There are just things about me I’m not ready to lose. Things I don’t think I’ll ever be ready to lose.”

She took a breath like she might say something, but a knock at the door distracted us. I lifted a cucumber slice again as Mr. Baldwin entered.

“Chef asked me to inform you that he will serve your lunch in the informal dining room in thirty minutes.” He bowed his head as he spoke, not making eye contact with us or fully appreciating our green faces.

I launched myself from the bed, my cucumber slices flying. “I’m grabbing the first shower.”

 

   

As usual, Chef had provided way too much food, and cold cuts, fresh bread rolls, and salad plates filled the table.

“Yum—deconstructed subs,” I murmured, as I grabbed a roll and started filling it. “Lying around with a facemask on is really hard work, amiright?” I glanced at Aimée as I gestured at the laden table. “Are you going to help me out?”

Her lips tugged down and she shook her head. “Maybe a little, but too much human food makes me sick.”

I shrugged. “Oh well, more for me.” Then I grinned as I lifted my sub to my mouth. “See—I’d miss this as well. Chef’s food.” I rolled my eyes and sighed dreamily. “I have no idea why he’s even employed by a vampire, but his food is literally to die for.” I stopped. “Well, stay alive for. I’ve never eaten better in my life. Oh, and his beignets?” I pursed my lips and lifted my fingers away from my mouth in a chef’s kiss. “They are out of this world.”

“Baldwin?” Aimée snapped her attention to the butler, where he stood in his usual corner.

“Yes, Miss Dupont?”

She spoke to him in the lazy way of the truly entitled. “Does my brother have any champagne in this big old museum of a house? Anything alcoholic and a little interesting?”

Baldwin nodded. “Yes, Miss Dupont.”

“Fabulous.” Aimée grinned. “Then I would like to see a range of the most expensive options.”

I paused, my sub halfway to my mouth. “Aimée, I’m not sure that Nic w—”

She waved a hand in that airy gesture I was fast becoming used to. “Relax, new little sis. My brother probably has so much booze around the place he won’t even miss it, and Baldwin won’t even have to touch the oldest vintages to bring us a little something special. Besides, drinking is definitely something I can still do. Care to join me?”

Well, when she put it like that… I nodded. “Sure. I could go for a small drink, I guess. It’s not exactly like we have a lot more to do while we’re stuck here this house.”

“That’s my girl.” Aimée nodded her encouragement and held grabby hands out toward Mr. Baldwin as he came back into the dining room, champagne flutes in one hand, a deep green bottle in the other. Aimée cast a narrow-eyed gaze over the label. “Huh. Well, this will do to get this party started. We can move onto the harder stuff later. And if Nic’s collection disappoints me, I’ll just get his permission to continue this party elsewhere—somewhere with better booze.” Her eyes sparkled. “I know a place, but maybe that’s for another day.”