Page 4 of A Memory in the Flame

Valerie nods, tipping her beer back to take another drink. “I think something’s going on. But of course, he won’t tell us anything—not me, anyway. Henry has his ear, so some things never change.”

At the mention of Henry, caution steals into my chest and forms a tight knot. I glance around us, worried someone will be looking back. The odds are high that The Vampire King ordered one of his soldiers to follow me. “I don’t think we should keep talking about this. Not here, at least.”

Valerie’s gaze flits around the dark room, too. “Fuck. You’re right. God, I should probably stop drinking.”

The warmth of a buzz spreads through me as I order another drink. “Neverstop drinking. Not tonight, at least. Come on—let’s have some fun. I hear it’s paint night!”

“Have you ever been?” she asks, watching me swallow a mouthful of my fresh drink. The burn of whiskey slides down and warms my stomach. Valerie frowns when I take another swig from the glass and completely empty it. “What’s going on, Charlotte?”

“What? Oh, nothing. I’m fine.” My words slur a little, but I smile at my sister. “Just taking the edge off.”

“It looks like a little more than that,” she remarks. I pretend not to hear as I pay Mia for a refill and swallow half of it. The whiskey doesn’t even have a taste anymore. Without warning, I snatch the paint from the bar and squirt it toward Valerie. It splatters against my sister’s dress and she squeals. “That’s not what you’re supposed to do!”

I bat my lashes at her. “Oops.”

Pulling a tube of neon purple paint out of her purse, Valerie unscrews the cap and squirts some onto her fingers before lifting her hand to my face. “What are you doing?” I ask, leaning away instinctively.

“Relax, Charlotte,” she says. “Look around. Everyone is doing it.”

She’s right—the creatures around us are painting themselves and each other while they drink and dance. I turn back, letting Valerie smear the paint across my cheeks. She adds three lines under each of my eyes, then a peppering of dots around my temples. After that, she switches colors and dips into the green, which she uses down the bridge of my nose. I take it from her and trace across my collarbones, then between my breasts.

“Easy, killer,” Valerie teases, managing to paint her own face without using a mirror. I toss the tube onto the counter and finish off my drink, wobbling a bit in my new heels.

“Come on. Let’s dance!” I grab my sister’s hand, not giving her a choice in the matter, and drag her into the crowd, swaying my hips in time with the music. We throw our hands up and sing at the top of our lungs, dancing as if our mother isn’t dead and we don’t have monsters living inside of us.

After a while, the room starts spinning and sweat dots my brow. “Are you okay?” Valerie shouts over the music. I nod at her, smiling blearily, and grind my ass into the vampire dancing behind me.

As soon as I straighten, his breath tickles the shell of my ear. “Want to get out of here?”

“No, I don’t,” I tell him loudly. “I’m here with my sister.”

The vampire’s grin fades and, after a moment, he moves away awkwardly. I turn back to Valerie, grabbing onto her shoulders to steady myself. “Score,” she says with a smirk, still moving her hips.

“Whatever. I’m not here to meet guys!”

She raises her neon orange eyebrows. “Are you going to tell me what youaredoing here?”

I smile again, this one more forced, and shake my head. “Don’t worry about it.”

She steps beside me so we’re shoulder-to-shoulder, close enough she doesn’t have to yell as loud. “Let me help!”

I turn my face toward hers. “What do you mean?”

As a response, Valerie reaches into her purse and pulls out a coin pouch. “Take this. Please.”

I shake my head again. “What would Father do if he found out you gave me money? He’s the one who made the Lavender laws, Val. He wants us to suffer.”

“He won’t find out,” she insists.

But Alexander Travesty is still her father—she didn’t look into his eyes and see molten hatred. Fear flutters in my throat. “Healwaysfinds out.”

“You’re my sister, Charlotte. I want to help.” She shoves the pouch at me without a trace of apprehension in her strong features. “So take it.”

Pressing my lips together, I hesitate for another moment before finally accepting her money. Considering how quickly my own is disappearing, I’d be a fool not to. “Thank you, Valerie.”

She nods. “Meet me here again in two weeks and I’ll bring more. That should be enough to get you through until then. Don’t try to fight me—you may be older, but I’m more stubborn.”

I just shoot her a look, because I don’t have a comeback ready. “Okay. Thank you, Val. Really.”

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