Page 86 of Claimed By Fangs and Darkness
Chills swept over my skin. I straightened, my chin lifting an inch.
I cleared my throat. “Good. I’ll write you a list of ingredients,” I said, my newfound strength overtaking previous hesitations.
Marietta looked at me the way Quill had, as if she didn’t recognize me, but she was delighted by who she saw now.
“What are we making?” Amy asked, clasping her hands together.
“A vampire poison,” I said. “It’s like blood onyx, but stronger and longer-lasting. I’ve named it violet bane. I found the idea in a chaos witch’s grimoire, one who was devoted to Hekate.”
Now I knew the people around us were eavesdropping. Eyes lit up with excitement, with righteous hunger for retribution. Hekate as the Justice card was ripe in my mind.
“Some of the tools and ingredients will need to be consecrated for Hekate, which of course can only be performed by her devotees.”
“Done,” Gwendolyn said with a crooked smile.
The group of young humans playing a card game erupted into sudden laughter across the room, and I thought of Idris.
“What else can we do? We have an entire network of covens, you know,” Gwendolyn added.
“And shifter packs,” added the woman who’d been telling us about her shitty ex.
An embarrassing tear escaped my eye, and Amy reached for my hand. I let her hold it, but I didn’t explain.
How could I explain to them that I’d robbed myself of connection for an entire decade, believing without a fraction of a doubt that I would be rejected?
But I’d been wrong.
I remembered the thought I’d had when I’d fought my way back to the realm of the living. I’d been in that deep dark pit, reaching for the sliver of sunlight above.
Death had been comforting. It taught me I hadn’t experienced nearly enough love, not yet.
I want to live,I’d begged.I promise not to waste it.
I want to live!
Instead of making me feel weird for crying, Marietta hugged me. After taking time to discuss what was coming, I was pulled into more silliness and games, and Kylo joined us too. Even with the dark context looming over us, we were able to enjoy being normal together. It was a long, beautiful exhale.
The sun wasout as Kylo and I slipped into bed at long last. My limbs were weighted from dancing, my stomach full of decadent food, my mind both exhausted and stimulated by the fun and conversations at Celeste’s.
Kylo traced soothing circles on my back and kissed my hair. We didn’t speak. Our hearts beat as one as we drifted off to sleep.
I slept soundly knowing I was loved.
Safe.
Held.
“One more weekuntil your first turning,” Harmony said. “How are you feeling?”
She sat with Blade on one side of Kylo’s dining table, and Kylo and I sat on the other. Idris took the head. Idris wasnoticeably less tense today, and he seemed grateful to finally be back above ground.
It still freaked me the fuck out to see him casually drinking blood with his chicken sandwich.
“Prepared but nervous,” I answered honestly. “It feels good to be useful. We’ll need all the numbers we can get.”
“You’re more than just useful,” Harmony said with a warm smile. “Idris, have?—”
A knock sounded from the foyer, cutting off Harmony’s question. Kylo’s hand halted its gentle trail down my back before he stood.
