Page 3

“I like swimming alone,” Aerin countered. They didn’t need to know she’d never been invited. Aerin happily accepted the cookie bribe and headed for the door, not wanting to answer any more questions.

“By the way, don’t mention this morning to your uncle,” Aerin said quietly, not wanting others to think she was abusing her song. She was already edging toward outcast; she didn’t want to fully commit to the status. She was happy to live on the fringe.

“Maybe we will, maybe we won’t,” Shelby mused.

“Okay, maybe I’ll mention to your uncle about the late-night swims with those werewolves from your class.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Maybe I would, maybe I wouldn’t.” Aerin shrugged.

“We won’t say a thing about the tip jar,” Sandy promised, and Shelby nodded along.

“See you tomorrow morning.” She winked, heading out the door and letting them get back to work.

Aerin finished her perfectly sweet and salty latte by the time she reached the blood bank in a wing of the hospital across town. As she opened the glass door, the smell of industrial disinfectant hit her like a tidal wave. She kept her glasses on because fluorescent lights were the harshest on her eyes.

“Morning, Marietta.” Aerin put on her best smile for the Witch or Healer, as she preferred to be called.

“Aerin? What can I do for you this morning?” Marietta asked, clutching her clipboard close to her chest. She was a member of the Bloomcast coven, which specialised in plant and herbal magic, one of the nine covens that made up Indigo Cove’s Witches’ Council. “We don’t need any more siren blood donations that I’m aware of.” She checked her clipboard for her name and shook her head. “I don’t see your name⁠—”

“No, I’m not here to donate.” Aerin interrupted and slid the coffee and cookies across the counter toward her. “However, I do need a couple of bags of O. If you have any to spare?” Aerin asked, hoping the sweet treats would entice her. Vampires came in all the time to purchase blood as they needed, but sirens not so much, if ever. It would be like a vegan purchasing blood sausage.

“Oat milk?” Marietta’s dark eyes lingered on the cup, and she put down her clipboard.

“As always.”

Marietta picked up the cup and placed it down on her desk.

“I can spare a few bags, but can I ask why you need so much blood?” Marietta asked, taking a sip of the coffee and trying to hide her smile.

“It’s for a friend, a vampire. I figured it’d be a good idea to grab some blood to have in the house while they’re staying in town.” Aerin fibbed, not wanting to risk her not providing her with the blood. A little lie couldn’t hurt; he might not be a friend, but he was staying in her home.

“A friend from out of town?” Marietta’s surprise prickled a little. “Why don’t they come by themselves, and they can pick their preferred type?”

Aerin hadn’t left the cove for decades, but she could make friends if she wished to. She’d had plenty of human friends once, but she had outlived them, and losing everyone she loved was hard enough the first time. She didn’t fancy a second round of funerals. Unlike born sirens, she’d been cursed with immortality by the Sea Goddess who’d spared her life seventy years ago.

“He arrived late last night, and I offered to come down and pick up some O, daylight and all that,” Aerin reasoned.

“I can only sell you two bags at a time.” Marietta made a quick note on the computer before she handed over the chilled blood bags from a fridge behind the counter, ready to go for the vampires in town.

“If they prefer a particular type, call ahead next time. I can arrange a standing order for you while they’re in town. I wouldn’t want your friend to go hungry,” Marietta said as Aerin handed her some cash.

She didn’t have a bank account or cards; her money was mostly in cash, and some gold stored in her grandfather’s safe, for emergencies only. Banks and immortality didn’t exactly go hand in hand. She made her money selling artifacts and didn’t want a paper trail.

“I’ll just pop in if I need more. I doubt they’ll stay long,” Aerin said as she placed the blood bags into her tote bag.

“Have a great day, and thanks for the cookies,” Marietta called after her.

“Thanks for your help, and make sure to share the cookies with the nurses,” Aerin said, hurrying out of there before she invited her to some town meeting or get-together.

Chapter Three

Aerin

“Right where I left you,” Aerin said softly, her gaze fixed on the coffin resting silently in the middle of her dimly lit basement. A strange pull tugged at her gut, as if the slumbering vampire was trying to draw her in, but she dismissed it as nerves. How could a comatose vampire have any control over her?

Casting her eyes to the stained-glass window at the top of the stairs, which cast beams of sunlight onto the coffin, she couldn’t let him out here, and she didn’t feel like cleaning up his ashes after going to the trouble of getting him blood. She considered whether trying to revive him was a good idea or terribly foolish. A starved vampire wandering freely could spell disaster for everyone in town; it was best to keep him under her roof.