Page 14 of Unholy Gambit: Checkmate in Blood
“You don’t want me to see you cutting Maman’s arm off.”
“It isn’t something you need to see.”
“She barely remembers it happening. Did you make it so she wouldn’t remember, or did you wipe that memory?”
No way to pretty this one up. “I paused you both.”
The repercussions of that echoed around in her brain for a mile. The idea clawed at her, that he could pause any human, anytime he wanted, that his kind could control her kind, manipulating them like a demented puppet master with remote-controlled marionette strings.
He’d known she wouldn’t take well to the answer, but he’d promised not to lie to her.
He pulled up to City Café, and his Aurélie got out and switched gears in her head, focusing on logistics.
Her voice came into his head through the psychic path he’d left open between them, the one he never intended to close.
I assume you’ll know where I’m sitting without me having to text you. We should still exchange numbers soon, though.
We will. See you in a moment.
Thirty seconds later, she telepathed.I’m an idiot. You don’t eat, and I invited you to a restaurant.
You are one of the smartest humans I know. You’re tired, hungry, and you need food. Of course I brought you to a restaurant. I’ve fed already this night and won’t feed again until I rise tomorrow. Everything is as it should be.
Can you consume anything besides blood and water?
Whiskey, vodka. Most hard alcohol is fine, as is beer without additives.
Because it isn’t altered much by human digestion. It’s pretty much the same whether in the glass or the vein. Do you drink from veins or arteries?
Exactly right, and we prefer arteries, though brand-new vampires are coached to drink from veins until they get the knack of helping the blood coagulate as they pull out.
* * * *
Aury stepped into the restaurant and breathed in the scent of warm bread and a griddle full of Southern-fried goodness. She followed the young teen male to a booth, ignoring her knee.
Physically, she was balanced for the first time in her life, but emotionally?Fuck.
However, it seemed reasonable to expect Axel was still in her head while he parked, and she didn’t want to hurt his feelings by thinking of him as a monster.
She needed to parse through what she’d learned, but later. He wasn’t a threat. Wasn’t a stranger. He’d taught her how to stop the pain of a mangled knee, and he’d saved her life. Both from the burglarsandfrom the protocol that required him to kill everyone present.
Before she could consider another thought, she boxed up the questions threatening to spiral into a whirlwind and slammed the lid shut until…
Until the following morning, when he’d be asleep. Vampires die at dawn, she was pretty sure that part of the lore was accurate.
For now, she focused on seating logistics, exit points, and choosing what she wanted from the thousands of items available, because this wasn’t a normal menu, it was a spiral bound book.
Chapter 5
He wasn’t surprised at her thoughts. Impressed and frustrated, a little amused.
Exasperated.
That was the word he was looking for.
It took him longer to pay at the parking lot than Axel was happy with, and he discovered a glass of ice water across from his Aurélie in the booth when he made it inside. He wanted to be beside her, to feel her warmth, but he sat where she expected him.
A waiter brought a quite large mug of hot chocolate with whipped cream heaped on top, and settled it in front of her.
