by Sarah Black
Instead of answering, he brushes past me, leaving me staring at his retreating back.
What choice do I have? Run and risk not only my life but, Poppy’s? Or stay? Without a shadow of a doubt, I know that my parents’ murderers were vampires. He can help me finally solve this case once and for all.
But what will the cost to me be? Freedom, I know it with every fiber of my being. I’ll never be free of Valentino. What will he do once he knows what I am? What I truly am?
Squaring my shoulders, I step into the bedroom. I’d never leave Poppy. The choice was already made before I even knew the question.
Vampires stand all around Valentino’s bedroom. I know it by the pulse of their blood. Not quite a magical essence per se, not like Poppy and me. But more of a power resonance that sloughs off of them, vibrating all around their bodies.
The man who shut off the shower rests against the doorframe, his hands in the pockets of designer pants, wearing a pink button down. His dark, inky hair is slicked back, and this brother looks very similar to Valentino.
Lucy sits on a chair, prestige oozing out of every pore. Barrel curls roll down her back while her red dress clings to her form. She exudes the impression that the world owes her, like an heiress.
In the corner, a raven-haired woman peeks out of the heavy curtains, dark-rimmed glasses sitting on her nose. It’s a peculiar sight on a vampire, yet it suits her somehow. Dark jeans and a blazer gift her with the appearance of a professor.
“Let’s begin, shall we?” Lucy purrs, commanding everyone’s attention.
“There is no reason for you to be here, Lucinda,” Valentino growls, while snatching a fresh shirt out of the closet. His movements are jerky as he peels it on. As though he’s only realizing it for the first time, his lip sneers at his wet sweats before he marches back into his closet. Hangers clang for a mere moment before he stalks back out wearing fresh sweats.
“Oh, but there is, Valentino,” Lucy purrs again.
“Enough,” the one who I assume is Thana barks, her word like a power slap pulsing through the room at her sister. “Valentino, do you need us here as witnesses?”
I cross my arms over my body, still clad only in a towel, while I stare at Valentino, awaiting his answer.
He doesn’t even hesitate. “Yes.” His anger in that one word is entirely directed at himself if his avoidance at eye contact is any indication. He walks across the room, choosing to sit on a bench seat at the end of the bed. “Come.” His command is for me and me alone.
I stand my ground. “I’ve had one hell of a night. I’d really appreciate it if you stopped ignoring me and gave me some damn answers.”
I ignore Lucy and her silent laughter.
Valentino’s eyes flare with a hint of amusement before they darken. “Penny, this is no laughing matter. You witnessed my brother sharing blood with another tonight to save her life, the least you can do is say thank you.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“No.”
“I’ll thank Alaric when I see him next for saving my sister’s life. But I won’t thank you for anything other than getting me to safety.”
“And that safety comes at a price.” His eyes glow a little.
But I don’t back down, not when I suddenly feel trapped, my shock slipping away.
“I was told that you’d keep me safe, I wasn’t given a price.”
“If I may.” The soft-spoken Thana steps in. “From what I’ve gathered, you are in a bind. A stalker, is it?” She raises a brow, not at all buying that excuse. “And you were sent here by three different people. My brother can grant you protection, but if word got out of what we are then the illusion shatters, and with it, our protection. You don’t just get him, you get the entire house at your back. Tell me, do you believe you can protect yourself? Because from where I’m standing, that doesn’t seem likely.”
I grind my teeth as everything I’ve worked for over the years dissolves beneath my feet. There is more to this. I know there is, but I can’t ask Valentino in front of his siblings.
“You are nothing more than a child playing at an adult game. You know nothing of the rules or the consequences. Accept his protection or die. That is your choice.” She walks away, choosing her spot at the window once more.
I don’t think I like her anymore.
“Penny,” Valentino pleads. “For Poppy.” Something more flickers in his eyes.
Trust.
Can I trust him when I’m not given a choice?
Giving up, I pad to him, choosing to stand between his legs. His face settles at my choice, the hard lines lessening. Yet my jaw aches as I clench it. “Not my scar.” My hand drifts to the mark and the reminder of how I ended up here.
He nods once, his hot hands landing on my hips to steer me closer. My knees give and I straddle him. His seafoam green eyes glow as his power drifts over me. With a deft hand, he snatches the towel away, throwing it to the side. Yet he doesn’t look down, only removes the fabric between us. My body warms with his so close. His new shirt dampening with my still wet bra and panties.
“Do you accept this?” Him, do I accept him?
No. But I need this to work, I need him to keep me alive to exact my revenge. To keep Poppy alive. I nod once.
“Say it,” he demands, his hands a brand on my body.
“I accept.”
He strikes too quickly for my eyes, his fangs biting down on my unblemished neck. My body arches into his as the initial sharp sting is swiftly replaced with euphoria. A hunger pulses in my belly as I inch closer to him for a whole new reason. My body lights up and my head swims with desire. I can barely breathe while my nerves dance at the demand, no, need for release.
Deep inside my mind, I can feel him there, swirling around, poking, prodding. The invasion takes a back seat to the desire he awakens in me. Then, all too soon, it’s gone, and he is absent from my mind.
His wrist is pushed against my mouth as sweet, tangy liquid drips down my throat, coating me with a new desire, a deeper one with masculine undertones. His desire. This power overwhelms me, taking over every cautious thought. Melting me from the inside out. My hips shift in his lap, seeking. Searching. A moan slips from my lips. His power invigorates me. Waking the creature that lurks inside me with the temptation of something more.
Then I’m falling, my body cushioned by the lounge as everything burns with a desire so deep it sears my skin with pain. My eyes flicker open, ready to beg him to sate this need brewing within me. But he only stands there staring at me, his eyes wide as he touches his fingers to his lips.
In the next blink, he and his siblings are gone, leaving me well and truly alone.
16
My tears dried long ago, leaving me worn and weary. Trapped alone in a place that should be my sanctuary. A pang of foolishness sweeps through me over the choices I made as a needy child.
But I’m neither needy nor a child.
Yet I’m treading water in a world I know nothing about, where human rules need not apply, and blood is the currency.
Somehow, I don’t feel at all hindered by blood loss. In fact, I feel revitalized as though sipping from Valentino was something my body had waited for my entire life. A thought that doesn’t come with comfort.
I found clothing in his closet, sweats I had to roll and a t-shirt. The cool floor sinks into my bare feet as I pad across the room to the heavy red drapes. Outside, the sun’s rays tint the sky in hues of warm oranges with splashes of purple tones. The window sits in a prison of impenetrable glass. Even if I could open it, the drop to the cemetery below would kill me.
My forehead rolls against the warm pane as I filter through my options. I knew I needed protection, but what I didn’t need was a prison.
Yet now? I don’t want to hide. I want to leave and find out what happened to my family. Who would dare threaten those who did no wrong? Only housed and fed children. And my sister? I don’t know what she’s been into and I’m not sure I want to know, but I w
on’t leave her high and dry.
I close my eyes, my blood humming at the distance between us. She isn’t here, which is the only reason I’m not throwing a tantrum like a spoiled child. Not only that, but the feeling that I don’t need Valentino to tell me where she is invigorates me. As though a band has been placed between us, it flexes taut between our soul tie.
The thought of sending her a message crossed my mind as well. One sharp instrument written across my skin would send her a missive in blood and spirit. Except knowing that Valentino isn’t telling me everything holds me back. I can’t demand the cavalry when I don’t fully understand my circumstances.
The door creaks open.
I don’t bother to look, I know who it is. Every fiber of my being knows who it is, and I can’t help but close my eyes to the onslaught of him. My senses come alive and the power in my blood sings at his presence, just itching for another taste.
If allowed, he could very well become my drug of choice. One small taste and the magic inside me demands more. I grit my teeth and clench my fists to deter me from running to him.
“We need to talk. Get dressed.” He sounds as thrilled as I am to be here.
A bag lands at my feet, my duffle, before the door shuts once more with the snick of a lock.
“So I’m a prisoner.” I lift the duffle with more force than necessary, pulling out my cell phone first to scroll through my messages. All of which have already been read, all voicemails listened to. Tossing the phone aside, I dress quickly in jeans and a t-shirt, and finally pull on a pair of tennis shoes.
Within moments, Valentino opens the door again, his eyes looking anywhere but at me. Dressed in black pants and a simple white button down, he grips the doorknob furiously. His knuckles white, the metal squealing in protest.
I push past him, my shoulder slamming into his chest as I step into the hall. Flashes of the same walk not a day before spark through me. How quickly things can change. Including the heat ramping up inside me when it comes to the vampire at my back.
I stomp harder, slamming through the stairwell doors and practically running down the steps. Not stopping until I shove past the door and into the just breaching sunshine. The breath I didn’t know I’d been holding releases as the rays bathe me.
The door shuts behind me with a click, and once more I can feel Valentino at my back. It isn’t just knowing he’s there, but that his power pulses with a magnetism I cannot deny.
Wordlessly, he grips my elbow, sending little shocks up my arm, and leads me toward an idling black car sitting by the curb. The fob echoes in the dawn light and I slip inside. The seat cradles me like an infant, comfort designed for the rich and famous. I have no doubt that Valentino and his house own this city, or at least this part.
He slips inside, his own door clicking gently. His eyes slide to mine, his head jerking once to the side.
Quiet.
I peer over my shoulder at the monstrosity that was once a catholic church. One that looks more like an ancient castle. I gaze from window to window, looking for any signs that we are being watched. But my blood can only focus on the creature beside me. Then, we are gone, speeding away from the church and the memories of last night.
Again, a sigh seeps from my lips. I want to blame my unease on the vampires, but it alone rests in that church.
“Talk.” I buckle in, because while he may survive a crash, I won’t, and he’s driving as though the hounds of hell are on our ass.
“Your blood.”
“Your cost,” I counter.
“Very well.” Those green eyes dip to me before returning to the road. “But remember this tête-à-tête goes both ways. I’m being left in a vulnerable position to protect whatever secret it is you hold.”
Again, his eyes leave the road to gaze at me. I only nod, knowing I won’t break my promise, and I’ll give him no guarantees. But I won’t deny him if he gets it right.
“My house believes you to be human, not witch. I know better. When we interact with humans, we are put in a peculiar position. If the world at large understood what lived beside them, went to their churches, worked for them, then there would be mass chaos. In order to keep our secret, we compel humans to believe that we don’t existence with just a glance, as I did to you. Or we create a blood bond. You can know of our existence, but you can never speak of it to any creature but a vampire.” He pulls onto a road we’ve already driven down, he’s literally driving us in circles at this point just so we can talk. “We run on a caste system ruled by power levels. For the past two thousand years that system has been dominated by vampires. Until you.”
My heart drops out of my chest, creating an ache there much like a stab wound. Every memory of my life flashes before my eyes. From toddling around with my sister to realizing magic was real, to the creatures that hide in shadows. And the boogeymen who reign in darkness.
“Why do you say that?” I regain my breath, my heartbeat. “And if that’s even true, then how is it that your house didn’t recognize it?”
“Your blood.” He shakes his head as though trying to dislodge a thought. “It is unlike anything I’ve ever tasted. Until my fangs broke the surface of your skin and your blood ran into my mouth, my body, I couldn’t tell.” He grips the steering wheel until the material squeaks. “I want more, and I can taste the power there. The beast inside me craves it and it’s taking everything in my power not to pull over and rip into you.”
I press myself against the door, worried he may do just that. “It goes both ways.”
“Explain.” It’s one word full of power that slams into my skull.
The words spill before I can even think to suppress them. “I want your blood, Valentino. I want to consume it, I want to use it. Make it mine.” With those words, something inside me wakens further, a morbid desire to bathe in his blood, to absorb every molecule of his power. Sounds decrease, no longer does the rushing traffic distract me. Birds become nothing but a memory. The roar of the engine dies away, leaving nothing but the sole sound of the power thrumming from Valentino. Power that will be mine.
“Fuck!”
I shudder as his power ghosts over me like little fingertips. Each touch arousing. I clench my fists until my nails break the skin and the aroma of my own blood taints the air with its sugary sweet aroma.
Hands grip my face, jerking me toward a seafoam green gaze. My mouth waters for a taste, to use his blood. So many possibilities.
I could be that ruling caste.
Destroy those who dare to attack me and mine.
Avenge my parents.
All while listening to their screams as their faces stretch in horror.
“You are one scary supernatural.” A sting graces my face as a tug on my power seeps away the crazy inside me. “That’s it.”
Slowly, my eyes refocus, and I blink.
“There you are.” A thumb brushes under my eye. Outside, the noises rush in, bombarding my senses until an ache picks up in my disturbed brain.
“What was that?” I should be mad at him, but right now he’s the only thing grounding me.
“If I had to guess, you’re coming alive.” His smile is slight but sad. “Your eyes glow. Penny, you are going to have to tell me what you are.”
I shut down. “I can’t.”
“Then let me tell you what I suspect.” He waits for my nod before continuing, his body turned toward mine. His hands fall away from my face to rest in his lap. “How you haven’t been found out is beyond me. But now you are waking up. Using magic creates a signature you now leak. Your parents’ death suppressed your magic. PTSD can do that. Yet, it also suppressed your sister. Somehow, as twins, you share something sacred and rare. There are many supernaturals in this world with varying power levels—vampires, werewolves, witches, necromancers.” He rolls his hand. “You get the idea. Most originate from a single curse placed on an ancestor, except maybe fae. All but one creature.”
I already know that answer, though I don’t know the history
, I know that answer. “Witches.”
“Correct.” He faces the road once more, pulling away from the spot he’d parked in and into Sunday morning traffic. In the distance, a church bell tolls as crows caw and the world moves at its own pace. “You are a witch, Penny, and I suspect you are a very rare breed of witch with ancestral ties directly linked to the very first of your kind.”
“You said we all stem from one ancestor,” I reply, pointing out his flawed theory.
“Yes, but it dilutes over time. You have the person of origin. They have a child who has a child who has a child. The curse spreads to each, but you, it’s like you are the source. But that isn’t possible.”
“How?”
“How what? It’s pretty simple, Penny. You shouldn’t exist.” The car rolls to a stop at a light, and again, the realization that all around me humans live unaware of what walks beside them astounds me. “There are things about this world that we cannot define just yet, not until you know who and what you are.”
“I know what I am, Valentino,” I spit back.
“Is that so?” he counters with far too much interest.
I hold my head high, no longer fearing those shadows. “Yes.”
“Good, because that may save you.” His eyes glance at me again before he shakes his head, moving on. “Origin curses were powerful, Penny. They razed. Destroyed. Created plagues and famine.”
“You sound like a priest, Valentino.” My hands flutter away, dismissing him. Even though my heart beats wildly in my chest.
Yet he catches my wrist, his grip bruising. “That is exactly what I’m insinuating, Penny. You are a very dangerous commodity in this world we live in. You are an artifact that many would kill to own.”
“I’m not an item to own, Valentino.” I fold my wrist inwards, breaking his hold. I mentally acknowledge I need the dojo. If anyone can help me protect myself, it’s her.
“Again, good,” he growls at me, his voice unforgiving. “Because there are few things in this world that will save you, Penny.”
My ire increases. “Valentino, tell me what you know of who killed my parents.”