Page 34 of Taste of Forever
I wasn’t kidding about Novak’s place being nicer than ours; it was swanky as hell. A big foyer with a polished tile floor and tall arching doorways that led to different areas of the house. A grand staircase stood straight ahead, going up to the second level and then splitting off in two directions.
The clan he’d been born into, Rathka’s Order, had been a noble warrior’s class since their inception centuries ago. They lived well, and usually got the lowlife clans to do most of theirfighting for them. In short, no one liked Rathka’s Order except for themselves.
They had been so shitty to their fellow vampires that an illness, known as Rathka’s Curse, had befallen their clan and nearly wiped everyone out.
Everyone except for Novak.
He’d ended up renouncing Rathka’s Order and starting anew as Blood and Truth. Thorne had to approve it, as leader of the ruling clan. At first, I’d wondered if Thorne would make Novak give up the riches and wealth accumulated by Rathka’s Order. But it seemed he got to keep his house, which was fine by me.
I let out a low whistle when I caught sight of the chandelier hanging from the ceiling. It was easily bigger than my bike.
“Is that new, Novak?” I asked, pointing straight up.
He looked up. “No, that’s been there.”
Thorne snorted. “I swear, your eye catches some new shiny thing every time we come here.”
“I just cleaned it recently.” Novak smirked. “It was really dusty, so it’s much shinier now.”
“You did? Or you had your housekeeper do it?” Thorne asked.
“I did.” To his credit, Novak looked more amused than offended. “Believe it or not, I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty, Thorne. And if my poor housekeeper fell, she’d be in serious trouble. No, I wouldn’t let her get up there.”
“How noble of you,” Thorne drawled.
Even though we were now allied after being bitter enemies with Rathka’s Order for centuries, Thorne still didn’t seem to like Novak personally. I understood his reservations, with all the bad blood—pun intended—and dark history between our clans, but Novak did seem genuine in wanting our alliance and trust. He was good to Amy and seemed humble for a rich guy, at least.
“Can we focus on what we came here to talk about?” Cyan asked the group.
“Of course.” Novak gave his shoulder a brotherly squeeze, similar to the one I’d given him outside. “Let’s go up to my office.”
The four of us climbed the staircase.
“Where’s your mate, Novak?” Thorne asked, his gaze trailing over all the luxury in the home.
“She’s with Tavia,” Cyan answered for him.
Amy and Tavia were best friends, having grown up like sisters together in Sapien, the only human settlement in Sanguine. If those two weren’t with their blood mates, chances were good they were together.
“Bea is with them too,” Novak added. “Girl’s night, they called it.”
“Huh.” Cyan rubbed his jaw as we reached the top landing and filed into Novak’s office. “Wonder if Bea would’ve wanted to be here for this.”
“Why would that be?” Novak rounded his large wooden desk.
Cyan and I both looked at Thorne. “He doesn’t know?”
“Guess not.” Thorne dropped into one of the armchairs in front of the desk and said nothing more.
“Know what?” Novak looked between the three of us. “Please, sit.” He gestured toward the second chair in front of his desk. “I’ll grab another seat.”
“No, it’s fine. I’ll stand,” Cyan said.
With a shrug, I took the seat next to Thorne and and Novak settled in his chair across from us. “So what don’t I know?” the silver-haired vampire repeated.
Cyan blew out a breath. “Bea is the reason Kalix was taken by Carpe Noctem. Well, her and me, you could say.”
Novak’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean? I thought Kalix killed Baros’s father.”
