“Oh, he cooks, all right. Loves the opportunity to show off. I asked him to prepare a meal fit for a queen, and I just bet he will.”
“Is Trevors. you know,” I said with a shrug. “Like you?”
“Yeah, he is. But you’ve got nothing to fear from him. He owes me a life debt, and he would never lay a hand on someone under my protection.”
“So he’s your servant for. for life? For eternity?” I wondered what Aidan had done for Trevors to earn that kind of loyalty. Must have been something big.
“Our arrangement works well for us both” was all he said in explanation. “Anyway, we could go out after dinner, if you’d like.”
“Out where?”
“I don’t know. A club. Webster Hall, maybe? Roseland?”
“Nah, if you don’t mind, I’d rather stay in.” I had to share him at school, but not here. Not now. I wanted to spend every possible moment with him — alone but for Trevors, who was so discreet that it was easy to forget his very existence.
Aidan nodded. “Whatever you want. Which train did you plan to take tomorrow? We’ll need to make sure you’re at the station on time.”
“We’re not going to go back together?” Disappointment shot through me.
“I don’t think we should. You’re supposed to be visiting your stepmother right now, remember?”
“Yeah. It’s a good thing I never called her to tell her I was coming. But Dr. Blackwell will know the truth, won’t he?”
“Yes, because I’ll tell him.”
“Why would you do that?” I asked.
He sighed. “Because he needs to know that you’ve learned the truth. I can’t keep something like this from him, not after all he’s done for me.”
“The two of you are pretty tight, I guess?”
“I suppose you could say that. We’ve known each other a very long time, and he’s given me the opportunity to pursue my research without interference.”
“Can the two of you speak telepathically? Like we do?”
He nodded. “All vampires can communicate with one another telepathically, if they want to. But it’s not really true telepathy, psychically speaking.
It’s more like. a vampire channel. Which is why it’s so strange that it works between you and me. Have you ever tried it with anyone else?”
“Yeah, Suzanne Smith. She’s on the fencing team with me, and she’s a telepath, so we gave it a try once. Oh, and her friend, the tall redhead — I tried with her, too. Nothing,” I said, shaking my head. “I don’t get it.”
He reached for my hand and turned it over, tracing the lines on my palm with one finger. “Me either. There’s a lot about you and me I don’t get.”
“But you can read anyone’s mind, right? Not just mine.”
“Sure, anyone who doesn’t block it. Any mortal, that is,” he clarified.
“So, you just walk around all day, hearing everyone’s thoughts?”
He lifted my hand to his mouth and kissed my knuckles. “No, it takes effort. It’s almost like there’s an on-off switch in my head. Otherwise, it would be sensory overload, all that noise. It’s something I use sparingly.”
“But what about other vampires? Can you read one another’s thoughts?”
“No, a vampire can’t breach another vampire’s mind. It’s kind of hard to explain, but mind reading and telepathy are two very different skills.” The clock on the wall chimed the hour, and we both looked toward it. The day was slipping by far too quickly. “Anyway,” he said, releasing my hand, “not to change the subject, but I’ve got to go out later, after you go to bed. I might be gone till dawn. I just. I thought you should know.”
“Out to. you know. drink or whatever?” I mumbled.
He smiled sympathetically. “Yes, Violet. To feed. Before I go back to Winterhaven.”
“But didn’t you just. you know, with that junkie last night?” Would I ever be able to say the words? Feed. Drink blood.
“Yeah, but I have to get what I can, while I can. It’s easier here. The more I feed, the longer I can go, and the less elixir I need. It’s as simple as that. Anyway, I didn’t want you to come looking for me and find me gone without an explanation. You’ll be safe here with Trevors.”
Great. So I would lie awake all night, imagining him out hunting murderers and rapists instead. Yeah, that was comforting.
Something else was bothering me too. I hated to give voice to it, but after what I’d seen in my vision the night before, it seemed kind of necessary to bring it up. “You’ve been alive more than a century, right?”
“I’m not sure I’d call it ‘alive,’ exactly, but yeah,” he muttered. “Why?”
“Well, you know. isn’t it kind of weird, being in school, surrounded by kids all the time? I mean, the age difference between us. ” I trailed off, shrugging.
“No, that’s another one of vampirism’s cruel tricks,” he said with a grimace. “You’d think that with immortality would come maturity, wisdom.
Instead, you’re basically stuck with whatever level of maturity you managed to reach as a mortal. More than a century of life experience, and I’m stuck forever with youth’s impetuousness, with the mind of a boy.” He shook his head. “Trust me, there’s a marked difference between a vampire who was turned at seventeen and one who was turned at seventy. We don’t just even out eventually, no matter how long we go on living. Seventeen — that’s all I’ll ever be. I guess I should consider myself lucky that I wasn’t turned at ten instead.”
I tried to imagine what it must be like to live all those years and not mature. It didn’t make sense — I just couldn’t wrap my mind around it. “It’s good in one way,” I offered teasingly. “I mean, I don’t think I’d be all that into you if you acted a hundred and thirty.”
“Sure, it’s fine for now,” he said, shaking his head. “But what happens in a few years when you’ve matured into an adult, and I’m still stuck in this damned eternal boyhood? Like Peter Pan.”
He was right, and I was an idiot for being so flip about it. The impossibility of our situation — of any relationship between him and a mortalbecame crystal clear. I would mature; he wouldn’t. He would live forever; I would die one day. There was no reconciling it. God, no wonder he didn’t have a lot of friends.
“Wendy grew up,” he said, his voice hard. “And so will you.”
Hey, earth to Violet!” Sophie tapped on my desk and I looked up, startled. “That was the bell. Wow, you look like your mind’s a million miles away. I hope you took notes for the quiz tomorrow.”
“Quiz?” I asked a little dazedly. My mind kept drifting back to the weekend, trying to remember every little detail, every“ Duh. Were you completely zoned out?” Sophie peered down at me with drawn brows. “Hey, are you okay?” She reached for my hand.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” I snatched my hand away, then instantly regretted it. “I’m sorry, Soph. Here”—I reached out a hand to her—“go ahead and do your thing.”
Sophie clasped my hand in hers and closed her eyes, her mouth pursed. “Hmmm. Well, your lymph nodes are a little enlarged, but that’s about it.” Dropping my hand, she opened her eyes and smiled at me. “I’d take it easy for the next couple of days, just to be sure.”
“Believe me, I’d like to. But there’s a big fencing tournament coming up, and I’ve got to practice.” Already I was the varsity girls’ top-ranked fencer, and I’d go into any tournament as the top seed.
“Well, you’ll be happy to know that your shoulder felt fine. It hasn’t been bothering you lately, has it?”
“Nope,” I agreed. “You know, you really are amazing.”