by K.N. Lee
Raven sauntered over. She sat down and licked her front paw. Her green eyes looked up innocently into Koa’s matching green eyes. “Shall we leave now?” she asked, in her mother’s voice.
Koa’s shoulders slumped. She looked over at the cat. “Yes.” She nodded and looked down at the blood pooling between her white toes. “But first, I must clean up this mess.”
2
Koa sat back in her wooden chair and watched as Halston entered the little bistro. She hid her smile as his eyes scanned the room. He was like a golden light, come to spread joy throughout the room. She wasn’t the only woman to notice him. Koa was very aware of the looks he got whenever he stepped into a room.
She sipped her coffee and sighed. She wasn’t ready to tell him about the night before, but Halston was more than her best friend.
He was her boss.
Halston didn’t have to look long for her. Koa tended to stand out, especially in the countryside of Paris. Her pale face, green eyes, and long blue hair were a stark contrast to everyone in the room. The fact that she was Korean didn’t help her blend in either.
Their eyes met and his the corners of his lips lifted into a smile.
How could anyone have a more perfect smile? Koa set her cup down and rested her elbows on the table top. She twirled her hair with her finger as she watched Halston check his watch.
Always late, she thought with an impish grin. For someone who loved rules and decorum, Halston never seemed to think twice about punctuality.
Halston shrugged as if he just realized that he was thirty minutes late and it wasn’t a big deal.
Bright blond hair was revealed once he took off his navy fedora and crossed the small room with tables set close to one another.
Perfect white teeth smiled at Koa as Halston stood before her.
Koa secretly enjoyed the dirty looks the other women were giving her when they realized that this masterpiece of a man had come to see her.
“Good morning, Koa,” Halston said, sitting across from her. He reached over to take a piece of her bacon. Koa slapped his hand.
“Hands off,” Koa scolded as she hid a mischievous smile. “You didn’t even ask.”
Halston’s eyebrows drew in as he sat back. “Someone’s moody today,” he grumbled and motioned for the waitress.
Koa folded her arms across her chest. “And someone’s late…”
That perfect smile returned. It should have made her grimace. Instead, it did exactly what he wanted it to do. It softened the lines in her face, making her smile in return.
“I apologize. Why couldn’t we meet somewhere familiar? I’ve never heard of this place”
“I like it here. Don’t question a Parisian about her bistros.”
“But you don’t know how hard it is to get out here with all of the sheep in the streets and whatnot. And you’re not really Parisian—you’re Korean.”
Folding her arms across her chest, she leaned back in her chair. “I’m offended, Halston. I’ve lived in Paris since I was six years old. That’s long enough to be considered a true Parisian.”
Halston swiped one of her macaroons and popped it into his mouth. “Pardon me, Mademoiselle. You will forgive me, right?”
Koa rolled her eyes, but her smile widened without her permission. She could listen to him just talk for hours. “Sure. This time.” She flicked her bangs out of her eyes. “How could anyone resist that British accent?”
Halston shrugged with a grin. “I suppose it has its perks.”
Koa didn’t think Halston knew just how much it affected her. He could ask for anything.
The tiny waitress took his order. She made eyes at him as if Koa wasn’t sitting right there. Koa shook her head. Good thing Halston wasn’t her boyfriend or husband; she might have felt inclined toward jealousy. She put her elbows onto the table and drank from her small café au lait.
Koa rolled her eyes as Halston spoke in French. He told the waitress how she looked like Audrey Tatou in Amelie and the girl swooned—her cheeks reddening as she giggled.
Koa almost wished she could show her fangs to the waitress and wipe that smile off her cute little face, but she resisted. She would be good today. Leave it to Koa to contemplate outing the entire vampire race to the poor, blissfully ignorant humans.
The waitress sauntered off with a beaming smile. Halston turned his attention back to Koa. She wondered if he knew that he’d just made that woman’s day.
“Why, sir,” Koa said as she mocked a British accent. She put the back of her hand across her forehead and pretended to be one of the girls from her favorite Jane Austen movies. She batted her eyelashes. “Aren’t you just the most charming, handsome gentleman I’ve ever laid eyes on? I could just hand you my sweet innocence right here on this table.” She burst out laughing and Halston made a face.
“Your British accent is dubious at best,” Halston said with a chuckle.
“It’s not that bad. I’ve worked with you in London long enough to have picked up a little of the accent.”
“Not nearly enough,” he muttered.
“Funny,” she said.
His smile faded. “You look tired.”
Leave it to Halston to figure something was wrong within the first five minutes of arriving. She was surprised he didn’t notice sooner.
Too busy flirting with doe-eyed waitresses, she thought, taking a sip from her coffee cup.
His gaze roamed over the surroundings.
“Thanks. That’s exactly what I needed to hear this early in the morning. You look as if you just fell from Mount Olympus. Congratulations for making me feel like a spotted monkey.”
Halston sighed. His face turned serious. This was the face of her boss.
“Out with it. What happened?”
She carefully sat her cup down before her and leaned in. “Syths. Two of them. Ugly bastards, bathed in the stench of burnt coal.” She grimaced at the memory. “I’d say they’d only been in our world a few hours.”
“What?” he whispered, his eyes widening with the levity of what she’d just told him.
“They attacked me, Halston. In my house.”
“Are you sure they were Syths?”
Koa tilted her head, giving him a blank look. “Want to go check the graves I dug for them? You know, just to be sure?”
Halston let out a long breath.
“Give me some credit. I may still be the new kid in the division, but I think I know my Nephilim.”
Halston shook his head. “There have been more unusual deaths of children lately, particularly little girls. Bloodless corpses are scattered about in the streets.” Halston looked at her. “I told you, Koa. I told you a long time ago. You cannot stay there anymore.”
Koa grinned then. She knew he would say that.
“What are you smiling at? This is serious.”
Koa laughed lightly and shook her head. “Nothing, Halston. Nothing at all.” She drank some of her coffee. She looked at it with a perplexed expression as something dawned on her. “I thought you told me that the nephilim were locked in the Netherworld. I thought they could not get free.”
The Netherworld, the world of the nephilim, creatures of supernatural origin, had been her main study since the death of her father. From all that she learned, they were not supposed to be able to come and go freely. There were supposed to be rules and boundaries keeping the human world safe from those creatures. Someone was deliberately breaking those rules.
“I never said that. They can come and go as they please, if they have permission. And I am the only one that can do such a thing.”
Koa sat up straight. “So, there is no one else that can give them permission? How could they have escaped?”
Halston waved her to settle down. “I’ll handle it,” he said. After a moment of silence, he lifted his brows as their eyes met. “I want you to move.”
Koa examined his face. It was apparent that he feared for her safety. Unfortunately, she feared for her own as well.
“Really?”
“Let’s say we go shopping for houses today, shall we?”
“That was almost too easy,” Halston said.
Koa put money on the table. “Don’t press your luck.”
Koa and Halston walked down the gray pavement and stopped before a newly developed high-rise. Koa looked up into the sky. It was tall. She would be able to fly out whenever she wanted, as long as no one was looking.
She frowned. This is not going to work.
Her father’s mansion was her home. How could she leave it? She still remembered when he had come back for her and Raven. For years, Koa and her mother had lived in a one-room cottage in Daegu, South Korea.
Each day Koa would look out their window and wait for this elusive father of hers to return to the woman he had impregnated and the child he had held only once. Raven had been confident that he loved them both, and that he would come back for them, when the time was right. So, she would sit on the floor and spend the entire morning cooking for the field workers while Koa struggled to learn how to hide her fangs and resist slaughtering the people of that village.
Being a half-blood was hard. It was hard not having a vampire father around to teach her how to curb her cravings. She could eat food, but each week, the blood lust would hit her and she would be bedridden until Raven brought her blood from an animal. Koa would never forget just how good a mother Raven had been when she was still human.
Koa sighed, pushing the memory of her mother’s beautiful face away. It always stung her heart to remember such things. The curse had almost ruined them. Halston had been the one to help them cope with the curse that had been put on her mother. She gave Halston a sidelong glance and squeezed his hand.
“So, what about this one?”
Koa didn’t hesitate. She shook her head. “I don’t like it.” She motioned around them. “There are too many people around. It’s not safe. People can be nosy, and you know how I get when I’m hungry.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Halston said with a sigh. He checked his watch. “But Koa, I’m not going to be able to find you another secluded manor in the countryside. Homes like your father’s manor just aren’t practical. Sooner or later you’re going to have to get used to being around people. You can blend better than any vampire because you can walk in the sun. You must get used to life with humans.”
Koa frowned. “Come on Halston, I’ve watched Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Sense and Sensibility, I know. Europe is made up of such things. Go to London and make one of the lords move out.”
“Just being a Jane Austen fan doesn’t make you an expert on England, Koa.” He chuckled louder. “I don’t think that’s exactly how we want to relocate you, by moving a lord out and eliciting a bunch of unwanted attention.”
“Who cares about unwanted attention?”
Halston’s smile faded. “I do.”
Koa folded her arms across her chest.
Gently unfolding her crossed arms, Halston stepped closer. He brushed her bangs from her eyes. “You’re being bratty right now,” he told her softly.
Just having him so close made her heart beat a little faster.
Her tongue went dry.
The smell of blood everywhere filled her nostrils and made her dizzy. She nearly stumbled and held onto Halston’s arm.
He held her up. His voice was concerned. “The hunger?”
She nodded and took a deep breath. “I need to get to Wryn Castle.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I haven’t had human blood in weeks.”
Her fight with the Syths the night before had drained her a lot sooner than usual. She and Halston had developed a schedule for her feedings. The battle last night had thrown it off.
He held her hand and patted the back of it. “I’ll take you. I want to keep an eye on you.”
Koa shook her head. “No. You cannot come. They don’t take kindly to your kind.”
“And I don’t take kindly to theirs either.”
Koa looked up and gave him a coy smile. “But you like me, don’t you?”
Halston let out a breath and looked away. “Of course I do, Koa. You’re not a typical vampire though.”
“Good. But you know that I must go alone.” Koa looked around to make sure no one was close enough to hear her. She lowered her voice. “The Wryn are not bad vampires. They are the best kind that we could ever hope for. At least they don’t kill people. I swear, they are all registered and they follow the rules the Netherworld Division has set.”
“Fine. Be careful, Koa.”
She nodded and looked away from his concerned eyes. She knew how much he hated that she was about to go to the castle of one of the oldest vampire clans in Europe.
3
Blood was like liquid chocolate to Koa.
She savored the flavor and the euphoric rush the moment its warmth touched her tongue. Eye closed in bliss, colors flashed behind her eyelids.
Koa licked Ian’s neck clean with three long strokes, leaving two small puncture holes. As she wiped her mouth, her canines returned to normal.
“Are you done, Mistress?” Ian spoke to her in an almost timid voice, as if he didn’t want her to be finished. He craved more. Koa rolled her eyes and crawled from on top of him. He reached for her and she pushed his arms down by his head.
Koa lowered her tone. “Did I tell you to speak?”
Ian shook his head and she smiled. She enjoyed such dominance. It excited her that such an attractive young man thought of her as a goddess.
“Good boy.” She played with his soft hair and sighed. “I’m sorry, Ian, for being so rude. I didn’t mean it.”
Ian had such an innocent face. She wondered how many hearts he had broken with that face. It was odd to think that they were the same age. Sometimes Koa contemplated what a normal life would have been like. College, boyfriends, parties… it seemed like such a foreign idea to her.
She traced his lips. There were many times when she’d almost kissed him, just to remember what a kiss felt like. She trusted Ian, and felt safe, therefore she didn’t want to ruin the arrangement they shared. It was far too valuable, for both of them.
She had just drunk a full blood meal, and she still felt like sleeping for a week.
Still, Ian was beautiful, smelled nice, and looked at her with pure adoration. She almost leaned down for a kiss. His lips were soft under her fingertips. She craved physical satisfaction beyond a meal. Her skin crawled with desire.
Koa snatched her hand back and hopped off of him. She darted to the door and held it open for him. “Run along.”
Ian gathered his backpack and did as he was told. He was enamored. She could see it in his eyes. She wondered if he knew just how strong she was. Even though he respected her, chances were, Ian only saw a small girl with a pretty face. He smiled at her as he left the room. He was attractive, but Koa was saving herself for someone else.
Koa didn’t make eye contact with Ian. She didn’t want to look her meal in the eye at that moment.
Koa sighed. She supposed Ian wasn’t just a meal, he was her pet, and he had been so for nearly three years.
Lexi, the keeper of the castle and one of the four leaders of the Wryn clan, came around the corner and stopped before her door. Koa smiled at her. They were both friends and business associates. She was just as small as Koa, but far more advanced in her vampire skills.
At over two hundred years old, Lexi still looked like a woman in her early twenties. She had bouncy brown hair cut just above her shoulders and large dark brown eyes. She wore the tallest heels Koa had ever seen and skimpy dresses.
Lexi watched Ian walk down the hallway and gave Koa a sidelong glance. “When are you going to use that lovely young man for more than his blood?” She smirked.
Koa rolled her eyes but laughed. “He is more like a brother than a lover.” She raised an eyebrow. “If he’s so ‘lovely,’ why don’t you take him to your bed? You have
my permission, but you cannot glamour him. I don’t want him confused about who his mistress is.” Koa grinned. “I doubt you have a chance with a sweet human like my Ian.”
Lexi flicked her hand. “I don’t want that little boy. You are more my type.” Lexi winked and reached for Koa’s long dark hair. She sniffed it. “Just as soon as you get over your Goth phase. What’s with the blue hair and thick black liner?”
Koa flashed an amused smile and leaned against the door. She folded her arms across her chest. “Great, everyone is insulting me today. Let’s all pick on the poor little Asian girl.”
Lexi leaned in close to Koa’s ear. “Oh, sweet pea. One night with me will have you forgetting your name, let alone your race.” She frowned. “And you’re a mutt anyway. You’re not a full Asian, just as much as you aren’t a full vampire!”
Koa burst out laughing. “Don’t make me tell Greta that you’re flirting with me. I know it’s blondes that you really like. And sorry, I’ll never go blond.”
Lexi folded her arms. “Greta is one of many. You think she has any say in what I do?”
“One of many, huh? Sounds exhausting,” Koa said as she imagined having one boyfriend, let alone many.
Lexi glanced behind Koa into the room. “Staying the full night this time? You waste so much money paying for a night when you only stay an hour or two.”
Koa grinned. “Are you complaining?”
Lexi shook her head. “Of course not. I’ll accept as much money as you’re willing to waste. But come on, have a drink with me. We can have a girls’ night out.” She thought a moment. “That is what you kids are calling it these days?”
Koa cringed at being called a kid. Just because she was twenty-one, didn’t mean she hadn’t seen enough of the world and been through enough to make her just as seasoned as Lexi. Koa’s watch buzzed over on the side table.
“I have to go now, Lexi.” She began shuffling Lexi away from her door. “If I don’t see you on my way out, book me for the same time next week.” She remembered something and turned serious.
“I almost forgot. Please transfer a thousand pounds out of my account and into Ian’s. Tell him that I don’t want him staying at shabby hostels anymore. I can smell it on him.”