Page 2 of A Song in the Night

With one hand on the door handle, I cast a final glance toward the slaves still hanging off those hooks. Maybe one of them is bleeding.

I’m fucking hungry, the monster announces, and I can’t blame her. I try to take a calming breath, but instead, my fangs slide down, slicing into my bottom lip. I wince at the flash of pain, quickly licking the blood away.

“Get yourself under control.” Sylvia’s voice pulls me back, shutting the monster down—for now.

I swallow past the burning in my throat. “I’m fine.”

“Tell your fangs that,” Noah comments with a wink, climbing into the passenger seat.

“Bite me,” I grumble without thinking, getting into the back as Sylvia settles behind the wheel.

“Be very careful what you ask for, baby vampire. One of these days, I might actually give it to you.”

Heat spreads through me, and I can’t help the way my thighs press together. Even at the most inappropriate times, Noah somehow manages to elicit a response from me in both mind and body. Grinding my teeth, I stare out the window and refuse to engage. The SUV tears out of the lot, kicking up gravel, and flies down several streets.

Sylvia murmurs something to Noah, too low for my ears to catch. As he responds, he reaches for the volume knob with those long fingers and turns it. Hip-hop music floats through the quiet, cool space. I close my eyes, not to listen, but because it’s the first time I’ve been able to since waking in that white room hours earlier. I have a thousand questions, but thirst still burns at the back of my throat and the exhaustion has returned.

We come to an abrupt stop at the same moment Sylvia growls, “For fuck’s sake.”

My eyes snap open, and I suck in a breath when I look outside. Citizens are shouting so hard that spittle flies through the air. They’ve even gone so far as to smash several storefronts and set fire to the community garbage disposal bins.Vampires are just cannibals on a juice diet, one of the signs says.

“I thought the riots had slowed down,” I whisper to no one in particular, shaking my head at the horrific scene around us.

“Definitely not.” Sylvia exhales through her nose and throws the vehicle into reverse, whipping around in a dizzying three-point turn, and takes a different street. Some of the rioters scatter like a flock of startled birds.

A few minutes later, she comes to a stop again, this time in front of a tall brick building. There’s no storefront or sign to hint at what awaits within—only a single door with a golden doorbell to its right and a row of mail slots on the left.

“Where are we?” I ask, searching the windows for any sign of movement.

“Our office.” Sylvia’s arm moves, and the SUV’s purr goes silent. At the same moment, both vampires open their doors and get out. I hurry to follow suit.

At the entrance of the brick building, Noah pulls a key out of his jacket. He makes quick work of the lock, then steps aside for me and Sylvia. His expression is inscrutable as I pass. I ignore how my stomach flutters at the scent of his cologne.

Inside, there’s a narrow staircase and an equally narrow hallway adjacent to it. The space is dimly lit by sconces along the walls. The air smells like old things and dust. I don’t know what I expected for Noah and Sylvia’s office, but this isn’t it. Sylvia and Noah are already halfway up the stairs, and I hurry to catch up.

“You’ll be sleeping here for the time being,” Sylvia says over her shoulder, her voice echoing. We reach a landing and another hallway, this one full of doors. Sylvia unlocks the one closest to us with quick, graceful movements. “At least until it’s safe for you to be on your own again.”

“Can’t have you wandering the streets, not with all the people who want you dead,” Noah murmurs in my ear as he brushes past, following Sylvia inside.

To hide another quake of desire, I glare at his back before stepping over the threshold. As I fully enter, my eyes wander around the drafty room. There’s a beaten-down couch near the back in between overflowing bookshelves. The worn hardwood creaks under my feet as I walk closer. Two massive oak desks face each other, one of them covered in file folders and loose papers. The entire front wall is made of windows.

Sylvia drops her keys onto one of the desks, and they clatter through the stillness. Noah drops into a chair behind the other and opens a laptop. As silence swells in the air, and I stand awkwardly in the center of the room, his words finally register.All the people who want you dead.

It’s actually a good point.

While the Vampire King sold me to the auction, it’s a safe bet that he’d prefer me dead. Then there’s Henry, a situation in which no betting is necessary—he’ll most definitely want revenge for the loss of his crown. His entire life.

I shiver at the thought of him coming after me, which is a real possibility. My gaze goes back to those windows, and I wonder how secure they are, especially considering I’ll be sleeping here alone.

“It’s tempered glass,” Noah comments. I look at him, but he’s looking at his phone. His thumb flicks as he scrolls. “No one can see in, and there’s a special layer that provides protection from UV rays. Sylvia likes to watch the sunrise.”

This elicits a snort from the other vampire, who doesn’t bother to lift her head as she counters, “I stay late becauseyouspend every night bullshitting and making sure neither of us gets any work done.”

Noah’s response seems to come from a distance as I shuffle over to the couch. I drop onto it with an exhale, quickly discovering that it’s just as uncomfortable as it looks.

An unnerving silence swells in the air. Despite how much I long to sleep, something makes me hesitate. My gaze moves between Noah and Sylvia. Neither of them seems too interested in having me here. I have no idea what’s going to happen now that they technically own me—I try not to shudder at the thought—but that’s an issue for after I’ve had a chance to rest.

I also need to feed. But since my terrible Awakening, I’ve learned to handle one problem at a time.

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