rivolity enjoyed by empty-headed Red Blood socialites who partied their way through life in the name of philanthropy. She tried to put Bendix out of her mind, and most of the time she succeeded. He was living as he should: he would marry, have children, and lead a happy, uneventful life. He didn’t need her, he never did. She would only have brought him despair and madness. It was lucky that he had been strong enough to survive being chosen as her familiar in the first place.
On this brisk October day, Allegra was walking back home from visiting the Repository when she noticed a huge white van blocking the side entrance on 101st Street. It looked like an ambulance, but it did not carry the name of any hospital or clinic. While theirs was not a particularly busy street, it still needed both lanes for traffic to work properly, and a curious crowd of rubberneckers had gathered around the van, waiting to see if anyone would be wheeled out in a gurney.
They smelled blood and disaster, and Allegra was a bit repulsed by their avid interest. She was also just beginning to worry. What if something had happened to Charles or Cordelia? She pushed her way through the crowd and let herself inside the front door, trepidation in her chest.
Nothing seemed amiss, however. Cordelia was discussing the dinner menu with the staff in the kitchen, and Charles was in his study, where he was in a deep discussion with Forsyth Llewellyn. Charles was trying to coerce Forsyth into moving to New York and joining the Conclave. Forsyth wasn’t one of her favorite people, and Allegra wished Charles didn’t depend on him so much. There was something about the way Forsyth looked at her that she found unnerving. It was as if he knew things about her—secret dark things that she herself did not.
Charles had grown close to Forsyth in this cycle. She remembered their father had never liked him. Lawrence would not have been pleased.
They stopped speaking the moment she walked into the room.
“Charles, what’s that van outside? Does it have something to do with us? It’s blocking the whole street. There’s a crowd gathered around it now.”
“Forsyth, will you move it?” Charles asked.
“Of course,” Forsyth said, jumping up from his chair. He looked nervous, Allegra thought. Why was he nervous?
“What’s going on?” she asked Charles when Forsyth had left.
“There’s been an incident,” Charles said. “But nothing that you need to worry about, darling.” He did not say anything more, and Allegra felt annoyed.
“You’re doing it again, shutting me out. You know I hate that.”
Charles looked wounded. “I don’t mean to. It’s just…”
Allegra bit the inside of her cheeks in frustration. She knew why Charles acted this way. It always came down to what had happened in Florence, during the Renaissance, when she’d made that horrible mistake that could have cost them everything. She would never overcome it. She would never forgive herself. It was a memory she would carry her entire immortal life. The worst thing about it was she didn’t even know everything about what happened. She knew what she had done, of course, but there was more to the story, she was sure of it. Charles denied that he kept secrets—told her she knew everything she needed to know—and she had tried pry-ing once in a while—tried to see if she could access the hidden corners of his memory—but she never found it. Either he was good at hiding his thoughts or he was telling her the truth. She didn’t know what was worse.
Charles sighed. “Anyway, the situation is under control.
But you asked, so I’ll tell you. There’s some sort of sickness infecting humans that has affected several young vampires in San Francisco. There’s a human familiar in the ambulance that died from it. We’re having the doctors analyze its blood.”
Allegra raised an eyebrow. “You know as well as I do that there’s no human disease that can affect the vampires.”
“Not one that we know of.” Charles frowned.
“Charles, even you know it’s impossible. Don’t be obtuse.”
She crossed her arms. “Tell me what’s really in the van.”
He looked her directly in the eyes. “Are you accusing me of lying?” His voice was calm but tight, and Allegra could see the hurt flash in his dark gray eyes.
Her shoulders slumped. “No… I’m not. You know I don’t doubt you,” she said, backing down. “It’s just strange.”
“I agree, which is why we’re keeping a close eye on it.” He cleared his throat. “What’s really bothering you? You’ve been irritable since we took that trip out to California. Did something happen? I didn’t want to pry. I figured you would tell me if it was important.”
Allegra shook her head. She had wanted to tell him, but she didn’t want to cause a scene, and without even meaning to, she realized she had distanced herself from him again. “I saw Ben,” she finally admitted, steeling herself for Charles’s disapproval. “It’s not what you think… nothing happened…
he’s getting married.” She exhaled. “But that’s not the reason why. I mean… you know what I mean.”
Charles took the information in stride with a thoughtful nod. “I’m sorry you’re upset. I know you cared for him.”
Allegra felt as if a huge burden had just been lifted from her soul. She sat down next to her twin and leaned her head on his arm. “Are you all right?” he asked softly.
“Yes. It just… scared me. Seeing him again. After what happened last time, you know?” She had forgotten how close they were. Charles was her best friend, the person she told all her secrets to, the person she trusted the most, the one who knew her intimately. They were two sides of the same coin.
They shared an immortal life: countless memories reaching back all the way to the beginning, when they were first blood bound to each other. She had nothing to hide from him.
He pulled her close to him. “Don’t be frightened.”