Page 29 of Stalked By Seduction and Shadows

“What can I get for you, doll?” the older woman asked as the girl my age backed away from the counter.

I could sense both of their magick immediately. It brought a slight charge to the air.

“Uh,” I trailed off, my eyes sweeping the display cases of breads, pastries, and sandwiches. I didn’t recognize half of the names. They must’ve been regional specialties. “That one.” I pointed to the sandwich that had pulled the loudest growl from my stomach.

“Are you from around here?” the ice blonde asked me.

I turned back to her. “That obvious?”

She tilted her head side to side with a smile. “Not because of your appearance. You look slightly nervous, but you’re masking it well,” she answered honestly. “I’m Snow. She’s Penn, my mother and the owner of this place.”

“Nice to meet both of you. I just moved in next door.”

Penn nodded and smiled, though a note of tension darkened her eyes. I got the feeling I interrupted a conversation that was less than casual.

I tried to let go of my own coiled-up tension as I finally allowed myself to glance around the quaint bakery. There were a couple of small wooden tables pushed up against the wall, two seats at each, and dried flowers and nature-themed paintings accented the yellow, floral wallpaper.

“This space is beautiful,” I said.

I turned back to Penn, taking my sandwich and paying her. She politely thanked me before stepping into the back.

I sat at a table, trying to temper my excitement when Snow let out a long breath and joined me. Eating alone would’ve been fine, but Goddess, did I crave connection. I was startlingly far out of my element, and my extroversion battery was waning fast.

“Where’d ya move from?” Snow asked. She slid me a glass of water.

I took a big gulp of it. I was surely dehydrated. “Crescent Haven.”

“Where?”

“Exactly.”

She laughed. “You can’t look out of place here. Most all mortals here are from somewhere else, and if not them, then their parents or grandparents. That’s half the city’s charm.”

“You?”

“Born and raised.”

Snow was effortlessly beautiful, with a small nose, plump lips, and big green eyes. She was a few inches taller than me, slim and all legs.

I tried not to act as ravenous as I felt, slowly biting into the sandwich piece by piece until I’d had it whittled down to a nub.

“I need to find work,” I said after we’d chatted for a while. I avoided the subject of my sister entirely, instead spinning my mostly accurate tale of needing to get out of my small village in search of adventure, thrills, and great love.

“I figured as much,” Snow said. She glanced back, where her mother had disappeared and still hadn’t returned. She lowered her voice. “I just got a job at Odessa.”

“Odessa?” I asked, drawing the word out slowly.

“Girl,” she tsked, shaking her head. “How do you not know about Odessa? Why do I get the feeling you landed here more from impulse than foresight?”

I shrugged. “Because your witchy senses are sharp?” I smiled sheepishly. “I’m a bit…”

“Reckless?”

“I was going to say spontaneous,” I scoffed.

She laughed. “That might serve you well here. Odessa is a club, the best in the city. Upstairs is free entry, downstairs is paid only and more exclusive. People go there to socialize and drink—cocktails, elixir, blood.” She watched me closely, grinning when my brows shot up right on cue. “What you’re imagining—it’s all of that and so much more. It’s everything your village warned you about.” Mischief leaked into her smile as she waggled an eyebrow.

“Is it safe?”

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