He nodded but didn’t comment.
“While I’m in the Etherlin, I’ll talk to Alissa, the muse I work with. Talking to her always revs my mind. It’ll help me come up with new theories and ideas about why the ventala are after you.”
“How do the muses help human beings have ideas?”
“They’re part magical. Scientists have studied them and noticed that the muses have special proteins circulating in their blood and that the timbre and quality of their voice changes when they speak to someone they’re trying to influence. Their voices contain a vibratory note that activates more parts of the brain than normal human speech, particularly the areas used for creativity.”
“The muses have a divine gift.”
“Yeah. Pretty great of them to share it, huh? They’re very altruistic. Unlike the ventala, who are totally self-serving. If you really are from the past, maybe they’re worried you know something dangerous. Maybe there’s something you came here to do that will hurt them . . . so they want to stop you before you get the chance,” she murmured.
“What do the ventala fear in general?”
“They’re afraid that people will decide that the ventala are too violent to live among us. Of course, attacking people only makes us more likely to think that, so they must want you dead very badly to risk the consequences of attacking in daylight in a human neighborhood.”
“Were the ventala slaves?”
“No.”
“But they don’t have full citizenship? They’re treated like foreigners?”
“Kind of. Vampires were predators and were killed for that reason. The ventala are part vampire, so they’re treated differently from people who are fully human. The laws put special restrictions on them. It pisses them off. They’d like more freedom, but it’s tough to trust them with it.”
“Since they’re stronger and more violent than human beings?”
“Exactly. They’re impulsive, and they sometimes fly into a rage without warning. In this case, though, their pursuit of you is obviously premeditated. You know what’s strange? They knew you’d lost your memory. Maybe they attacked you and gave you a head injury? But how did you escape if you were badly injured? And if you can heal wounds so fast, why wouldn’t you have healed a head injury just as quickly?” She paused, shaking her head. “So many questions. Not enough answers.”
“Nathaniel.”
She blinked.
“My name is Nathaniel,” he said triumphantly.
“That’s great! Do you remember your last name?”
He shook his head.
“ES—Etherlin Security—should be able to help us. They have sophisticated equipment to identify nonhuman creatures and people with superhuman abilities. If anyone can figure out what you are, it’s ES, so don’t worry.”
“I wasn’t worried, Kate. I have faith that my memory will return in its own time. Now tell me about your dreams of us. How did we meet? And what’s the nature of our relationship? Are we in love?”
Her gaze slid to him. “Well,” she said, and then smiled self-consciously. “Sometimes we are really . . . close. Other times you’re very focused on fighting and barely register that I’m there.”
“Is that so?” he said, clearly skeptical. “I don’t think your presence is something that would easily escape my attention.” He clasped his hands, tapping his thumbs against each other. “They’re only dreams. They don’t tell the entire story.”
“You’re sure of that, are you?” She smiled. “And what do your instincts tell you is supposed to be between us? A great love affair?” she teased, wanting him to say yes.
“No,” he said, and her smile faded. “Not an affair. That would ruin your reputation. You’d be a fallen woman.”
Oh my. There’s some more of that two-thousand-year-old morality, she thought, her spine stiffening.
“If there was love between us, I’d make you my wife, Kate. And you’d belong to me for life.”
Belong to him. For life. Wow.
The idea sent an odd thrill through her, but was also kind of terrifying. What would it be like to be married to someone as stubborn, archaic, and uncompromising as Nathaniel? What would that mean for her career? Would passion totally consume her and leave room for nothing else? Emotions certainly seemed to swallow her whole in those dreams. She shivered. Yes, thrilling. And also terrifying.
Chapter Four