Page 38 of Ashvale: The Vampire's Thrall

The bite marks on Hayes'throat were obvious, still rimmed in a little bit of red as they healed. As the other half of my bond, it wasn't surprising the thrill I got from seeing them on him—or, rather, knowing that everyone else could see them and know he was mine. But it was the fact that Hayes displayed them almost proudly that stroked my ego.

I would miss them when they healed—probably by the end of the day, if not sooner.

The four of us sat in the library, reading books on meditation to see if we could bring on my memoires in a slightly less painful way, and Rowan kept sneaking glimpses at me and Hayes alternately until I sighed and slammed my book shut.

"Do you have a question?"

Novalie looked intrigued, sitting forward from her place in the middle of the wooden tables, her skirt fanned around her. Rowan looked up and then away. "No."

"I do," Novalie said chirpily and I snorted.

"Well, when an undead vampire and a living vampire like each other very much—"

Novalie laughed and Hayes rolled his eyes, but not before I saw the small smile on his lips. Rowan didn't react, just continued reading like we didn't exist and I sighed. When had things become so messy?

"I don't recall a time when things weren't messy," Hayes said and Rowan's head shot up.

"It’s rude to have a mental conversation in front of those of us who can only hear one side,” he chided and Hayes raised an eyebrow.

"Why don’t we try to wake a memory?" Novalie cut in, and I shot her a grateful look. There seemed to be more and more tension between Hayes and Rowan lately, and it seemed like I was the cause. I stood and hopped up onto the table, sitting down cross-legged opposite Novalie. She took my hands in hers, which were surprisingly soft, and I smiled. My hands had callouses—from what, I obviously didn't know, but clearly I'd worked hard at something for it to have left evidence on my skin.

"Okay, the book says you should focus on an emotion—just one, to prompt the memory, something that will be associated with that feeling." I nodded and Novalie continued, "What do you want to start with?"

My instinct was to say fear, so I could finally get some answers about what had happened to me and who had done it, but after the headache I'd had before, I felt like I should be careful to heed Cal's warning.

"Humour," Hayes suggested and I relaxed. Yes, humour was a good one.

"Okay. Clear your mind. Focus on your breaths—" She seemed to realise at that moment that technically I didn't have natural breaths. "Um, focus on Hayes' breaths," she suggested instead and I nodded, tuning into the beat of his heart and the whoosh of his lungs as my mind emptied, calmed.

"Good, now let's focus on the emotion. What do you find funny, how does it make you feel? Sink into the feeling of it and let your mind cast you back. Don't fight it.”

I did as she instructed, my body growing pleasantly warm and I could almost feel the ghost of my heartbeat as I focused.

It was almost like dreaming. A girl appeared. She had bright red hair and a piercing above her lip, her laugh was infectious and she kept going until she was crying with it, her slim shoulders shaking. I couldn't see anybody else, just her, and I had no idea what we had been laughing at, but I was certain that whoever she was, she'd been my friend.

"Did you see something?" Rowan asked, standing up and peering into my eyes when they opened.

"A girl," I murmured. "We were laughing. I think she was my friend."

"So now you just need to remember something useful and maybe it'll be like dominos, coming back one after the other."

"Maybe,” I allowed and she smiled. "To be honest, it was draining just remembering that small snippet." I was a little concerned about my hunger getting the better of me if I continued opening memories one-by-one like this.

"Let’s get out of here then," Novalie said, flinging her book down onto a pile. "I’m starving, anyway." I hid my smile. Novalie always seemed to be starving.

"I could eat," Hayes said, surprising me. "You coming Rowan?"

"Sure," he said, whatever tension lingered between them dissipating easily. The space between the stacks seemed a little too tight for all four of us as we left, the pages of books fluttering in the breeze of our passage.

"I appreciate you guys helping me with this," I said as we neared the door that led back out into the corridor.

Novalie grinned as she taunted me. "Aw, Leonora, are you being sentimental?"

I didn't reply, too distracted by the smell drifting towards us. It hit my keener senses first, and then the others moments later.

Blood. And it was fresh.

I could hear footsteps behind me as I ran towards the smell, stomach churning as I drew closer. Surprisingly, the scent did nothing for me, perhaps because I justknewthat what we were about to see wasn't going to be anything as pleasant as a standard feeding—hell, I would have taken a blood orgy at that point.

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