Anders.”
“Hmm.” Teddy raised his eyebrows. “Anders a first name or last?”
“Neither,” Anders said, and ended any further possibility to question him by popping his bag of blood to his mouth.
Teddy scowled but merely moved into the small back room with its coat closet. He returned a moment later with a coat in one hand and a pair of boots in the other.
“Now that the cavalry have arrived, I guess I’ll go home and crawl into my own bed,” he announced, settling on a dining-room chair to don his boots.
“Thank you for staying, Teddy,” Tiny murmured. “I made a fresh pot of coffee shortly before Drina and Anders arrived. Do you want a cup for the road?”
“That’d be nice,” Teddy said appreciatively, finishing with one boot and pulling on the other. Tiny immediately moved to the cupboard and retrieved a travel mug. By the time Teddy had finished with his second boot, Tiny had poured the coffee and added the fixings. He waited as Teddy donned his coat and did it up, and then handed him the mug.
“Thank you,” Teddy murmured, accepting it. “I’ll clean the mug and return it tomorrow when I come to check on things.”
“Sounds good,” Tiny said with a nod, as he walked the man to the door and saw him out.
“Well,” Drina said, pulling the now-empty bag from her fangs and moving around the counter to throw it out. “I guess it’s time for me to go to bed.”
Harper smiled faintly at her grimace as she said it. It was only a little after one. Going to bed now was like a mortal going to bed at four in the afternoon. It was doubtful she’d be able to sleep for quite a while. In fact, he suspected she probably wouldn’t be able to drift off until just before dawn, and then she’d have to get up with Stephanie in the morning. She was in for a rough time until she adjusted to her new hours, he thought with sympathy.
“It’s the room in the front right corner as you come off the stairs,” Tiny said helpfully. “I’m not sure which of the twin beds Mirabeau chose, though.”
“I’ll figure it out,” Drina assured him as she picked up her suitcase. “Good night, boys.”
“Good night,” Harper murmured, along with the others. He watched until she’d left the room, and they could hear her mounting the stairs. He then frowned slightly and glanced up toward the lights, wondering why the room seemed a little darker all of a sudden.
Chapter Two
Drina paused before the bedroom door Tiny had directed her to and eased the door open. The moment she did, someone sat up in the near bed. Mirabeau, she guessed, and backed up as the woman got up and moved to join her in the hall.
“Our replacement?” Mirabeau whispered as she slid the door silently closed. She wore joggers and a sleeveless T-shirt: comfortable enough to sleep in but ready for action if necessary.
“Drina Argenis,” Drina said with a nod, offering her hand.
“Mirabeau La Roche.” They shook hands, and then Mirabeau asked, “Lucian said Anders was coming with you?”
“Yes, he’s downstairs with the others,” Drina said. “I came up to relieve you. I’ll sleep in Stephanie’s room from now on.”
“I can’t say I’m sorry to give up that job. I haven’t slept a wink,” Mirabeau admitted dryly.
“I don’t think I will either. At least not tonight,” Drina admitted on a sigh. She hadn’t slept at night since. . well, actually she didn’t recall ever sleeping at night. Shrugging, she added, “Although tomorrow night may be a different story. By then I may be exhausted enough that I do actually sleep.”
“Let’s hope,” Mirabeau said, glancing toward the stairs.
“Go on,” Drina said with amusement as she picked up her suitcase. “Tiny is no doubt getting antsy waiting for you.”
Mirabeau nodded and turned away. “Good night.”
“Good night,” Drina murmured, and eased the bedroom door open to slip inside. The room wasn’t completely dark, the curtains were heavy, but a faint glow from the streetlights outside was still slipping around the edges. Between that and her eyesight, Drina could see almost as well as if it were daylight. She set down her suitcase beside the bed, briefly considered changing her clothes, but then decided the sweater and jeans she wore would do. She didn’t want to wake Stephanie, and wasn’t likely to sleep anyway, she thought as she eased to sit on the side of the bed.
“Aren’t you going to change your clothes?”
Drina turned sharply and glanced over her shoulder as the young girl in the next bed shifted onto her side facing her and raised her arm to rest her head on her hand.
“You can turn on the light if you like. I’m not asleep anymore.”
Drina hesitated, but then supposed if they were going to be roommates, she should at least introduce herself to the girl. Standing, she moved around the bed to sit on the side facing Stephanie as the girl reached over to turn on the lamp on the bedside table. Habit, Drina supposed. As an immortal, Stephanie should have been able to see as well as Drina did.
The sudden light was briefly blinding, but after blinking several times, Drina found herself peering at a petite blonde. She’d been told the girl was fifteen, but Stephanie looked younger. She had a lovely face, but a child’s body, still somewhat gangly and flat-chested.
“Hi.” Stephanie shifted to sit cross-legged on her own bed. “You’re Alexandrina Argenis, but prefer to be called Drina.”
“And you’re Stephanie McGill,” she said calmly, supposing that Lucian must have told Mirabeau and Tiny who was coming, and they’d passed it on to the girl.
“They didn’t tell me,” Stephanie said with a smile.
Drina blinked. “Excuse me?”
“You just thought that Tiny and Beau told me who was coming, but they didn’t. I read your mind.”
Drina sat back slightly, her eyes narrowing. The girl certainly sounded as if she’d just read her mind, but it wasn’t possible. Drina was old, older than her uncle Victor, and Stephanie was a new turn. The teenager couldn’t possibly read her.
“Maybe it’s because you’ve met your life mate,” Stephanie suggested with a shrug. “That usually makes you guys readable, doesn’t it?”
“Er. .” Drina instinctively shook her head in denial.
“Marguerite suggested you to Lucian because she thinks Harper is your life mate.”
“Crap.” Drina sagged where she sat. The kid really was reading her. That was the only explanation since Marguerite had said Lucian hadn’t wanted to know who it was so long as it wasn’t Anders. She and Marguerite were the only two in the world who knew.
“Plus me,” Stephanie said with amusement.
“Plus you,” Drina agreed on a sigh. Apparently just meeting the man had been enough to start affecting her. Great.
“It was smart you’ve played it cool and didn’t just blurt out that he might be your life mate. Harper’s going to be a hard nut to crack,” Stephanie said suddenly. “He’ll fight this life-mate business.”
“Why do you say that?” Drina asked warily.
“Because it isn’t grief that’s making him so miserable over Jenny. It’s guilt. He thinks if he’d never met and tried to turn her, she’d still be alive. It’s eating him up. He doesn’t think he deserves to be happy. He thinks he needs to suffer for her dying. He’ll fight it and avoid you for the next couple of centuries until he feels he’s suffered enough if he finds out you’re life mates. . unless you creep up on him.”
Drina stared at her blankly, amazed to hear such wisdom from someone so young.
Stephanie suddenly grinned and admitted, “I’m not Yoda or something. I’m just repeating what Marguerite
