I barely sleep all day, tossing and turning on the hotel bed. It’s a beautiful, king-sized bed, but it feels much too big for just me.
When I blink my eyes open, I can’t help reaching out, wishing that I was with her in her coffin, or that she had risen before me in the night…
But it’s only the mid-afternoon. She’ll be resting, and I don’t dare disturb her.
There’s a numb ache in my chest. Why was she so short with me last night? I hope nothing happened. I wish she would communicate with me better about what’s going on. She was clearly rattled bysomething.
I rub the sleep from my eyes, and sit up in bed. There’s a small stack of books on the side table, a few that I brought with me that I’ve been reading. Since my relationship with Crimson started becoming more serious, I’ve been reading about communication dynamics in couples. I’ve learned that people with histories of trauma and abuse can act out in certain ways, and it’s helping me to understand Crimson a little more. I know that I have my own things I’m trying to work through, but I want to be there for her, too.
I pull a book out and flip through it, finding the chart that outlines different attachment styles. I think Crimson falls into the “avoidant” category. She doesn’t like to deal with her difficult feelings, which is understandable, after everything she’s been through. But it hurts ourrelationship when she pushes me away like that.
There’sgotto be something that I can do. I flip through the chapter, trying to pull out some tangible advice. But this book is written for normal couples. There’s nothing about magical prophecies, the complexities of the magical world, or the dangers of running an illicit vampire empire.
Frustrated, I toss the book back on the nightstand. My stomach growls. I’m not going to be much use if I’m hungry. With a sigh, I pull myself out of bed and get dressed.
The lounge is totally empty this time of day. I sit down and order some breakfast and coffee, hoping that a full stomach will make me feel better. But as I eat, all I feel is lonely and hollow. I wish Eloise or the other donors were around.
One of the concierges enters the lounge and looks around. I wonder if he’s looking for me, but he passes by my table and goes to a booth at the very back of the restaurant. I hadn’t noticed it, but there’s a woman seated there, reading a book as she digs into a stack of pancakes. There are many other plates around her, and a steaming mug of tea.
“Excuse me, Ms. Harper,” says the concierge. “I hate to bother you, but…”
“Oh,pleasebother me,” the woman chuckles. “I’m going to die of boredom if nobody bothers me! I’m pregnant, not in a coma.”
“Ms. Espina explicitly requested that the staff not disturb you…”
“Renata is deep underground right now, so she can’t stop me from helping,” the woman says. “What’s going on?”
The concierge presents the woman with a print-out. “It’s the event plan for the final night of the conference. Amrita Vyas was originally supposed to do a final keynote session, but she left unexpectedly and hasn’t returned. Originally Ms. Espina had planned to replace the keynote with a closing ceremony led by the witch covens, but…”
“But the Hecate and Lucifer witches are refusing to conduct the ceremony together?” the woman answers. She takes the print-out from the concierge. “Not surprising. This is what we should do: separate the closing ceremony into two parts. Have the good witches lead the beginning, and let the shifters participate if you can, so that they feel included. Ask Amara to make sure that they wrap up before midnight, and tell the evil witches they can close out the ceremony,with Celine making a final speech. That should cover everyone equally.”
The concierge sighs with relief. “Thank you so much, Ms. Harper. I’ll run this to the event coordinator to update the agenda.”
“I know it’s more complicated, but it’ll keep the peace, trust me,” the woman says with a warm smile. “If you need me to talk to anyone, just let me know.”
“I promise we won’t need to disturb you any further, Ms. Harper,” says the concierge.
The woman shakes her head at him. “It’s really no trouble. It’s been eight months, if I read another baby book, I’m going to lose my mind.”
The concierge gives her a grateful smile and quickly hurries out of the lounge. The woman goes back to her book with a sigh.
I’m immediately curious. Who is that woman? She seems to know a lot about the magical world. Maybe she’s a witch, or one of the people who can turn into animals. She must work at the hotel.
Bored and intrigued, I go over to her table. She looks up from her book and gives me a dimpled smile.
“Hi,” I say, a little awkwardly. “I’m sorry, I just heard you talking, and I wanted to come over and introduce myself. I’m Paige, one of the donors for the Night vampire clan.”
“It’s very nice to meet you! My name is Lily Harper, I’m the Chief Operating Officer for the Respite hotel chain,” the woman replies. She shifts a little in her seat, and I notice that she’s pregnant. I don’t have a lot of experience with pregnant people, but from what I read in my nursing textbooks, she’s fairly far along. She gestures at the seat across from her. “Please join me.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t want to intrude,” I reply. Chief Operating Officer sounds so important, I don’t know why she would want to talk to me.
“Not at all, I’d love some company,” she answer cheerfully. She seems very genuine, so I happily sit down with her.
“It must be so exciting, working at a big hotel like this,” I say.
“It usually is,” Lily answers, putting a hand over her stomach. “But lately, I haven’t been allowed to get any work done. My wife is the CEO, and she made me take maternity leave. I’ve had to sneak around to get the staff to keep me in the loop. She’s very protective.” Lily shrugs, a little secret smile on her face. “But luckily, she’s undergroundright now, so she can’t stop me from helping out.”
“Your wife is avampire?” I ask, looking with confusion at her stomach. Then I feel my cheeks turn red. “Sorry, I hope that’s not rude!”
