Page 10 of Night Prey
I smirk. “It isn’t like I’d attackyou.”
“Well, I don’t know. Vampires in bloodlust are crazy and nasty. Hard pass.”
I frown.Hard pass. It must be a new turn of phrase. “Tish… how long was I gone?”
Tish leaps onto my lap, then moves to the desk. “Your father didn’t tell you?”
“No. He’s been evasive about it.”
“I can’t be certain exactly. It’s hard to keep track of time when I’m stuck in this form.”
“I promise I’ll find a way to unhex you.”
“You have other problems on your plate. Don’t worry about me.” She licks her paw.
I’d probably feel guilty if I could feel the emotion, but it’s all a big void inside me. I’ve always tried my best to mimic reactions from social cues, but with Tish, I don’t bother. She knows who I am. “What year is it?”
“Not sure. Why don’t you check on your phone?”
“Phone?” I search through all the memories that I received from the blood I drank and see the small device that people use to call others. The last time I was awake, the telephone had been invented, but very few people had access to it.
“Are you going through your newly downloaded database?” Tish asks.
Downloaded. That’s also a new term to me. “Uh… I suppose so. Father didn’t give me a phone.”
“What? That’s absurd. Hold on.”
She runs out of my bedroom faster than I can blink. When she doesn’t return right away, I continue to peruse my newroom. The first thing I inspect is my wardrobe. I’m sure fashion has changed a lot. But to my disappointment, the wardrobe only has one long dress with a high collar that looks more like sleepwear than anything else. Maybe itissleepwear. Why wasn’t I provided new clothes?
“I’m baaack,” Tish announces. There’s a phone on the floor right in front of her.
“Whose phone is that?”
“Yours. Your father had it in his office. I suppose he forgot to give it to you.”
“He forgot more than that. Look at this.” I point at the almost empty wardrobe.
“Oh dear. That’s theonlydress he gave you?” She moves closer. “Is that even a dress?”
“Honestly, I don’t know.” I pull the lapels of my silk robe closer together. “Do you think maybe Father doesn’t intend to let me out of the house yet?”
“Hmm… the conflict between Raphael’s and Tatiana’s forces has escalated. Maybe your father is afraid to let you out before you’re fully briefed on everything.”
I shake my head. “No, it doesn’t make sense. He already gave me a mission.”
“Oh, do tell.”
“He wants me to infiltrate Lucca’s inner circle and kill him.”
Tish snorts. “Right. Like the notorious dark prince is letting anyone near him these days.”
“I’m not worried about that just yet.” I grab the phone Tish brought and instinctively press the home button, making the screen light up. Thank fuck for blood memories.
I click on the calendar icon and feel my legs go weak. “Bloody hell! I’ve been hibernating for 109 years!”
“Yeah, that tracks. We migrated to the US the following year on theTitanic.That was an eventful trip. But I’ll tell you all about it later.”
I search my new memories, and my eyes widen. “That ship sank! How did Father manage to get me out while I was deadweight?”
