It’s embarrassing, but…I’m actually a little disappointed that the vampire boss hasn’t come back to my bar. I can’t stop thinking about her chilling eyes, the way she bared her fangs when my wrist was cut.
Out of the darkness, I hear an enchanting, otherworldly sound. It echoes through the dim passageways. A slow melody.
As though I’m still in a dream, I follow the music. There’s a set of large, wooden double doors, open just a crack. I peer inside.
It’s an event hall, impossibly huge, with heavy tables and chairs lined in neat rows. An ornate, crystal chandelier hangs like a moon from the center of the ceiling. Decorative wall sconces cast their light through the crystal. It reflects across the hall like stars, flickering in the night sky.
At the back of the hall, by a large picture window, is a grand piano. An elegant figure sits at its bench, her pale fingers dancing over the keys. Her eyes are shut, her lips slightly parted. Entranced, I step further into the room. I’m completely unable to take my eyes from her.
Her song is beautiful. I’ve never heard anything like it before, and yet it seems so familiar. Like recognizing a face in a painting from centuries ago. It makes time and space collapse. It fills the hall withmagic.
Then her fingers stop, and her mouth widens into a grin.
“Do you make a habit of sneaking around my hotel at night?”
I inhale sharply. “I…I was stretching my legs, that’s all.”
She turns on her bench, those strange purple eyes finding mine. They flicker with a playfulness that knocks me off guard. She sits casually on the bench. Today, her shoulders are bare. She wears only a tank top with a thick, leather belt and loose, dark pants. Her top is cut low and it takes all my effort to keep my eyes from wandering down her body.
Out of a sense of self-preservation, I break her gaze, looking to the piano instead.
“Your playing is beautiful,” I whisper.
She chuckles, another unexpected move. “Are you surprised? I’ve been alive for three hundred years. It would be a shame if I never picked up any hobbies.”
She turns around on the bench again, and puts her fingers back to the keys. She starts playing a tune, a more lively one now. A waltz, I think.
I should turn around right now. I should go back home. What am I doing here?
“Does that scare you?” she asks, still playing.
Against my better judgment, I move closer to her, until I’m only a few steps away from the piano.
“Doeswhatscare me?”
“That I’ve been alive for three hundred years.”
I pause. Maybe I should lie. But somehow, the truth escapes my lips. “No. It doesn’t.”
She continues playing, but I don’t get the sense that she wants me to leave. On the contrary, her song seems to be reaching out to me, pulling me into her orbit.
I swallow. “The cleaner from the other night. Hallie. Did she…?”
“She made it. Popped out of the ground the next night. Surprisingly excited about the whole thing. I’ve never seen a vampire like that.”
Relief washes over me. “Good.”
“You were very brave, to stay and watch. Most people would have fled, saved their own skin.”
I shake my head. “I don’t think that’s right. What are we here for, if not to look out for each other?”
She stops playing, and tilts her head to glance at me. But she doesn’t say anything.
“What?” I ask.
She swings her leg over the piano bench and rises. My pulse quickens as she steps toward me, until she’s so close we’re almost touching. It’s painfully intimate. A primal urge tells me to run, but I’m rooted to the spot.
What does her skin feel like? Is her touch cold?
