Page 43 of Our Sins in Blood (Coven of Sin 1)

Because nothing about Corry was natural.

Nothing about him was safe. All this, the skating, the pretzel, the video games, the flirting… It was all an illusion of normalcy that could be enjoyed. But not trusted.

Corry may walk and talk like a harmless guy I could fall for, but by the tiniest residual smear of my blood on his lips and the way his gaze occasionally wandered to my neck, I knew he was a monster.

Just like the rest of them.

It didn’t matter what he was after, the throne, my virginity, my blood… Whatever it was, he wanted to take a piece of me. And if I didn’t get on with my plan and get out of here fast, I might just let him.

Corry made good on his promise to stuff me full of hamburgers. He took me to a locally owned burger joint called “Clown Car Burgers.” The rusty fluorescent sign was shaped like a clown car with ten clowns popping out of it holding burgers. It was surreal, watching a vampire order the “clown pack” and excitedly receive a cardboard container shaped like a clown car, supposedly packed with a dozen burgers.

Sitting out on the curb outside, I watched with fascination as Corry devoured what had to be his fifth burger. “I thought vampires couldn’t eat regular food.”

“We can,” he said, his mouth pursing into a grin over his food. His lips looked so enticing, even when coated in grease. Damn, I was hungry.

“It just doesn’t give our bodies any nutrients. Basically, it’s just for the taste. Most in the coven don’t bother, but I guess it’s pretty common for youngbloods to eat. Habit and all.”

I gave a thoughtful nod. “What else about vampires isn’t true? You can see yourselves in mirrors as long as it’s not an antique kind backed with silver, right? And obviously, the thing about vampires having to be invited into a house isn’t true. Otherwise, Vincent wouldn’t have busted into my mom’s house the way he did.”

“Well, the whole thing with sunlight is a pretty harsh reality.” He let out a low whistle. “Let me tell you, if you don’t respect curfews now, wait till you get a load of the next poor bastard who misses bedtime. Not pretty. The thing with crucifixes is a bunch of bullshit. You can look at one, lick one, fuck one. It’s just a piece of wood.” He paused, cringing. “Unless it’s made out of silver. Silver is deadly in most contexts. It’s also pretty common for vamps to have allergies to garlic for whatever reason, but it’s not like it’s lethal or anything. Sharpe gave me a medical explanation once, but honestly, I wasn’t really paying attention.”

“So Sharpeisan actual doctor?”

“Yeah, back in the day,” he snorted. “When dentists were considered ‘doctors’ for pulling out people’s teeth, armed with nothing but a pair of pliers and a tin of morphine.”

My stomach writhed at the visual, but I took another bite of the burger, enjoying its flavor way too damn much to be put off. “Bloody hell, this is good,” I moaned as the hot meat exploded with flavor in my mouth.

A low, rattling purr slipped out of Corry, just like the one I’d made over the pretzel. But I wasn’t sure if it was because of his meal, or my reaction to mine.

For several moments we just sat in silence, eating. It was a cool and clear night. It had to be about midnight right about now, and the Clown Car parking lot was completely empty, save for us. Any minute now, I would continue with the plan. But right at this second, I was enjoying myself too much to leave just yet.

I watched the moon with a newfound appreciation. It looked so much better without the bars on my window blocking my view. Everything was so new, so interesting. My gaze wandered to the telephone pole just a few feet away, littered with a smattering of wanted posters, event advertisements, and “lost cat” notices.

My mouth went bone dry and my body went hot then cold again when my attention settled on a poster with faces that I recognized. “Corry, what isthat?”

Chapter twenty-two

The Man on the Flyer

Theflyerfeaturedtwohalf-naked men built like tanks. “The Feral King vs. The Deathwish,” the poster read. It was advertising a fight set for one week from now.

Corry followed my line of sight to the poster. “Oh, shit. I forgot all about that fight. Guess Eros will be home sooner than everyone would probably like. He’d never miss a chance to beat up on Vin.”

I don’t think I’d envisioned Deathwish in my mind at all, but if I had, this was not the image I would have put together for the infamous “sadist” everyone had been whispering about.

My chest tightened as I took in the details of the man opposing Vincent.

The man nicknamed ‘Deathwish’ was brutally gorgeous. He had several piercings, including snake bites, eyebrow piercings, and gauged ears. Even his nipples were pierced. He had long blond hair tied up in a bun on his head with a dark blond beard to match. It was hard to tell from the angle of the picture, but it looked like he had a tattoo of the grim reaper on his chest, the scythe so huge its blade stretched up the side of his throat.

He was fair-haired and light-skinned. But there was a nebulous darkness in his gaze that caused my skin to erupt with goosebumps.

Vincent was a stark contrast, with his short hair as black as death and his raven tattoos that stretched from his wide jaw all the way down the side of his bare torso to slip into the waistband of his shorts.

I remembered in the car last night, Corry had mentioned something about Vincent being an MMA fighter. But this didn’t look like anything official. This looked like some underground shit.

I couldn’t peel my eyes away from the blond-haired man, who looked like a terrifying Viking of old.

The hatred between the two vampires was palpable, judging by the way their fists were raised and the gleam of murder in their eyes.

---