Page 69 of Our Sins in Shadows (Coven of Sin 2)

The mattress shifted as Corry got off the bed. “Now get some sleep, babe.”

“Wait.” I forced my eyelids open even though they screamed in protest. “You’re not staying with me?”

The prince combed his fingers through his hair, conflict raging in his eyes. “Naw. It will be dawn soon, and I have some things to do before our day tomorrow. I got a whole thing planned for your birthday, and I want it to be perfect.”

“I’m sure it will be,” I said, smiling to myself as my mind stretched back to that first date with him at the roller rink. The youngblood had been so attentive to me, eager to show me things I’d never seen or experienced. I’m sure this second date was going to be nothing short of amazing, filled with things I’d never done before...Including him.

Corry deserved a good day with me, one where he had my full and undivided attention. So I’d keep that gnawing fear about Vincent and his whereabouts to myself for now, even though deep down, I knew something wasn’t right.

Something wasn’t right at all.

Chapter twenty-seven

For the Love of Corry Cross

Iwokeupatdusk feeling like a whole new person. The extra sleep had done wonders for my aching muscles. I felt lighter, stronger,hungrier. Okay, so it was possible that last one wasn’t good news. But before I dared venture out to hunt down a meal, I needed a shower. I’d rather drop dead than venture back out into the mansion halls covered in a crust of blood and cum smelling like—as Corry had charmingly put it—a corpse orgy.

I stood in front of the bathroom mirror, my face pinched in disgust as I took a brush to my matted hair. It’d been so tangled last night that the new haircut—courtesy of Erik Thorn—had gone unnoticed by the guys.

My lips pursed as I considered the new style. Half the hair hanging over the right side of my shoulder barely stretched past my jawline, while the hair on my left fell past my collarbone. It was actually kind of badass, and knowing it was chopped off with a Viking sword made it that much cooler.

My gaze dropped to examine the rest of my appearance. Still clothed in nothing but Corry’s faded motocross t-shirt, my lips tinged with a faint smile. Wearing it made me feel like a regular girl, sleeping in her boyfriend’s t-shirt. I craved the youngblood’s company because he provided something the others didn’t. Bloodlust and lack of a heartbeat aside, Corry’s company created the illusion of normalcy. With him, I could take a timeout from the world of vampires, queenly duties, dark powers, and politics, and just enjoy being a human girl for a few hours.

With him, I could pretend there was no monster lurking inside me, prowling just beneath the surface.

With a deep breath, I clutched the granite countertop of the bathroom vanity and took a long, hard look at the girl I’d become in just two weeks. No longer was I that person who’d been locked up and lied to. I wasn’t the victim anymore. And strangely, I wasn’t angry at the woman who’d done her best to raise me. She’d been terrified of me because she thought I was a monster.

She hadn’t been wrong. Iwassomething to fear.

But I’d prove to her and everyone else that this ferocious, violent, dangerousthinginside me, inherited from the vampire king, could be turned into something truly amazing, with the humanity, courage, and general kick-assery I’d inherited from the vampire hunter, Sapphire Lockheart.

Knowing the little I did made me eager to learn more about her. Corry wouldn’t know anything, but Eros might know something since he’d been a member of the same guild. And Sterling had been around when she led the Helsing Guild, fronting the battle against my father.

I had so many questions. Had Sterling met her? Did he witness what had transpired between Thomas and Sapphire? Had there been any sort of romance there?

My throat swelled as the next question popped up like a weed among the rest.Had she even wanted me?

Dagon said I was a child of rape, but I took his cruel words with a grain of salt. If my relationship with Vincent had taught me anything, it was that the line between enemies was a thin one, and love didn’t give two flying shits about what side you stood on. Everything that once mattered could be washed away in an instant as far as the Knight men were concerned.

With a sharp sigh, I thrust Sapphire Lockheart from the forefront of my mind. I’d question Sterling, Eros, and Vin about my mother later.

With the thought of Vincent, my gut knotted, and my breath went short. Reaching up, my fingers coiled loosely around the curve of my throat where the undead fae had savagely held me on the stage right before dunking me into the tub of blood. Due to my accelerated healing, the bruises were gone. Yet I could still summon the exact emotions that had torn through me when he’d lifted me into the air like I’d weighed nothing. The tightness in my chest, the feverish heat between my thighs, the momentary panic that had disappeared as fast as it had come when I saw that look in his eyes. A promise that he’d break free of Dagon’s influence so I wouldn’t be alone in our fight to escape.

On that stage, fear had barely been a factor. I’d almost been excited because I knew I was made to take on a male like Vincent Feral and make him more than my mate. That night, he had become my weapon.

Where in the fuck was he?

I didn’t have to leave this room to know he wasn’t home yet. The invisible tether bonding me to him had been drawn so taut it was as if it would snap at any moment.

With a shake of my head, I forced the niggling thoughts of my mate to the back of my mind as Corry’s words from last night echoed in my ear. Wherever Vin had gone off to, he’d decided to not involve me. So whatever messes he’d get himself wrapped up in would be his to clean.

I almost cried for joy when a knock at the door sounded. I practically sprinted to answer it. I hadn’t forgotten the promise Corry made me last night to scrub me clean himself. Most girls probably would be horrified by the prospect of a hot guy washing some other dude’s cum from her thighs, but the idea just made my whole body torch with need.

“Evening, babe,” the vampire greeted, his blue eyes lighting up with his lopsided smile the moment I opened the door. “Whoa, new hairstyle! Super sexy. Reminds me of Ava Max.”

I gave him a blank look as he stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. “You’re going to have to tell me who that is. All my pop culture knowledge is limited to the channels my mom subscribed to on her cable package.”

“Well, we gotta fix that, pronto.” He laughed, reaching inside a plastic bag I hadn’t noticed he was holding until now. “Time for birthday present number one. I’ve got two more for you.”

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