A Valley of Darkness (A Shade of Vampire #52)(9)

The laws were meant to protect the people of Azure Heights from them. And the Correction Officers were there to enforce them and deliver punishment to those who sought to disrupt the balance of this so-called new world.

It made sense, in the end. If they wanted to enjoy the small pleasures of life, dress nicely, and sip some flavored blood under the triple moonlight, they were well within their rights. They no longer adhered to Eritopian laws, and we had no business changing that or interfering in their way of life.

Looking at it from that perspective, I could easily sympathize with the Exiled Maras. The other, unclarified angles, however, not so much. There was definitely something missing from this picture—our whole team could feel it.





Caia





(Daughter of Grace & Lawrence)





I was the first to finish with my dress fitting, courtesy of a very gentle and skilled Exiled Mara tailor named Laurel. I met with Blaze and Rewa downstairs by the inn’s bar. I knew we’d agreed to get her involved, as her support had been productive the day before, but I still felt uneasy around Rewa.

She was laughing at something Blaze had just said when I reached the bottom of the stairs, back in my leather two-piece combat suit. Her gaze left his and lingered on me for a moment, before she nodded my way.

“Hello, Caia,” Rewa said with a flat smile. “Thank you for asking me to assist you today, as well. It is an honor and a pleasure.”

“Thank you for coming.” I mirrored her expression, then took out a small notebook from my backpack. I’d written down the names and details of the families we were going to interview throughout the day. “We’ve reviewed the list of names that the Five Lords were kind enough to supply us with, and we’ve settled on ten households to visit today. They’ve all lost family members over the last two months and will be more likely to provide us with fresh leads.”

She reached out and took the notebook, briefly scanning the names before she handed it back.

“I understand. Well, they’re all on the second level, at the base of the mountain,” she said, then smiled at Blaze. “Shall we go?”

I was the first to walk out, making sure neither saw me as I rolled my eyes.

The second level of Azure Heights could best be described as the poorer side of the city, mostly consisting of two-level townhouses, a large marketplace, and a small orphanage. Imen mothers who left the city often left their children behind, according to Rewa.

“But the children are always supported by our community,” she assured me. “In some cases, they’re even adopted by the wealthier Imen who service the Five Lords.”

Ten families on this level had lost sons, daughters, and fathers over the past two months. Most of them were farmers who helped look after the moon-bison herds at the base of the mountain, and had last been seen below, out on the plains with the animals—except for two Imen girls, who’d most likely been taken from this part of the city.

The girls were both cleaners, paid by the city to sweep and wash the streets early in the morning, and they’d been assigned to this level. There were no witnesses, but the girls were meant to be working the night they disappeared. None of the victims were Minah, though. We’d asked all the families about her, but no one knew anything about her or her father. I figured she might’ve been from another part of the mountain.

The Imen we questioned seemed wary and tired, with glassy eyes and voices still trembling from grief. I wasn’t able to tell whether they’d been mind-bent in any way or not, but they still felt a little off. I tried to blame it on the trauma of losing loved ones.

After the ninth family, we stopped for a break and I made additional notes in my journal. There wasn’t a specific pattern in behavior, but there definitely was one in when and where the Imen disappeared. I knew it would be a lot clearer once we started putting some pins into a map of the city.

Rewa was kind and helpful as usual, with her coquettish mannerisms and fluttering eyelashes aimed at Blaze, making me simmer beneath the surface. I did my best to be a professional, but my stomach churned in her presence. The only thing that gave me some mild sense of comfort was the fact that Blaze was also in work-mode, offering only polite smiles and curt nods to Rewa’s barely veiled advances.

“The Spring Ball tonight is going to be wonderful,” Rewa said as I wrote down a couple more lines about the last family we interviewed. “I can’t wait to wear my dress. I have an artist work with the tailors for mine every year!”

She continued droning on about the Spring Ball, but I stopped listening. I looked up from my notes and found Blaze’s eyes settled on my face. I had a hard time reading his expression, as he was very still, but his midnight-blue gaze came across as smoldering, sending minor heatwaves through my chest and limbs. Rewa was still talking, seemingly unaware of Blaze’s attention focused on me. I held my breath for a couple of seconds, and noticed the corner of his mouth twitch, before Rewa put her hand on his arm and broke our quiet exchange.

“Did you hear me, Blaze?” she asked.

He clearly hadn’t. Neither had I, for that matter. We’d been too busy staring at each other.

But did we stare for the same reason?

I knew my reason, even though I tried to avoid thinking about it. Why had he been staring?

“I said, would you like to be my chaperone to the Spring Ball?” Rewa put on the sweetest smile, gently leaning into him.