Page 22 of Ashvale: The Vampire's Thrall

Rowan nodded slightly. "I don't remember much from before," he said and I knew he meant from before he was dropped into the human world. "But I remember my life as a human. I was a student." He smiled ruefully. "Philosophy and comparative literature."

I thought back to his stack of books in the library.Yeah, that tracked.He seemed to read my thoughts on my face and ducked his head to hide his smile.

"I remember my parents," Noavlie said quietly, and captured all my attention. "Montreau line. I hope they come out to claim me."

I couldn't reassure her really, I had no way of knowing what other vampires would or wouldn't do, but I reached over and gently squeezed her hand anyway.

She looked surprised but then smiled shyly, tucking part of her blunt brown hair behind her ear. "What about you?"

I tried to keep my frustration hidden. "Snippets from before, the rest is a blank."

"Maybe you could try a spell?"

I blinked. "A spell?"

Rowan frowned. "Magick is dangerous for anyone untrained. You shouldn't mess about with that stuff."

"But it might help her remember something," Novalie argued and I was impressed with how vehemently she defended me. When this girl went all in, she clearly didn't mess around, I thought as I watched her admiringly.

Rowan opened his mouth to reply but Hayes cut him off. "It could be worth trying. But you should go to a professional." His tone brokered no argument and I nodded thoughtfully.

"And how would I find a professional?"

"I know a guy," he said vaguely and I wanted to laugh. Of course he did.

Rowan still looked concerned but stood before I could say any more about it. "Just be careful. There might be a reason your mind isn't ready to remember."

Well, my mind would just have to deal with it. I needed to know what had happened, who Iwas. Most importantly, I needed to know if whoever had killed me would be trying for a second, true, death.

Concern lit up the bond and I jerked my head to Hayes but found him watching Rowan's retreating form. Good, I wasn't the only one who had found his abrupt departure odd.

"So," Novalie said, clearing her throat. "Shopping?"

"I’m down," I said and elbowed Hayes hard when he didn't reply, until he begrudgingly nodded. "When do you want to go?"

"We've got plenty of time so I don't think we need to rush," she said thoughtfully, biting her bottom lip in thought before nodding decisively. "But we could leave sooner to grab you some essentials? And speak to your expert," she added with a glance at Hayes.

"Sounds like a plan." In truth, I just felt relieved to be doingsomething—every day it felt like the truth and the person I used to be slipped further away.

"This weekend?"

"Um." I wasn't actually sure what day it was now—dying tended to mess with your sense of time it seemed.

"It's Tuesday," Hayes said and I would have been annoyed that he'd read my thoughts again if I wasn't so grateful to have the info.

I nodded. "The weekend works for me."

Novalie grinned and the glint of her fangs made it wicked. "Then it's a date."

ChapterTwelve

I'd seenHayes in our feeding sessions but he'd been strangely absent from any other part of the castle, almost like he was avoiding me. Which was laughable because he was in my fucking head all the time, lurking in the shadowy corners of it and listening to my thoughts.

If either of us had really wanted to, we could have hunted each other down easily. He was like a prickly awareness under my skin that couldn't be scratched or washed off.

Unsettling.

So I didn't seek him out. Instead, I saw him in my class, drank from him until he clutched me to his body like he never wanted to let go, and then I pretended like he didn't exist.

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