Chapter 35

ARIC

James and I left the apartment as soon as the sun set over the horizon. It was early evening; the Hong Kong streets were teeming with people celebrating their New Year’s.

After spending five years getting a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering in Singapore, he and I had migrated to Japan for a few years. We had come to Hong Kong recently to enjoy the parties.

No one did New Year’s like the Chinese.

We threw ourselves into the New Year’s celebrations, picking up beers from the vendors, grinning at the humans, sucking on a few drunken girls who threw themselves on us.

Amidst the booming fireworks, the dancing humans, and the dragons, I caught a whiff of her scent. Then I saw her through the crowd, making her way toward us. Grace. They had given her the right name.

She towered over the humans. Her face had taught white skin across high cheekbones, and a small puckered red mouth.

Her glossy black hair was pulled back with golden combs, and she wore a red and gold dress with such a high slit up to her thigh. I couldn’t tear my gaze away from it.

“Aric, James,” she greeted us, her dark eyes shining. I grinned at her.

“Grace.” James bowed extravagantly, and she laughed.

“I’ve not seen you boys since school.” She bit down on her bottom lip, her fangs piercing her skin. A single drop of her blood and James and I were already salivating, our eyes bright red.

She was laughing loudly. “Good to know I’ve not lost my touch.”

“So, where are you going to take us tonight?” James asked, running his fingers up her arm.

“Ah, ~mon chérie~, you’ll just have to come with me to find out.” She winked at him. He rolled his eyes and grinned at me.

“So, we’re following this mysterious woman into the night. Would that be wise?” he asked, and I snickered.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He grinned back at me.

She led us through the bustling streets, leaving gaping men in her wake. She stopped in front of a skyscraper, and the glass doors slid open for her.

She waggled her fingers, and we followed her inside the elevator.

We went to the eightieth floor, the doors pinged open, and we slipped into a raging party. The music was booming.

Wide bay windows gazed at a complete view of the celebrating city, and alcohol overflowed from two champagne towers. It reeked of sweating, drunk humans and horny, bloodthirsty turned vampires.

Grace had grabbed James’s collar and was dragging him toward the dance floor. He smirked at me, running his hands up her lean body.

I moved quickly to the bar, ignoring the humans gaping at me.

“Whiskey.”

The bartender nodded. His gaze never tore from mine as he poured my drink and slid it toward me. I winked at him, and he blushed. I downed my drink in one gulp, running my fingers through my hair.

The music and reeking humans were dulling my senses. I could barely smell Grace and James approaching me.

Grace ordered a bottle of champagne and guided us to the back of the room, purposely swinging her hips.

She pushed us into a small room decked out with plush red love seats and three scantily dressed human women batting their lashes at us.

James let out a growl of appreciation.

“You always did throw the best parties.” He aimed to kiss Grace, but she slid out of his grip, snuggling against a human, stroking her pale, pulsating throat.

“I have missed you, boys,” she admitted coyly. “We always did have the best fun.” She winked at me.

I grasped the closest human. Her heart was racing so fast in her chest I thought she was going to have a heart attack.

I leaned down, burying my nose in the crook of her throat. The sweet smell of her blood, the soft beating made my throat dry.

I heard the soft squishing as James bit into the wrist of his human and started sucking, her moans getting louder.

I sat down, bringing my human down on my lap and pushing her black hair away from her throat. I sank my fangs into her white skin.

Her hot, tangy blood gushed into my mouth, and I growled, holding her tighter. The human writhed with pleasure on my lap.

My gaze met Grace’s bright crimson eyes as she sipped at the throat of her human. She winked at me. I pulled back from my human and gazed at her.

She pulled back as well, blood dribbling down her chin.

I pounced on her, grabbing her head. I dipped down and licked at the blood on her chin, licking and biting at her bottom lip. She let out a little gasp.

I lifted her, sitting down and pulling her down into my arms, kissing down her throat, listening as her heart started beating.

James groaned. “Seriously, Grace? Him?” he whined.

Grace giggled, pulling away from me. I groaned.

“Let’s enjoy ourselves tonight.” She grinned. I relaxed back in my seat, stretching my legs out, and she slid off me.

“I agree.” I grinned at James. He pushed his human aside and grabbed the champagne bottle. She served us each a glass of champagne, and then the humans. They giggled and thanked him.

“To humans, may they never go extinct!” He lifted his glass.

“Hear, hear!” Grace called, and we finished our glasses.

We spent most of the evening reminiscing on our school years and catching up on our latest studies: James and me in our Environmental Engineering and Grace with her latest research in marine biology.

We eventually emptied our humans and left them languid on the floor.

We all sensed the sun rising, the slight heat radiating from the horizon. Outside, humans were still meandering through the streets, completely drunk.

Grace stood, straightening her dress and winking at me.

“Follow me, boys. I’ll show you to your rooms.”

We took the elevator back down to the basement where Grace’s family had constructed an underground mansion.

Grace guided us through the dark hallways, her dress dragging on the floor. Every so often, she turned to grin at us.

She pushed a door open and stepped into a large, pink bedroom, then she spun and grinned at us.

“We can continue partying here,” she shut the door behind us and threw herself on the bed. She grinned at us.

James groaned.

I chuckled and pushed past him. James slithered up on her other side.

Grace pushed her hair back and gazed at me.

“We have something that we haven’t discussed yet,” she murmured. “This concerns both of you.”

I propped myself up on my elbow.

“What is it?”

She pursed her lips.

“Your sister.”

“Which one?” I grimaced. I had heard from my father that Phoenix and Venus were loose cannons these days, bumping through Europe, leaving a bloody trail behind.

“The human one,” she whispered.

I blinked at her. I could feel my eyes flashing red, my anger rising slowly. I had avoided thinking about Eleanor these last few years.

The last time I saw the child, she had been bleeding out of the royal marble floors, her heart finally stopping.

I remembered the sweet tang of her blood, the inner battle I fought to keep from biting into her, the fear in her eyes, her tears before she died.

James and I glanced at each other. James pursed his lips, his expression somber.

His time shared with Eleanor teaching her to ride horses, our excursions through the forest had also been a bonding time for him.

We had never spoken of her since.

“She’s dead,” I snapped. James shifted uncomfortably.

“Aric,” Grace said sternly. “My brother, Henry, was in California last year. He attended a night class. In that class, there was this girl. Martinez. He said she smelled the same.”

I scowled at her. “When did he ever smell her?” I snarled.

“He was there, Aric, when judgment passed. He saw her, and he recognized her scent. Aric, she’s alive.”

“That’s not possible,” James murmured, scowling deeply.

“Well, apparently it is.”

“She didn’t survive the turn,” I added. “My father told me. He buried her in Italy.”

“She survived somehow, Aric.”

“I cannot believe you.”

“Well, I’m just telling you because you’re my friends.” She glanced at James then and back at me.

“She lived with both of you, and I know you both cared for her. Look, Henry told me, he hasn’t told anyone else. But she’ll not be safe forever, Aric. Eventually, someone else will smell her, and they won’t be so kind.”

“Did Henry even talk to her?” James asked.

“Yes, of course. Ellie Martinez was a freshman at UCLA. He was convinced, Aric. The same scent. He remembered well. She was delectable.”

I bristled. My thoughts were swarming. I had seen Eleanor die. I had avoided thinking about her for years. I had avoided my family for years.

The random messages I received from my father about my mother said she was still mourning.

I could see James. He was staring at the champagne bottle.

“Grace, where is your brother now?” I asked.

“He’s coming here. He’s arriving tomorrow.”