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Phoebe studied the cat Perhaps she was not as hungry as she thought

—

FOUR HOURS AFTER the cat arrived, Phoebe was able to scoop it into her lap when it was sleeping She picked it up, all four li as if they were boneless, and clied position and deposited the cat into the holloeen her thighs

Phoebe stroked the cat’s soft fur, keeping her touch featherlight She didn’t want to break the spell and send the cat, hissing, to its forht overwhel heart of the cat, she ht upend the wardrobe and crush the animal to death before she was able to drink from it

“Howto work along the cat’s spine The cat started a low purring “Notwell fed”

The cat couldn’t have er was considerable—and growing Her veins felt dry and flat, as though her body didn’t hold enough life-giving fluid to round them out to their normal circumference

The cat pushed slightly against Phoebe’s legs before forhed, contented and war

Phoebe reminded herself that the cat wouldn’t survive what she was about to do

And for God’s sake, don’t na echoed in Phoebe’s mind

—

PHOEBE HADN’T BEEN fed for twelve hours, sixteen minutes, and twenty-four seconds She had done theto have to feed soon or risk beco frenzied and cruel Phoebe was deterh stories of Matthew’s early days, told with great gusto by Ysabeau, to want to avoid such unpleasant scenes

The cat was still sleeping in Phoebe’s lap During the hours they’d spent together, Phoebe had learned a great deal about the ani her sex, which was fehtly, and howher paws touched

The cat still didn’t trust her enough to let Phoebe stroke her belly What predator would? When Phoebe tried, the cat scratched her in protest, but the scratches healed al no mark behind

Phoebe’s fingers still h the cat’s fur, hoping for so, of friendship Of permission

But the contrapuntal sound of the cat’s heartbeat and the hollowness in Phoebe’s veins had gone froether, they had beco of suppressed desire

Blood Life

Blood Life

The song pulsed through the cat’s body, one heartbeat at a ti it bleed for a fraction of a second before it healed She had been gnawing at her own lips for the last hour, tasting the salt, knowing it would not satisfy her hunger but unable to stop herself

The cat opened her eyes slightly at the rich scent, her pink nose quivering Once the cat determined it wasn’t fish, or a piece of meat, she fell back into slumber

Phoebe bit her lip again, harder and deeper this time The taste of salt flooded her mouth, savory but e more Phoebe’s mouth watered at the prospect of a meal

Once again, the cat lifted her head, her green eyes fixed on Phoebe

“Want a taste?” Phoebe ran her finger over her lip, sether behind her fingertip Already the blood on her finger had darkened to a rich violet Moving quickly, before it dried to black, Phoebe offered it to the cat

Curious, the cat’s pink tongue lapped at Phoebe’s finger Its sandy texture

Then so extraordinary happened

The cat’s eyes drifted closed, a tiny bit of pink tongue extended

Phoebe poked at it but the cat didn’t stir

She ran her fingers lightly over the cat’s belly

Nothing

“Oh, God, I’ve killed it!” Phoebe whispered

Phoebe poked it again, trying to rouse it, and felt a sense of panic No one would come to save her—not for hours or days Miriaive her a new life—had er, the dead cat in her lap She couldn’t feed fro It orse than necrophilia, an abhorrence to a vampire

Blood Life Blood Life

The pulsing beat of the song continued, though its cadence was slower

Dinized it

A heartbeat Not hers

The cat wasn’t dead

It was asleep

No, Phoebe realized, the cat was drugged She looked down at her finger, which still held traces of purple

Her vampire blood had put the cat into a state of suspended ani about this, and how so unspeakable things to warmbloods after they fed from them

Phoebe lifted the cat to her nose, the ani even more boneless and peltlike than it had before The cat didn’t s Its scent was musky and dry

Blood Life Blood Life The cat’s slow-beating heart sang into the quiet roo

Phoebe pressed her lips to the cat’s neck, instinctively seeking food Surely the blood was closest to the skin’s surface there Why else would so many human stories about vaone over the circulatory systeer of the le relevant piece of information

The cat squirmed in Phoebe’s hands Even under the influence of vampire blood, its instinct to survive hadn’t dierous than she

Phoebe’sin the texture of the fur She grasped a tiny fold of skin between her teeth and bit down a fraction of an inch—the tiniest amount possible—and waited for the blood to fill her mouth

Nothing

Don’t worry about the ht when she checked on Phoebe, sounding almost cheerful at the prospect of a bloodbath We will clean it up afterward

After you destroy this cat, Phoebe thought After you feed After you survive at some other creature’s expense

Phoebe’s civilized mind rebelled at the prospect, and her sto in a futile effort to expel its contents—but it was empty

There had to be soht She had drained the carafe hours ago, and the two bottles of Pellegrino that Françoise had given her when Phoebe complained that the flat water tasted unpleasantly metallic Phoebe hadn’t been able to stoundy, which had always been her favorite—so Freyja had taken it away

Phoebe had even downed the water in the vase on the sill She eyed the flowers strewn on the carpet, wondering whether she could snack on the steht of so reenery made her stomach revolt

She got to her feet, placing the cat on the bed, and searched through her purse There had to be soum, a throat pastille, a piece of stale biscuit that had fallen out of the wrapper She tipped the contents onto the bed around the slu cat

Tissues, crumpled

Receipts, folded in half

Driver’s license

Passport

Notebook for jotting down tasks

A single grubby Polostuck to it

Phoebe’s hand ed the mint She pried a one-cent euro off the back and popped the mint into her mouth She closed her eyes in anticipation of the rush of pepperar

The mint in her mouth turned to paste Phoebe spat it across the rooed as it hit the

Another crack, Phoebe thought with sorrow

The cat stretched, sighed, and turned her belly and paws heavenward, filling the rooer s, she slorious e studied the cat Perhaps she was not as hungry as she thought