Page 42 of Our Sins in Blood (Coven of Sin 1)

There was no time to ask questions because just as I turned in the direction where Corry was looking, I saw a girl approach with a guy I assumed to be her boyfriend at her side. She had shoulder-length brown hair and eyes as blue as Corry’s. She was beautiful and young. In her early twenties, if I had to guess.

“C–Corry?” she asked again, her voice tremulous and her pretty features pinched with some sort of emotion that made my stomach flip. When she spoke his name, she sounded so unsure. It was like she’d never seen his face before and was going off a description.

“Uh, sorry, lady. That’s not my name.” He turned back to the game, feigning interest.

Her mouth slanted into a dubious frown, her scrutinizing gaze slowly roving over Corry. He threw me a quick glance that screamed, “help.”

“Derrick.” I tugged on his bicep, a slight whine to my voice to sell the act. “I’m done playing this stupid zombie game. Come back onto the rink with me, please?”

The girl’s brows wrinkled with confusion. “I’m sorry, you just look like someone I know.”

I felt sorry for the girl. She recognized Corry, but for some reason, he was brushing her off as a stranger. And she didn’t seem sure enough to call him on his bluff.

The guy with her spoke for the first time, chastising her with a “What kind of dumb bitch mistakes a stranger for her own brother?” Gripping her wrist tight enough for her to wince, he jerked her arm and led her away.

I watched them go, my jaw hanging open in astonishment.

The youngblood let out a low hiss, his molten-glower hot on the boyfriend’s back. “I hate that prick. If he doesn’t start treating her better, I’m going to—”

“What in the actual fuck? That was yoursister?”

Corry’s expression hardened. He plunked down on a nearby bench and began ripping off his skates. “Yeah. Her name is Corra. She’s my twin.”

I paused, waiting for his face to crack. Anything that would hint at the joke he was playing on me. But there was nothing about Corry’s expression that was even remotely funny. His gaze remained fixed on the laces as his hands began to shake with the fury he was holding back. The laces snapped in his grip on the second skate when he jerked a little too hard on the knot. “Fuck.”

Taking the seat next to him, I put my hand on his knee, and the simple contact stilled him immediately. “Tell me what’s going on. How does your sister not recognize her own twin’s face?”

“I wanted this to be a normal, human date for you. I don’t want to bring down the mood with my shit.”

“It’s alright,” I said with a weak smile. “I’m quickly learning normal isn’t really my speed.”

“I didn’t have the easiest time with my transition. Thomas Knight turned me pretty abruptly, just like the others.” Corry heaved a sigh, his fingers sweeping through his hair. “I didn’t take it too well. First thing I did was run off to see my family. Only not before accidentally killing someone on the way over, out of a blood lust-driven panic. Imagine your son, who’s been missing for three days, just show up at your door covered in blood, reeking of death and babbling on about a secret underworld filled with vampires and covens. If you’d only seen the look on their faces.”

His face was as white as a sheet—even paler than usual—as he stared blankly into space. It was like he was reliving that night, his bloodshot eyes glazed with painful memories. “There was so much screaming. Master and Sterling came in and mesmerized everyone. Wiped all memories away from that awful night and replaced it with a story about how I contacted them after three days, telling them I was going on an impromptu bike trip across Europe with no return date. They also muddled the memory of my face in their heads, just in case shit like this happens.”

“What about photographs?”

“We cleaned out the house of any pictures and had to get the coven’s security guy to take down everything on the internet. It was a whole mess and partially the reason why I’m still saddled with the equivalent of vampire training wheels.”

“You mean Vincent?”

“Yeah. Why he decided to let me off my leash tonight of all nights, I can’t fathom.”

I sat back in my seat, stunned. This moment of vulnerability from Corry gave me a whole new perspective on the youngest vampire prince. “That’s so horrible. I’m sorry that happened to you.”

I could feel his muscles unwinding beneath my palm. “I’m getting over it. The others had way worse transitions than me.”

“That doesn’t make your experience any less painful.”

He shrugged, hauling himself to his feet with his skates in hand. “I’ll get over it. Time heals all wounds or whatever bullshit thing people say to make you feel better. And if I’ve got anything, it’s time.” As fast as a snap, his demeanor changed from somber to his usual cock-sure self. “Now come on, I promised you burgers.”

With his face awash with the light from glow sticks and blinking video games, a pair of skates dangling from his hand, Corry looked so human. Like an average twenty-one-year-old.

It felt natural being with him.

It felt safe.

And yet, I knew I couldn’t trust that feeling making my stomach warm and tingly like a schoolgirl with her first crush.

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