A Gift of Three (A Shade of Vampire #42)(24)

She sat up, looking guilty and confused.

“What?” I exclaimed, laughing. “You don’t know his name?”

“I do,” she retorted. “It was ‘Th’ something…Thantos! That was it! Thantos was an excellent dancer, and a very charming man,” she replied airily. I rolled my eyes, punching in the pillows on my tightly made bed to get comfortable before hearing the rest of the story.

“Did either of you see Field tonight?” Aida asked instead, her tone trying to sound nonchalant.

“I didn’t actually.” Vita shook her head and turned toward me. “Did you?”

“Yep,” I announced, pausing. Maybe now was the time… “There’s actually something I wanted to tell you about him.”

Aida sat up, her attention solely focused on what I was about to say.

“He and Maura have split up for good,” I said. “I heard him telling River about it. She broke it off earlier this afternoon, which is why she didn’t attend tonight.”

I waited for Aida to say something, but neither girl muttered a word.

“Poor Maura,” Aida murmured eventually, her cheeks flushing a bright pink. “And poor Field. He must be heartbroken.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I think he is. But he won’t be forever.”

Aida looked up at me, her eyes widening.

“He’ll never see me that way, Serena,” she replied solemnly. “I’ll always just be a younger kid to him—not a girl he’s seriously going to think about dating.”

“What makes you say that?” I replied, the objection obvious from my tone. I didn’t believe Aida for a second.

“Because he’s known me too long. I’m officially friendzoned—I think I’d be able to tell if he liked me, and I know for a fact that he doesn’t,” Aida replied, firm in her convictions.

“Sorry, Aida, but I don’t believe that.” Vita joined in. “You don’t know what’s going to happen. Obviously, it’s not going to be right now—he’s going to be hurting—but that doesn’t mean it’s a never.”

“Exactly,” I agreed, always pleased when Vita took my side, as she tended to be the voice of reason. “And if Field doesn’t notice you, then he’s an idiot. He won’t know what he’s missing,” I added stoutly.

Aida’s blushes increased, but before she could say anything in reply, she doubled over in pain on the bed, clutching her stomach with a grimace.

“What did you two eat?” I asked, immediately worried. “Shall I go and get someone—your parents?”

Aida waved her hand away. “No, don’t bother them, it’s probably just a stomach bug or something. The fae have rich food as well, it might be that.”

“I’m going to get you both a glass of water. Just stay in bed.”

Vita was starting to look even more pale than usual. I hurried into the bathroom, finding water glasses in a cabinet and filling them up from the fountain. I carried them back, hurrying as Aida let out a weak groan.

“Here,” I said, handing the first to Vita and then taking the other to Aida. “Are you sure I can’t do something? You both look terrible.”

“Thanks,” Aida muttered sarcastically.

“Don’t get anyone. I think I just need to sleep it off,” Vita replied, lying back on the bed. I felt her forehead. It was warm, but I couldn’t tell if that was just the weather or an actual fever.

“I’m going to open the windows,” I stated, and, not hearing any protest from either of them, I walked over to the glass arches and tried to find an opening latch. Once I did, I wriggled it free and the frames sprang open, bringing in a sudden gust of music and laughter from the remaining guests. The party was still in full swing below. We were high up, so I couldn’t see too much till I forced my True Sight to kick in. Then I could see the dishevelment of those remaining. I smiled to myself as I watched two fae chasing one another around the dance floor, adults behaving like children. As I leaned out further, I felt a wave of hunger running through me—not for food, but the strange and powerful energy that had been radiating off the fae all evening.

No one will notice if I just take a bit…

I tried to never syphon off someone without them knowing. It was a strict rule in our house never to use the other members of The Shade like that without them knowing, and the same would apply here. Of course, in the privacy of our home it was different. We would all syphon off one another if needed, but we had to be courteous; no one would borrow my energy before I had exams, or Phoenix’s before training.

But who will know?

I closed my eyes, ignoring the thoughts. It was just instinct, and it could be overcome. Thankfully, Aida groaned again, and the desire to feed was cut off abruptly.

“Do you need more water?” I asked, before noticing her still-full glass by the side of the bed.

“No,” she moaned. “Shut the window though, I’m getting cold.”

“Aida, it’s boiling out there and in here—if you’re cold you’ve definitely got a fever!”

I made sure she was covered in blankets, but when I went to feel her temperature, she didn’t seem overly hot. Next, I moved over to Vita’s bed. Her face was starting to bead with perspiration, and the blankets had been thrown aside.