Page 26 of Forgotten Monsters
“Took you long enough,” Cole says to the vampire.
Trent offers him a fake smile, his arms held out in front of him. “You posted me in this hole. Was the damn blindfold really necessary?”
“Yes,” Cole croaks.
Posted?My brows furrow. I see no future where Trent nowworksfor Cole.
“Are you taking a bath or something? The scent of jasmine and honey is so thick, I can’t smell anything else.”
What fucked-up alternate universe did I end up in?
Trent squares his shoulders. “Should I be worried? If you want me to serve your sexual needs, I’d like to be told upfront.”
“Stop fucking around.” Cole walks over to me, his gaze so dangerous that I hold the towel closer to my chest. “There’s no magic in the three realms that can fool a vampire’s taste for blood—especially blood he’s tasted before. Be quiet and hold out your hand.”
He wants to verify my identityagain? How paranoid has he become?
I tuck the corner of the towel more securely under my armpit.
“Here. Taste her,” Cole breathes.
Trent swallows hard, all the dark humor from before wiped from his features. “You want me tobiteyour guest?”
“Delicately.”
“Alright.”
With a begrudging nose wrinkle, I offer Trent my arm. The vampire spins my wrist around and brings it to his lips.
How ironic is it that Cole is now asking Trent to bite me, when he was so enraged by our relationship? I must be dreaming. If anything, the vampire looks better than the last time I saw him. His chainmail fails to mask the thickness of his biceps, and despite the craziness of the situation, he seems more…at peace.
Long white fangs pierce my skin, and I blink to hide a wince.
Trent’s face crumples in a million, deep lines. His chest rises sharply, and he tears the blindfold away from his face. “Jules! How—What—When—”
Cole devours me with one look and dismisses Trent with a brisk hand motion. “That’ll be all, Darkwood.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” The vampire dashes closer and clutches my hands. His eyes pulse with questions. “Where were you? Why did my dad tell everyone you were dead?”
“He stabbed me, so maybe he genuinely thought I was.” Sarcasm rolls off my tongue, but I’m shaken. Why is Trent in Faerie, apparently working for Cole?
“I can’t believe—I’m so glad to see you, Jules. I made so many mistakes. I thought I had to become one of them. I knew how my dad was, yet I let him rule my life. Jules, you have to know—”
“You’re dismissed, Darkwood.”
“Wait a minute.” Trent presses a hand to his chest. “Does this mean I’m free?”
Cole cranes his neck around, his body still stiff between Trent and me, shielding most of me from view. “We’ll revisit your sentence later. Leave us.”
“Sentence?” I cry out in surprise.
A suffocating wave of magic spices the air as Cole snaps, “I won’t ask again.”
Trent hustles out, his face ashen.
I raise a brow. “Now that we’ve established a bit more trust, can you explain what the fuck is going on? Why is Trent here, what happened?”
Cole rakes a hand through his curls, and the weight of his silence unnerves me.
