I get caught up in the moment, staying for far too long, before finally standing and straddling Vance’s lap. His eyes are so young here. Despite all the struggles they were having, he seems so happy here.

“Vance!” I shout, wondering how exactly to break a man from a trance.

Given his agreeable mood, this seems like the best chance I’ve seen so far.

Pressing my lips to his just ends up with me groaning in disappointment, because he talks, never noticing the kiss. So much for true love’s kiss having ultimate power and stuff.

True love’s kiss is more of a fairy tale setting. I suppose it’s stupid to place it in a monster story.

Getting out of his lap, I dance, I sing, and I do a ton of other ridiculous things to get his attention. I even start unzipping my terrible one-piece jumper, only…to remember…Damien left me commando under this thing.

I glare over at Damien, but then I feel my whole body soften when I see him staring down at his drink, his smile forced. He glances over to where Dorian is sitting off by himself, slumped over.

He says something to the guys, before he gets up to go sit by Dorian, but the image begins to ripple in warning.

Quickly, I grab a log from the fire to see if I can somehow use it to jar—

Nope.

Not happening.

Grunting and straining, I lift with all my might, but the log may as well be cemented in place.

“So I can trip over dead bodies, hurt myself, and touch things, but picking them up is out of the question. Got it. A rule book would be nice,” I grumble, just as the image disappears altogether.

Another gathering slowly takes place of the old one, but I don’t bother trying to get Vance’s attention in this one. I’m starting to get irritated at this point.

Maybe finishing the song first will help?

That’s so stupid that it can’t possibly work.

All the other curses were way easier to break. All I had to do was bind myself to Emit, and apparently that was enough. Come to think of it, that may only work so long as his marks remain, and it’s undetermined how permanent they are.

Not important at the moment.

How can I get myself in danger in here, if I can’t even get Vance’s attention? Hopefully, once I find a way to break him from the trance, he’ll have some ideas. Because this one is too smart for me.

Sitting down, I decide to ride out these memories, because it’s the safest time to attempt to gain his attention. I’m not sure what happens if I ‘die’ in here, so it’s best if he’s not carrying a pointed object.

Besides, it’s nice seeing the men who existed once upon a time. They’re not the same men anymore.

It’s sort of like reading their diary, but they’ve all spied through my window, or crossed some other major personal boundary. My wrong will just cancel out their wrong or something.

The point is, they sure as hell can’t get mad or judge.

 

Chapter 15

 

EMIT

 

“I’m saying you’re a fucking fool if you think this is going to end well for any of us,” I tell Arion, exhaling harshly.

“Maybe she won’t see the worst of them,” Damien groans, putting his arm over his eyes.

Thirty minutes.

Thirty minutes she’s been crying, off and on. For the last five minutes, she’s done nothing but smile.

“But look at that fucking grin,” Arion says in argument, poking at the upturned corner of her mouth. “Maybe she’s secretly a sadist and all the ‘monstrous’ stuff turns her heart to goo when she thinks no one is watching,” he suggests.

“I have no idea what would have her smiling that big for that long,” Damien notes, talking before I can, as he arches a curious eyebrow.

His gaze is fixed to Violet, who smiles even larger.

“Time moves faster and covers a lot of ground, given the fact he lives a lifetime of memories,” Damien adds, almost sounding suspicious. “Nothing was ever that good for very long. The vampire may be onto something.”

Scrubbing both hands over my face, I stand and stalk out, before I beat them both to hell for being idiots.

I kept my mouth shut and let Arion goad Damien into this shit. Not once did I ever imagine she’d make it inside Vance’s mind, let alone get stuck in that hell.

I underestimated Damien.

I’ve played it safe for so long that I’ve stopped understanding what the word safe means, since I’m underestimating people so often.

“We’re too old to be this fucking stupid,” I say over my shoulder.

“Agreed,” they both mumble.

I glance back when I finally reach the fucking door, only to turn and see Arion pressing his forehead to Violet’s.

“What the hell are you doing, Vampyre?” I ask on a tired sigh.

“Trying like hell to at least give her comfort. She’s going to be my bride, and I don’t want her leaving that place too jaded to remember that.”

I’m not sure why she’s smiling, but I know she must be filled with torment by now. Our past isn’t even a little bit pretty.

 

 

Chapter 16

 

VIOLET

 

Leaning my head back, I laugh until my stomach hurts. At what? Who knows. This place doesn’t have helpful subtitles, so I don’t understand any of the jokes.

However, their laughter is so contagious, because I’ve never heard them laugh so freely.

They’re drunk in this memory, toasting and cheering. It’s a beautiful sight to see, and they’re so happy that I can’t help but be infected. I’ll have to ask for details later.

As for my mission? I give up.

Waking Vance from this trance is impossible. I’ve tried absolutely everything I can think of.

I even did a sexy crawl across the ground, pretending I was Catwoman the entire time, given my outrageous leather outfit. I meowed.

I meowed at Vancetto Van Helsing.

I’m really glad he didn’t see that. It wouldn’t be so embarrassing in front of Damien, but it’d be mortifying in front of Vance.

I half wonder if he’s even seeing the memories I am.

I’m guessing that could be the issue, since I came in and decided to control the memories like I had some right.

Taking a deep breath, I turn away from the fun party, and sing the next line, even as I dread it with everything in me. Still, I want to know more, and since I can’t do what I came to do, I may as well learn what I can while I have this opportunity.

“Five gypsy families for one sacrifice.”

The wind sputters at my back, before it funnels toward me at outrageous speeds, and the air is filled with howls that echo through the thick, dark, somewhat horrifying crime scene I’ve landed amongst.

Screams pierce my ears, and my breath seizes in my lungs, just as something wet and warm slaps my face.

Blood.

Definitely blood.

I tremble, staring directly at Arion, who rips a heart clean out of someone’s chest. The dead man drops to the ground, as the gentle man I saw through so many memories just moments ago proves to be lost by this night.

The vampire grins as he lifts the heart and lets the blood trickle into his open mouth, and shouts to the skies in fury.

My stomach roils, because these were my mother’s people. Her family. The ones she loved so dearly that she spent her eternal invested in their revenge.