Page 14 of A Memory in the Flame

My old Caretaker nods eagerly. “Yes, the same ones a New Ve soldier wears.”

I swallow a sigh, reluctant to take away her excitement. “There are thousands of soldiers within the city walls, Gabriela. It’s interesting to know, I guess, but I can’t exactly ask every single one whether they had an affair with Cassandra Travesty. And I doubt any of them are willing to confess, seeing as what happened to her.” I set the glass down, now empty, and lean against the edge of the bar.

“True. But you’re a smart girl, Charlotte Travesty, even if you were taught to pretend otherwise. You’ll figure something out.” Gabriela gives me a sad smile of her own. “I should go. Someone will notice I’m gone if I stay away too long.”

The blood in my mouth turns sour, but I school my expression into something resembling acceptance. “I’m so glad you came. Thank you, Gabriela.”

I follow her to the door, wondering if this is the last time we’ll ever see each other—she can’t risk her life by coming here again, and if I step foot inside the mansion, the Vampire King will likely make an example of me. Just as he did with my mother.

“Oh, I thought you might like to have this.” Gabriela pauses to pull something from her bag. She holds it out, and I immediately recognize the picture that once hung in the foyer of the mansion, amongst a dozen others. It’s a family portrait, all of us standing in the ballroom, dressed in our finery. As everyone does, I look for myself first. How odd—I’m smiling in it. My frozen image looks up happily with twinkling eyes. A different girl from a different life.

Clutching the ornate frame so hard it creaks, I raise my gaze to Gabriela’s. She’s watching the emotions marching across my face with a pained expression, and when I see that, something inside me threatens to break. “I wish I could walk you down, but if someone sees us together—” I start.

The human is already shaking her head. “I understand, Charlotte. It’s not safe.Te quiero, mija. Be strong, okay?”

We embrace again, briefly, and then she’s hurrying out the door. Leaving me. Reminding me of how alone I am. As it clicks shut behind her and the silence returns, wrapping its arms around me like a ghost that won’t stop haunting my every step, I put the picture next to the flower petal. Gabriela’s soap lingers in the air as I look down at it. If a flower can do that, I can survive on my own. Can’t I?

The piercing sound of my ringtone slices through the room. I glance at the screen before tapping the green circle that will connect us. “What?” I say, turning around.

Noah’s voice fills my ear, the deep tenor of it lilting and arrogant, even through a phone. “Now, is that any way to greet the handsome vampire who has a new lead on our case?”

As he speaks, my gaze falls on the minibar again. One more drink. I’ll just have one more drink. “Which case?” I counter, crossing the room to open the fridge. I remove another bottle, its ruby-red contents sloshing in the glass.

“The one that a certain bald, wretched little human is getting very impatient to see solved.”

Shit. I switch the phone to my other ear and pour the blood into the cup I just emptied. Yes, definitely one more drink. “Another weeper attack?” I guess. After adding the vodka and soda water, I take a quick sip. The liquor burns on its way down, somehow comforting, even as it leaves a trail of pain.

“No,” Noah answers, sounding impatient. “Like I said, it’s a lead. Now get out of your footie pajamas, put down the teddy bear, and meet me at that bar you like so much.”

“Rowan’s?” I ask, but there’s only silence on the other end. I glance at the screen to confirm what I already know—he hung up on me.

Asshole.

* * *

I take my time getting ready, knowing the longer I keep Noah waiting, the more annoyed he’ll be. It feels good to imagine inconveniencing him, because I’m tired of being ordered around by every male in this city. Being everyone’s pawn. Sitting on the vanity stool, I glare at the girl in the mirror with her crooked eyeliner and fragile heart. She clutches a black-tipped pencil in her fist like a weapon.

“A weapon you wouldn’t even know how to use,” I whisper at her. She just stares back, a princess looking out from her eyes, and not the hardened creature I need her to be. I stand with a sigh, lift my coat off the back of the chair, and leave.

On my way through the lobby, I catch sight of that wide doorway leading to the feeder suites. A moment later, a familiar, delicious scent reaches for me. My gums begin to ache anew.Why not?I think with a faint, catty smile. My high-heeled boots click against the tiles as I cross the room.

Twenty minutes later, I’m stepping out of a cab in front of Rowan’s, my veins fizzing like newly-opened champagne—the front desk slave hadn’t exaggerated the quality of feeders at Alexander’s. As I approach the square, black building, I don’t see Noah outside. I debate whether or not to go in, but the sewer sector workers are probably here, and I’m not ready for another confrontation with Nina. The bouncers nod at me as I find a place to stand, far from the smokers. Hiding my surprise, I nod back. For some reason, I’d assumed Nina’s hate would spread everywhere else. It’s comforting to know that, even if my life at the boardinghouse is over, I can still build one somewhere else.

A moment later, Noah appears, and I just barely manage not to jump.

“Nice dress,” he remarks, dragging his eyes up the length of me. Made of green lace, the neckline of tonight’s outfit plunges down to my belly button. A dainty, scalloped hem ends at my thighs. “When we’re done here, will you need help getting out of it? Because I gladly volunteer as tribute.”

“You know, I thought I understood evolution, but then I met you,” I remark, hiding another flash of surprise.He isn’t going to comment on how late I am?

Noah grins, displaying his straight, white teeth, and something within me responds. It strikes me, then, that I’m no better than the glassy-eyed females who approach him every night.

The bounty hunter’s voice slices through my thoughts. “You remember this?” I hear him ask.

I blink and see that he’s swinging a pistol around his finger—it’s the gun he gave me the first night we patrolled together. “Uh-huh,” I say. “Unfortunately, I have zero clue how to properly use it.”

“And you didn’t think to mention that when I handed it to you?”

I shrug. “I didn’t want you to think I was some helpless damsel.”

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