After I returned home and put away my groceries, I got out my phone to check for any messages. For some reason, I was halfway expecting to hear from Felix. He’d been able to message me on my computer, so I didn’t see why he couldn’t send a text to my phone.
Nothing from him, though. There was, however, a voicemail from Jackson.
A fairly lengthy one, actually, letting me know that a combo office/lab space had been rented out in Rancho Cucamonga, and that a project manager was already on board and taking care of the rest of the hires. They should be up and running within the next few days. He’d need a sample of Lucius’ blood, and, ideally, the blood of all the vampires, so that their similarities and differences could begin to be logged and tracked.
That was moving fast, even for Jackson. But I thought then of my niece’s pale face and listless behavior, and a chill went through me. We didn’t have a lot of time.
My brother ended the call by saying, “I have to go back to Washington tomorrow. However, I’ve told the project manager — Shelby Gutierrez — that you’ll be my point person here in Southern California. Go ahead and get in touch with her when you have the samples. I figured you’d want to handle that part of it, since I can’t really see Mr. Montfort allowing outsiders to come to his house and collect blood samples.” A pause, and then Jackson added, “If you could, I’d really appreciate it if you could stop by and spend some time with Bethany. She’s having a hard time with this, but there’s a vote on Thursday in Washington that I can’t miss. Take care.”
I set down the phone, taking note of the time. Three-thirty. A while yet before Lucius would send the car to pick me up. I didn’t like the idea of having to collect the vampires’ blood, but I knew Jackson had been right about that. No way would Lucius allow an LVN or other medical personnel inside his house to handle the task. All right…how hard could it be? I could always look up the technique on YouTube.
We’d need supplies, though. Needles and syringes…rubber straps to increase the blood flow to the areas where I’d be collecting the samples…alcohol swabs…culture bottles. I really didn’t feel like going to a medical supply store; after my accident and extended hospital stay, I’d had enough of that sort of thing to last me a lifetime.
I could ask Brian to go, however. It wasn’t as if he could refuse me, not if I told him the supplies were specifically intended for a project of Lucius’. And his leaving me alone in Trader Joe’s proved that I wasn’t about to bolt, even if my babysitter went out of range for a while.
A text seemed easier. I composed a list of the necessary items, then sent it over to not-Brian, with the addendum that I was feeling a little tired but knew I’d be up late at Lucius’ place, and would he mind terribly if he ran the errand without me?
I got a “no problem” text only a minute later. Good. One other thing taken care of.
After that, I didn’t have much to do except wait. I checked my email, only to find that my flaky client had postponed yet again. Thank God. In the back of my mind I’d been trying to come up with excuses for blowing him off until all this was settled, but now I didn’t have to worry about it. Yes, maybe I should have cut him loose anyway — it wasn’t like I needed the money — and yet I couldn’t quite bring myself to do that. Pretending that I had clients and work to do made me feel as though I was still somewhat connected to the real world, even if tenuously at best. If I admitted to myself that, one way or another, I probably wouldn’t be taking on another freelance project ever again, then I’d commit myself to a life separate from everyone else, whether as Lucius’ captive lover, or Silas’ partner in the world of the gula.
About forty-five minutes later, Brian dropped by with the supplies. I could tell he was curious, but, like a good little semivive, he wasn’t going to ask questions about his master’s private projects. A pang went through me as I contrasted his current behavior with the old Brian, the real Brian, who always had what seemed like a hundred questions about everything.
“And now I have to get back and pretend I was working all day,” he said. “Luckily, my sub-contractor sent me some comps just before you texted me, so I have something to put on the screen and pretend is mine.”
His tone was almost rueful, and I could tell on some level the subterfuge bothered him, even if the semivive part of his brain knew it was necessary in order to keep fooling Lewis for as long as possible.
“I hope it all looks good.”
“I think it does,” he said. “But I want to take another look at everything before I submit any feedback. Good afternoon.”
He let himself out then, and I locked the door behind him. Was it that I had simply gotten used to the differences in not-Brian’s personality, or had he somehow become more like his old self? I guessed it must be the former, since Silas had made it sound as though the semivives would continue to deteriorate a little more each week and month as time wore on. Lord knows the ones working for Lucius around his property didn’t seem to have much personality at all.
It wasn’t the sort of question I could ask the vampire. I also didn’t know if there was any chance of a semivive returning to himself once the vampire who’d made him was killed. Maybe a stake to Lucius Montfort’s heart wouldn’t just solve my problems, but Brian’s as well. I prayed that would be the case. The last thing I wanted was for the semivives to perish at the same time as their master. They didn’t deserve that.
Since the time when I’d be in his company was quickly approaching, I pushed those thoughts about Lucius out of my mind. I couldn’t be anything except helpful and sweet and encouraging around him, and that sort of façade was a lot more difficult to maintain when you were secretly contemplating different ways to drive a sharpened stick into someone’s heart.
I also couldn’t let myself dwell for too long on the imminent attack by the gula in order to rescue Silas. How many of them were even in the area? Clearly, the higher-ups in the Watchers organization had decided that they needed reinforcements, or I doubted Felix would have been sent down here to Southern California.
Enough of that. I couldn’t seem nervous or fidgety or preoccupied. I still had an hour, so I spent it watching YouTube videos of people drawing blood. Good thing I wasn’t the squeamish sort. The sight of blood had never really bothered me, although I’d seen enough of my own spilled during the accident that I was okay with never repeating the experience.
Then came the knock at the door, and the brown-haired semivive waiting to drive me to the mansion. I took my bag of supplies with me, and once again followed him down to the Mercedes. Fifteen minutes later, I was at the mansion.
This time it wasn’t Lucius waiting for me, but Michael St. John. He offered me a smile I didn’t believe for a second, then said, “Good evening, Serena. You’re looking very lovely tonight.”
Which was a pile of crap, and, from the ironic smile Michael wore, he knew that as well as I did. I’d gotten so caught up in watching the YouTube videos that I hadn’t refreshed my lip gloss or even brushed my hair, and I still had on the same jeans and embroidered Mexican blouse I’d worn to Trader Joe’s. Oh, well. Lucius would have to learn that I wasn’t going to “dress for dinner” every damn night.
So I only smiled sweetly in return and said, “Thank you, Michael. But where’s Lucius?”
“He’s in the library. Come along.”
I followed him, even though I knew the way well enough. As we walked, I wondered what had Lucius so preoccupied that he hadn’t been there to greet me. Or maybe this was another one of his subtle little mind games, his way of showing me that I wasn’t quite as important to him as I might think.
Whatever. I’d share Jackson’s news with him, and explain about the blood samples. Lucius should be pleased with how quickly things were progressing, and I wouldn’t worry about the rest.
“I haven’t seen Tristan or Leticia lately,” I remarked to Michael.
He shot me a sardonic glance. “Lucius told them to stay out of the way. He didn’t want them upsetting you.”
“That was very thoughtful of him.”
“I suppose. Not that they need much of a reason to make themselves scarce. They always did prefer hunting to hanging around the house.”
So I’d heard. I wouldn’t comment on Michael St. John’s remark, mostly because talking about the two other vampires only made my suppressed rage come welling up again. I hid it as best as I could around Lucius, and of course I couldn’t say anything about the two vampires to Jackson, since he and the rest of my family still believed that a would-be robber had killed Vanessa. And as much as my brother wanted to find a cure for his daughter, I kind of doubted he’d be okay with being in bed with the person connected to her real murderers.
We stopped at the open door to the library. “Here she is,” said Michael, quite unnecessarily, since Lucius had looked up as soon as we approached.
“Thank you, Michael. Good evening, Serena. And what is that in the bag? A present?”
“Sort of,” I replied, then cast a sideways glance at the younger vampire, who still stood next to me.
Of course Lucius immediately picked up on the hint. “That will be all, Michael. Thank you again.”
From the way his brows drew together, I could tell that Michael St. John wasn’t exactly thrilled about being dismissed like one of the help. He didn’t protest, however, but only nodded and said, “Sure,” then took off down the hallway.
Even so, I closed the library doors behind me before I approached Lucius and set the bag down on the table at the center of the room. “I heard from my brother.”
“Yes?”
Nothing in Lucius’ expression indicated anything except mild curiosity. And standing there, being that close to him — it was strange, because only a few hours earlier I’d been thinking murderous thoughts about him, and now he seemed all too real, the silvery eyes focused on my face, his pale hair falling loose onto his shoulders. It was so much easier to contemplate killing him in the abstract than to do the same thing when he stood right next to me.
Did I really want him dead? Or did I simply want him to leave Silas and me alone?
“Jackson already has the research facility leased,” I said quickly, directing my attention to the bag so I could pull out the items within and set them on the table. “He also has a project manager. She’s overseeing the rest of the hiring process. Because all that’s getting set up this week, he said we should go ahead and get blood samples. Yours, and the rest of your vampires.”
Judging by the way Lucius frowned slightly, I could tell he wasn’t thrilled by that request. “All of us? Why?”
“I assume because the researchers will want as large a sample pool as possible,” I told him. “Or at least, that’s my best guess, based on a couple of years of college biology. I’m no expert. But it makes sense to have samples from all of you so the technicians can see if human blood interacts with all of you in the same way. Conversely, it may be there’s enough variance in your blood samples that the antibodies from one of you might make a more effective serum for curing cancer…or making someone immortal.”
He smiled then, and seemed to relax slightly. “Of course. I am not one who is well versed in the sciences, but it does make sense that there might be minor variations among us.” A pause, and the silver-bright eyes glinted down into mine. “You will be the one to draw our blood?”
“Yes,” I said. “I mean, Jackson didn’t think you’d want an outsider coming here. I’ve read up on it, and watched some videos.”
“And you don’t mind?”
Well, of course I minded. If I wanted to spend my day drawing blood, then I would’ve studied to be an RN…if my science and math courses had been up to snuff. But I’d already agreed to this, so I didn’t see any point in delaying. “I told him I’d do it. It’s all right. Just don’t hate me if I hit the wrong vein or something.”
“I’m sure you’ll do fine.” Another of those hesitations. “No, I wasn’t thinking so much of the actual act of drawing the blood, but that you’ll be forced to have close contact with Leticia and Tristan while doing so.”
I’d already confronted that unpleasant reality, so I merely shrugged. “I can’t say I’m happy about it, but it needs to be done. I know you’ve told them to stay away from me, and I appreciate that. But I also can’t let my anger get in the way of trying to find a cure for Addie.”
“No, I suppose you wouldn’t. You do tend to put everyone else first.”
His tone had softened, and the way his eyes held mine made me want to look away. I couldn’t, though. I had to gaze back at him and pretend I wanted nothing more than to be there in that moment, standing close and basking in his praise.
“I’m not sure my mother would agree with that statement,” I said, summoning a smile that I hoped looked more or less natural. “But anyway, I suppose I can start with you, and then Michael, since he’s here.”
“I will summon Tristan and Leticia.”
“Like you do the semivives?”
“It’s not exactly the same thing, but yes, I can reach out to them, mind to mind, and tell them to come home.” His eyes closed briefly, and his head tilted to one side, as if he listened to voices only he could hear. “They are far away — in Hollywood, to be precise — but they should be back within the hour.”
“That’s fine. That’ll give me time to do you and Michael.” Lucius’ eyebrows lifted, and I added hastily, “Get your blood drawn, I mean.”
“I assumed that was what you meant. Well, let us get started.”
He pulled off the dark jacket he wore and tossed it onto a nearby armchair. Deftly and quickly, he removed the cufflink from his shirt cuff and then rolled up the sleeve. Watching him, I couldn’t help but be uncomfortably reminded of when he’d done the same thing in my vision of that future party, even though now I’d be taking his blood rather than adding something to it.
His arm was very pale. I could see the blue veins standing out in the crook of his elbow, although they weren’t as prominent as they’d been in my vision.
Well, give it time, I told myself as I got out the rubber strap and tied it off just above his elbow. A few years of administering serum shots, and I’m sure he’ll end up looking like an extra from Trainspotting.
It was good that I could spot his veins so easily, though, as it made the task at hand a little less fraught. I tapped my finger against his skin, feeling how cool it was under my fingertip. It seemed strange and somehow intimate to touch him there. We’d kissed, and once he’d lain on top of me while he forced his mouth on mine, but we’d always been fully clothed. The only places we’d touched one another’s skin had been on our hands, or our faces.
But I didn’t want to think about that. Instead, I worried my bottom lip with my teeth as I cleaned his arm with an alcohol pad, then took one of the hypodermics and pressed it against his skin. Just the slightest bit of resistance, and then the fine needle sank into his vein. Immediately the syringe began to fill with deep garnet-colored liquid.
It looked like normal blood to me. I didn’t know why I’d expected it to shimmer, or maybe be purple, or green.
He’s not Mr. Spock, I thought wryly as I pulled out the needle and immediately put a cotton pad on Lucius’ arm. Vampires don’t bleed green.
“Can you hold that while I put this down and get some first aid tape?” I asked.
“Certainly.” Lucius pressed several fingers against the cotton pad. I honestly hadn’t been sure how vampire blood would react to this sort of procedure, whether it would continue to flow even when pressure was applied to the site of the wound, but I didn’t see any signs of it soaking the cotton.
I plunged the hypodermic into the sample bottle and pushed down on the syringe to empty it. Then I picked up the tape and pulled off a few pieces so I could secure the cotton pad to Lucius’ arm. After I was done with that, I got out one of the labels not-Brian had bought for me, wrote “Lucius Montfort, 3/9/2017” on it, and affixed it to the bottle.
“Very efficient,” he remarked as he watched me put the sample of blood into a little padded plastic case. “One would think you’d done this many times before.”
“Thank YouTube. God knows I’ve given blood enough times, but it’s a whole different deal when you’re not on the receiving end.”
“Still. You impress me, Serena.”
An unwelcome flush touched my cheeks, but I busied myself with getting out a fresh hypodermic and syringe so I could take Michael’s blood next. “Well, thank you. Maybe I have a backup calling in case the whole copyediting thing doesn’t work out.”
Lucius began to roll his sleeve back down. “My dear, you didn’t need those copyediting jobs before, and you certainly don’t need them now.”
Something about those words rankled. “Maybe ‘need’ isn’t the right word. I never wanted to be a lady who lunches, like my mother. I don’t want to be some idle rich girl.”
A pause as he reinserted the white gold and diamond cufflink into the sleeve of his dark shirt. Then he said. “You are certainly not idle. Your visions have helped people. And now — now you are assisting with a project that could change the world.”
Too bad there was the very distinct possibility I could change it for the worse. Yes, I wanted a cure for Addison, but I didn’t want to think about all the people who might be forced to contribute blood to give vampires a chance to live a normal life, nor the way the one percent might buy their way into immortality. To be honest, the older I got, the less comfortable I felt with my family’s wealth. Jackson spoke like a man of the people when he was running for office, but he still hadn’t hesitated when it came to using his own considerable resources to get this research project up and running. It wasn’t as if Joe Blow down the street could have managed the same thing.
“You’re quiet,” Lucius said.
“Am I? I guess I was just thinking about the research facility,” I lied. “Tomorrow I’ll need to meet with the project manager, get these samples over to her.”
“Speaking of which, here’s your next patient.”
I glanced over at the door to see Michael St. John leaning up against the jamb, looking as if he hadn’t a care in the world. Maybe he didn’t. Lucius hadn’t given any sign that he’d summoned the younger vampire, but I supposed he didn’t need to. Just a little thought bat signal sent out, and all of the vampire master’s fledglings would come running.
Michael’s gaze moved toward the table, to all the supplies I had laid out. “Playing doctor?”
“Serena has need of a sample of your blood,” Lucius said. “Please roll up your sleeve, Michael.”
One dark eyebrow lifted, but the vampire did as instructed and came toward the table where we stood. As he walked, he unbuttoned his cuff and pushed up his sleeve. His skin was pale, too, although nowhere near as white as Lucius’.
“I didn’t know you were a nurse,” Michael remarked as he held out his arm to me.
“I’m not,” I said shortly. Something about Michael St. John always seemed to rub me the wrong way, like he was trying desperately to find something to mock about everyone and everything he encountered. Maybe it was just a coping mechanism, but I found it tiring.
His veins weren’t as easy to locate as Lucius’ had been. I tapped here and there on the inner crook of his elbow, trying to ignore the smirk he wore. Finally, I was able to find a vein that looked viable, so I tapped it again for good measure before poking the hypodermic through his skin.
He winced slightly. I noticed how he didn’t watch as the syringe filled with blood. A vampire, squeamish at the sight of blood? Or maybe it was just his blood in particular, rather than blood in general.
At any rate, Michael didn’t speak as I finished taking the sample, then handed off the syringe to Lucius so I could place a cotton pad on his arm and tape it down. I noticed that Lucius went ahead and emptied the sample into another bottle, then placed a label on it and wrote down Michael’s information in block caps as precise as an architect’s. Good. One less thing for me to do.
“Anything else?” Michael asked as he rolled his sleeve down. “Urine or stool samples?” A sly smile. “Semen?”
I tilted my head in annoyance, even as Lucius said smoothly, “No, Michael, that’s all for now.”
“Good. Because losing that blood’s made me a little hungry.”
“Not tonight, Michael.” Although Lucius’ tone was mild enough, I could see the way his silver eyes narrowed at his fledgling.
Michael put a hand to his chest. “You wound me, Lucius. I know we’re still on lockdown. I was thinking more of a double-double and some animal fries.”
A curl of the lip, and Lucius said to me, “Michael has never quite gotten over his addiction to In N Out.”
“Well, I can’t really blame him for that,” I said. “Have you ever had a double-double?”
“Of course not. I may eat regular food from time to time, but that diet certainly doesn’t include fast food.”
“You don’t know what you’re missing,” I said with a grin.
“I’ve tried to tell him that, too, but he never listens.”
“Enough, Michael. That will be all.”
With a negligent lift of his shoulders, Michael turned and left the room. Lucius shook his head.
“Sometimes it is very difficult to tell when he is being serious and when he is simply trying to bait me.”
“I can imagine,” I remarked. “But I wasn’t joking about the In N Out burgers.”
“You don’t like the food I have brought here?”
He looked slightly wounded, so I decided that was a good time to move closer to him, to take his hand. “I like it very much. You have excellent taste, and obviously know all the good restaurants in town. No, it’s just that sometimes…sometimes it’s fun to go slumming, you know?”
“You would like to do this sometime? Go out in the car and get a burger?”
The thought of Lucius Montfort, with his aristocratic features and elegant dark suits, sitting in an In N Out burger while surrounded by college students and families with kids running around, made me chuckle slightly. “If you don’t mind eating in the car. I suppose you could have one of your semivives vacuum it out afterward.”
This suggestion didn’t seem to sit well with him, because he frowned. “I am not sure about that. Why don’t I have one of my servants go to get these burgers and bring them back to the house?”
“Because the closest In N Out is way up on Foothill Boulevard. The food would be cold by the time it got back here.” He seemed discomfited by that explanation, so I went on, “It’s fine. We don’t have to have a burger.”
“Good, because I sent one of my semivives for Thai this evening. I thought it would be a good change of pace.”
I couldn’t argue with that…especially if sticky mango rice was on the menu.
“That sounds fine,” I told him. “And probably much healthier. When is — ”
I’d been about to ask, When is it going to get here?, but stopped because I heard footsteps at the door. Looking away from Lucius, I saw Tristan McVey and Leticia Carver standing there, arms crossed, both of them wearing the kind of scowls I wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley.
“Well, we’re here,” Leticia said ungraciously. “What do you want?”
If it weren’t that I knew going up against a vampire was a very bad idea for a mortal, I would have charged across the room and tried to slap that frown right off her perfect face. I clenched my hands into fists at my sides, even as Lucius said,
“I want you here to do my bidding, Leticia. My apologies for interrupting your hunt, but since I know you are merely prospecting and not going in for the kill quite yet, I don’t think I have caused you too much of an inconvenience.”
Tristan, whom I’d barely heard utter ten words in my presence, put in, “It is an inconvenience. But you are the master. We do as you say.”
“Yes, you do. Serena here needs samples of your blood. Tristan, you first.”
The vampire looked from his master to me and back to Lucius. “Why?”
“Because I command it. Now, come here.”
A corner of Tristan’s lip lifted. A snarl, or his attempt at a crooked grin? Either way, I was very glad I wasn’t facing him alone. He approached me, shrugging out of his leather jacket as he did so. No sleeve to roll up here; he wore a dark gray T-shirt under the jacket.
I didn’t dare meet his gaze as I retrieved a third hypodermic and syringe for his sample, sure that he would see the blazing hatred in my eyes if I looked at him directly. Like Michael, Tristan was pale, but his was the pallor of someone who never saw the sun, not Lucius’ near-albino complexion. Tristan’s veins were a little more prominent than Michael’s, however. A function of the vampire’s age? I didn’t know, and supposed it didn’t matter much. I was simply glad that I didn’t have to spend much time hunting for a likely spot to poke with the needle. The entire procedure was over and done with in less than a minute. This time Lucius also stepped in to take the syringe away from me and deposit its contents in a sample bottle so I could apply the cotton to Tristan’s arm.
The dark-haired vampire moved away as soon as he could. Lucius looked up from the syringe, which he’d just placed in the box next to the vials containing his own and Michael St. John’s blood. “Now you, Leticia.”
Her lower lip pushed out slightly. She looked for all the world like a rebellious teenager being told to do her chores. Well, a teenager with the body of a bikini model, I supposed; just like the last time I’d seen her, she was wearing a tight-fitting dress that revealed an insane amount of leg, only this dress was a shimmery dark silver rather than red. “Do I have to?”
“Since I just told you that you did, yes, you have to. Come here.”
She stepped closer. I’d never been this near her, and now I could see the utter perfection of her fair skin, the long lashes coated with mascara. Her hair hung nearly to her waist, fine and pale as cornsilk.
And how I wished I could grab one of the nearby chairs, break off a leg, and stab it through her chest. I wasn’t sure why the sight of her enraged me so much more than Tristan’s presence had, except that there was something about her attitude which seemed inherently hostile and yet at the same time superior, whereas Tristan appeared mostly bored.
Unfortunately, it was not the time to seek revenge for Vanessa’s murder. One day…maybe. Once he was free, Silas would probably be all too happy to wipe this nest of vampires off the face of the earth. For now, though, I still had to play the role of Lucius’ complicit partner.
“Let’s try your left arm,” I said, and she thrust it toward me, nearly striking me in the chest.
Lucius said mildly, “Play nice, Leticia.”
She let out a huff and didn’t reply, only stood there as she stared into the middle distance, purposely not meeting my gaze. Fine by me. I didn’t want to have to look her in the eyes. And I didn’t mind smacking her arm a little harder than I needed to in order to make a vein pop up. Her mouth tightened, but she didn’t say anything, no doubt not wanting to risk her master’s ire.
Another vial of deep red blood, and I was done. Lucius took it from me and wrote out the final label as I taped some cotton to her arm.
“How long do I have to keep this thing on?” she asked, looking down at the crook of her elbow in disgust.
“Until it stops clotting,” I said. “Judging by how quickly everyone else has bounced back, no more than ten minutes. It won’t get in the way of your clubbing.”
“Like you’d know anything about that,” Leticia retorted. Her scornful gaze took in my faded jeans and loose blouse, my almost nonexistent makeup.
“Probably not,” I admitted. “I generally have better things to do with my time.”
“Ladies,” Lucius cut in. “Thank you, Leticia. And Tristan. That will be all. You can go back to your…clubbing.”
“We will,” Tristan said. “Come along, Leticia. We still have most of the night ahead of us.”
They went out, Leticia with a decided flounce that would have earned her a lecture on her attitude if she’d been my mother’s daughter. I had to laugh at myself. The thought of my mother getting in Leticia’s face was somewhat amusing, but I knew it would never happen. Thank God. I didn’t want that vicious bloodsucker going anywhere near anyone else in my family.
“What now?” Lucius asked. He held the box with its bottles of blood in both hands, as if it was some kind of royal present.
“That needs to be refrigerated. We can store it in the fridge here, and then I’ll take it home with me and put it in the refrigerator there. I’ll have to put it in a cooler when I transport it to the lab, since it’s probably at least a half-hour drive from here.” I paused, frowning slightly. “Jackson told me it was in Rancho Cucamonga, but he didn’t give me the exact address. He’s kind of distracted. But I’ll text him and get it from him.”
“Good. In the meantime, let us take care of our precious cargo.”
Lucius led me out of the library and down the hall, toward the kitchen. The last time I’d been in this part of the house, I’d demanded that not-Brian take me to see Silas. Had Brian ever told his master about my request? I didn’t know, and I didn’t dare ask. And I made sure to not even glance at the door to the wine cellar as we headed toward the refrigerator.
In there were packs and packs of blood. I tried not to look at them as I set the little box with its own vials of blood on the top shelf. Actually, the interior of the refrigerator was strangely schizophrenic, since on one side was all that blood — clearly purchased from a blood bank — and on the other much more prosaic offerings like cartons of yogurt, a package of bagels, a six-pack of Diet Coke, and a few more odds and ends.
Semivives drank Diet Coke? Who knew?
I didn’t say anything, though, as Lucius shut the refrigerator door. “Well, that’s done. I hope the procedure didn’t ruin your appetite, since our dinner has arrived.”
“No, I’m still hungry.”
His eyes met mine. “Good. As am I.”