Page 15 of Taste of Fate

“You look much better,” she said with an approving nod and smile. “Rested, refreshed. A woman of the twenty-first century instead of a Victorian ghost child.”

The laugh that burst out surprised me. “Thanks. I guess it was time for an update.”

With a grin full of fangs, she stood. “Ready?”

“Uh, yeah. Only I don’t have a key or anything. Do I need to lock up behind us?”

Bea jerked her chin at the side table against one wall. “Already taken care of.”

I went to look at what she was talking about, and found a note under a simple, ordinary-looking key. In blocky, masculine handwriting, the note said,

Tavi,

This is for you. You are not a prisoner, so come and go as you please. The key is made of silver so only you can touch it directly. I’ll see you around. -C

I picked up the key, continuing to stare at the note while feeling oddly sentimental about it. He had this made for me and me alone, apparently while I’d been asleep. That, along with literally carving a vow into his flesh for me, seemed oddly…sweet?

“You can’t touch silver either?” I looked at Bea as I slipped the key into my pocket.

“It doesn’t burn me as badly as pure vampires, but it’s uncomfortable to touch, yeah. Imagine sticking your hand in a colony of fire ants and they’re stinging you all over.”

“Ouch.”

“Tell me about it,” she snorted. “I found out the hard way. I used to love my silver jewelry.” She traced one of the hoops in her ears with a sigh. “Now it’s stainless steel forever for this bitch.”

“Is that common around here?”

“Oh yeah!” she chirped. “Stainless steel jewelry and accessories are huge. Actually, I think it was a human metalsmith who started the trend, then the vamps caught on.”

We left the suite and while locking the front door, I noticed Bea staring at the portrait of Cyan and the other vampire on the wall. She seemed to have gone somewhere else in her mind, her intense, strange eyes full of emotion as she touched the glass with one finger.

A sudden thought hit me like a kick to the chest. Did she have a thing for Cyan? Was that why she was being so nice? She could be trying to make me lower my guard and then manipulate me with whatever ulterior motives she had. It was the same treatment I’d expect from anyone in Sapien.

The only question was, why would I care if she wanted Cyan? I didn’t. I definitely didn’t. The sight of him with his shirt off and carving my name into his skin did absolutely nothing for me. Not at all.

But when I moved away from the door, a sigh of relief escaped me when Bea rested her finger over the face of the longer-haired vampire, not Cyan.

“Who’s that?”

Bea pulled her hand back, blinking like she was returning to the present, then turned to me with a sad smile. “That’s Kalix. Shall we go?”

“Oh.” The abruptness didn’t seem like her. Her expression was neutral as we started down the hallway, but her eyes still carried that sadness. “He’s another Blood 'til Dawn member, I assume? I haven’t met him yet.”

“You won’t meet him,” Bea said quietly as we went up the stairs. “He’s gone.”

“Oh. Shit, I’m sorry.”

We entered the main, high-ceilinged room with all the couches, stripper pole, and luxurious kitchen off to the side. No vampires were in sight, probably because daylight was approaching.

Bea gave a sad smile as we crossed the room, heading for the exit. “So am I.”

Chapter 6

Cyan

When I woke up in the early evening there were subtle, but noticeable, changes to my apartment. The first was the scent in the bathroom. Along with the hint of moisture from a shower taken hours earlier, there was something feminine and lightly sweet in the air.

Tavi’s scent, I realized. Her natural scent, untainted by fear and stress. It was rich and tart. Something between an apple and a cherry. I wondered if her blood would taste the same.

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