“Yeah,” the girl murmured. “You don’t want to go harming any humans here. Or anyone, for that matter. I don’t know if you’ve been to The Tavern before—I’m guessing you haven’t if you’re newly turned. The laws here are strict. Very strict. You could be sentenced to execution even for getting into a fight here.”

I glanced at her, disbelieving.

“It’s the only way they can maintain peace with such a myriad of conflicting species all milling about in one area.”

I guessed it made sense.

I looked back toward the counter, hoping for any sign of the human leaving. He was only showing signs of staying as he put down the broom and picked up a mop before cleaning the floor in front of the bar.

I started to panic as my vision began to shroud again. I guessed that it would be a matter of seconds now before—

“Do you have a room in this place?” the hazel-eyed girl asked, walking around me and standing directly in front of me.

“Yes,” I breathed, grateful for her distraction. My eyes demisted a little, my vision becoming clearer at her interruption. “I’m booked to stay in one of the rooms, but I need the key…”

“Ah.” She glanced back over at the counter. “Well, I’ve finished my drink. I don’t mind asking the guy for your key. Just keep yourself in this corner.”

Even that felt like a gargantuan task. But I couldn’t have been more appreciative for her offer of help in that moment.

“That would be… great,” I panted. “And if you could hurry…”

She gave me a small, knowing smile, and then dashed off. She arrived behind the counter, spoke to the vampire waiter and gestured back toward me.

The man glanced my way before opening up a cabinet and pulling down a key, which he handed the young woman. She swept back across the room toward me, deftly snaking around the tables.

“Thank you,” I said as she handed me the key.

Now I just had to figure out how to get up the staircase and also hope that once I was up there, my room would be far away enough from the ground floor for the smell to not bother me so much.

“I’m, uh, retiring to bed now anyway, if you’re headed for the stairs…” the girl said.

She walked by my side, the side that was closer to the human, as we left the table. I rushed toward the staircase and ran up it. Her standing so close to me helped. I felt a twinge in my chest as I thought of River, how much I’d come to rely on her to act as my boundary during the time we spent together. As I climbed the staircase with the girl, I imagined where River would be now. In The Shade, I hoped. I wondered how she had taken waking up to find me gone. How she was coping. How her family was adjusting to the island. Whether they would all stay there. Whether I might ever see River again…

“I’m Julie, by the way,” the girl said.

She looked at me as though she was expecting me to offer my name. I didn’t. I was grateful to her for helping me out of that predicament, but I wasn’t here to make friends.

“Your room is sixty-seven,” she said as we continued up the winding staircase and reached level six. I jumped up four steps at a time, quickening my arrival at my level.

I looked back at her. “Thank you again.”

She shrugged. “No problem. I’ll maybe see you around… Or not.”

Or not would be a realistic expectation.

CHAPTER 12: BEN

J ulie disappeared up the staircase while I entered a long, wide corridor that spanned the sixth level. I was shocked at the size of the place. From outside in the square where Aisha and I had first entered, the Blue Tavern had looked like a narrow building. Now I could see that its accommodation space sprawled out across the floors of the attached buildings on either side of the pub.

At least it was big enough for the scent of human blood downstairs to not bother me so much, especially as I walked further and further down the corridor. I arrived outside room sixty-seven, pushed in the key and opened the door. I stepped into a small, basic room. There was a single bed in one corner, and a tiny bathroom attached. There was no window in this room either, and the carpets looked worn. The sheets and pillow also looked like they had seen better days, but the place seemed clean at least. Not that it mattered much. I was just glad to be on my own, away from the human and the crowds.

I stepped into the bathroom and washed my face. I glanced at myself in the mirror, relieved to see that my eyes were still green.

Don’t leave me yet, Bahir.

I felt like a walking time bomb. Not even the jinn seemed to have much of an idea as to how long Bahir could remain within me. And once he left, there’d be nothing stopping me from…

I caught myself. I needed to stop dwelling on worst-case scenarios. I just needed to hope that Aisha was fast in bringing Arron to me.

I breathed out slowly, trying to calm my racing mind.

I thought more about Arron. What it would be like meeting him for the first time since I was a newborn. I still found it hard to believe that he could be of help to us. I hoped that Nuriya had been right in assuming that he would want to do all he could to help us stop the Elders’ plan.

I lay on the bed and stared up at the ceiling for the next few hours, mulling over the meeting with Arron in my mind, and what solution he could possibly suggest. If he had any suggestions at all. I found myself sick of all the speculating and eventually closed my eyes.

Then my stomach lurched.

Human blood.

I could smell it again. Not a distant, diluted hint. It was strong. Too strong. As though a human was walking right by my room.