Chapter 30

W hen I woke the next morning, Simon was gone. Other than the aching bite mark on my neck, there was no trace of him and I couldn't help but wonder if he'd ever been there at all. Rubbing my eyes, I reached for my phone on the nightstand.

There was a text from Addie from a few minutes ago.

Hey, you up for some sister time today? We're going to paint at the Champ de Mars.

I texted her back. I'd love to. Pick me up in an hour?

Sure, see you soon.

After a look in the mirror, I quickly concluded that Addie would be furious with me. Simon's bite wound was too high to cover with a shirt, and too red and swollen to hide with makeup. While I dressed, I stared at myself in the mirror and searched for the joy I'd felt at Versailles yesterday—the joy I felt with Simon. Dragging my fingers through my hair, then resting my hands on the counter and letting my head hang, I let out a long breath. I was happy in Paris. I was happy with Simon.

But the aftermath of our conversation last night sat heavy in my stomach. The most insecure parts of me worried he would turn me into a vampire, and then leave me behind altogether. Which he had every right to do; it was our agreement, after all.

Except, I wanted him to stay.

I met Addie downstairs when she texted she was here. As soon as I stepped out of the elevator, I spotted her sitting on one of the lobby couches next to Willa and Sophie. Each one of them had a backpack; they were all leaning over Willa's phone and laughing at something.

Addie brightened and waved when she saw me, but her grin faded the closer I came. I offered her a smile like nothing was wrong, but she'd already seen it.

"Indy," she warned.

Willa and Sophie's chatter faded, and I knew they'd seen the bite mark too. I rolled my shoulders back as a kaleidoscope of emotions flashed on my sister's face—shock, concern, fury. I waited for guilt to pool in my stomach, or for the urge to apologize to overcome me. It didn't. No part of me was sorry for what I'd done with Simon, or what I'd asked him for.

"So, it turns out this city is crawling with hot vampires," I said casually, shrugging.

"She's not wrong," Sophie piped up. Willa bumped her shoulder, and she clamped her mouth closed.

Addie rubbed her face in her hands. "Not helping, Sophie." She glared at me. "You can't run off looking for vampires. You could get hurt."

"I didn't go looking," I corrected. "Can we go?"

"No!" Addie squeaked. "Indy, you don't seem to understand. You could have been killed."

"It seemed to work out fine for all of you." I motioned to her friend group. "It took you, what, a week before you boned Holland?" I pretended to check a watch on my wrist. "I'm right on track, it seems."

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Addie sighed. "You're impossible. At least you're going home in a few days."

I jerked at her words, shocked at the hurt that shot through me. It felt like she was dismissing me, like she couldn't be bothered to deal with me. I took an involuntary step backward and swallowed around the lump in my throat.

"Addie," Sophie said softly.

"That was a little harsh," Willa added.

I hated how the other two vampires looked at me—with pity. I gritted my teeth and straightened my shoulders. "You wanted to paint. Let's go paint."

Addie shook her head, pressing her palms to her temples. She was overwhelmed and on the verge of a meltdown. Normally, I would be at her side, reminding her to breathe. Right now, I was so angry that I stared while she dug her nails into her palms so tightly she drew blood. Willa stood from her spot on the couch, approaching Addie. When Willa reached out to touch her, Addie flinched back and bared her fangs at her friend.

"I have to go," Addie snapped.

I watched my sister storm away, shoving past several people on her way out of the building. Awkwardly, I looked between Willa and Sophie.

"What do we do now?" Willa asked, rocking back on her heels.

"Let's go to the Champ de Mars ," I said firmly. "I don't want to waste my time in Paris inside a hotel room."

"I'll text Holland to see if he can find Addie and calm her down. Maybe she'll join us later," Sophie said as she gathered her backpack.

Willa handed me a fourth bag they'd brought; I slung it over my shoulder without a word before following the two vampires out of the hotel and down the street toward the metro station. We passed the café and I looked through the small crowd with the hopes of seeing Simon. He wasn't there. I frowned deeper, clutching the backpack straps and continuing on my walk.

"Okay, the rule is that we have five minutes to draw whatever we want on our canvases, but then we have to switch," Willa explained once we were settled in the grass.

Thankfully, it was overcast today; the clouds cut through the relentless June heat. We sat in a circle on a blue gingham blanket, each with our own canvas. Between us was a dozen paint colors, a handful of brushes, and a couple of water bowls.

The Champ de Mars was only moderately crowded, with small clusters of people lingering to take pictures with the Eiffel Tower. I sipped the wine we'd picked up on the way, glancing around. I half-expected Addie to show up at any moment, but she was nowhere to be seen.

"Ready?" Sophie's voice pulled me from my daydream.

"So ready," I said.

Willa started the timer, and we all got to work on our canvases. I wasn't an artist by any means, but I could scribble a paintbrush across a canvas like the best of them. I started with a big blob of black paint, smearing it across the top half of the page eagerly. Next to me, Sophie drew her brush in a large circle. Willa seemed to be stabbing her canvas, jerking her brush up and down in sharp motions.

When five minutes were up, we switched canvases. I ended up with Willa's, staring at the hundreds of polka dots she'd left over the page in pink and purple. I hummed, grabbing a sponge from the pile and working to smear and spread them. I added blue, black, and white, doing my best to turn her dots into pieces of a universe.

By the time we switched again, it didn't necessarily look any better, but it had become a different sort of hot mess. We continued like this for over an hour before adding more paint to our canvases seemed impossible.

Willa's had become a universe with haphazard stars and oval planets. Mine was an ocean in the dark, with a funny-shaped dolphin leaping from the water and a pink pirate ship. Sophie's was a fruit bowl with some of the most misshapen fruit I'd ever seen. We dissolved into laughter, clinking our plastic wine glasses together and setting our paintings out to dry.

"So, let's talk about your vampire," Sophie said when we lay back on the blanket.

"I don't particularly want a lecture," I said.

"I was going to ask if he was hot. Or, she? They?" Sophie tilted her head toward me. "Sorry, it was insensitive of me to assume it was a ‘he.'"

I smiled. "He's unbelievably hot."

Willa rested her chin on her palm in a dramatically wistful gesture. "And was the sex good?"

I blushed bright. "Yes, it's good."

Both girls cheered.

"Does it hurt?" Sophie motioned to the wound on my neck, which felt uncomfortable beneath my sweat in the late morning heat. "I can heal it for you, if you'd like?"

I eyed her nervously. "How?"

Her fangs extended, and she pricked the pad of her thumb on one. She let a single drop of blood fall into what was left of my wine. I swirled it around in the glass before bringing it to my lips. After I swallowed, a tingling sensation rippled over the wound on my throat and the one on my thigh. When I touched my neck, the bite mark was gone.

"Thank you," I said, blinking in surprise as I continued to poke and prod the fully healed skin on my neck.

"My pleasure," Sophie said. "I'm surprised he didn't heal it himself, but some vampires are more hesitant about sharing their blood."

"Why?" I asked.

"Any more than a drop or two is enough to turn someone into a vampire if they die with vampire blood in their system," she replied. "That won't do anything, even if you died right now, but some vampires don't want to take the risk."

I nodded with a hum.

"Addie told us you want to be a vampire," Willa said. "Is that true?"

I shrugged. "It's always been me and Addie. When we were kids, we used to say ‘till death do us part.' I'm not letting death take her from me, now or in sixty years when my body gives out."

"She might come around," Willa offered, though it didn't sound like she believed it.

I didn't look at her. I didn't need Addie to come around. I needed to see Simon again.