Gypsy Moon (All The Pretty Monsters #4)(23)

“You paint yourself with a scarlet letter and hold back when it can help. You prove over and over you don’t care about ghosts. Either you do as we say, or we’ll—”

I spot my folded bra on the bottom of the table, cupping my pile of bottled armor, and I grab a salt ball and toss it over my shoulder, cutting off the aggressive one.

I feel them leave, because the air lightens immensely. It’s sort of an empty threat when a little salt can make you disappear.

“This is why I shouldn’t make eye contact. They’re not all like Anna,” I mutter under my breath as I force myself to my feet.

Wearing the shirt Vance left me after my shower, I round the hallway, following the direction of his nearly muted voice that grows louder the closer I get.

“She’s coming up soon, so make sure the front lines understand their role. We can’t afford to lose too many men right now. Not with Arion still claiming neutrality,” he’s saying.

When there’s no response, I realize he must be on the phone. Again.

“Five are on the list for turnings. That will give us a boost in—”

His words pause when he’s suddenly walking out, and his eyes collide with mine.

Great. Now it looks like I’ve been eavesdropping instead of just deciding whether or not it was okay to simply walk in without an invitation.

Seemingly unconcerned, he rakes his gaze over me and starts talking into his phone again.

“I’ll check in later,” he says before hanging up, and I awkwardly fidget.

“Sorry. Just wanted to warn you that the triplets are trying to meddle in monster matters. I’m not sure as to what severity they can cause issues,” I say in an effort to recover.

It looks like he almost smiles, but it’s gone before I can be certain. He slides his hand to the back of my neck and pulls me to him like he’s about to kiss me.

I cover my mouth, causing his eyebrow to arch. “It’s morning, and I don’t have a toothbrush.”

He pulls back, an amused expression on his face as he gestures inside.

“It’s actually late evening. I made breakfast for dinner, in case you’re hungry.”

I quickly go to take a seat, because Vance excels in breakfast spreads.

The room isn’t a dining room, at least not normally, but today seems to be special or something.

“Wasn’t this room empty?” I ask, confused. “Like when I used the shower…whenever,” I go on.

The days feel a lot longer than they used to. Back before monsters were everywhere in my life.

My gaze roams around the furnishings that fit so comfortably around the large room that would appear to have always been this way if I didn’t know better.

“Damien loves his house. It’s one of the few things left he truly treasures. So when I have to punish him for being a worthless alpha, I make him trade. He doesn’t even fight me on it anymore, and I have to move quite often. So, I usually only furnish the rooms I use and leave the rest in the basement. Less hassle,” he says like he’s already prepared that explanation.

“Don’t people notice you don’t age?” I decide to ask. “I mean, I know you have powerful people in powerful places, letting in the other powerful humans and all that other elaborate stuff. But for all intents and purposes, you clearly still live like a secret society. Only the crazy, paranoid, or superstitious believe you exist.”

He shrugs a shoulder. “We don’t interact in town very often. People sign on for a low profile. We have a system that gets upended from time to time, but teams are in place to eradicate the errant infections. Like with your store, we only deal with gypsies or monsters. Less hassle that way. Even the unknowing gypsies still have enough superstition to make them carry on and not make waves,” he explains like it was another prepared delivery.

I’m apparently getting predictable to him.

“Can I ask a somewhat personal question about Arion?”

His eyebrows lift, and for the first time today, a prepared answer or nonchalant reaction isn’t at his ready.

“Sure,” he finally says, though he sits up straighter. “Arion doesn’t have many secrets I can probably tell you,” he adds.

“Did Arion drink human blood before he found a taste for vampire blood? If so, when was the first time?”

He blinks, opens his mouth and closes it, and clears his throat a few times, as he fumbles with his tie.

“Forgive me, Violet, but sometimes I think you zig just because I’ve started expecting your zag, and you want me to chase you down a new path. I know you enjoy being chased, but sometimes it feels like you do it for fun,” he says, giving me a pointed look.

My eyes roll before I can stop them, but I smile to diminish the reaction, so as not to be too rude. “I had a very weird dream where I made up my own scenario with bits and pieces of information I’ve collected, stringing together my own version of his story. Anyway, it made me curious.”

He nods like that makes perfect sense. “Arion drank a lot of blood from you. It’s only natural to be curious. You’re still processing, I imagine,” he goes on a little sadly, as if he pities me.

I bristle. “I’m fine, Vance. It’s not Arion’s fault. I did it on purpose, and it worked, so all’s good.”

“Yet you don’t even really seem to like him,” he points out.