Page 18 of Dishonor Among Thieves
That was one thing I could not lie about. Wouldn’t. I’d never sipped blood, nor would I ever. Couldn’t, not even to pretend I was something I was not. I’d tried once. And learned the hard way that there were limits to the games I could play. Even when my survival was on the line.
“I am not,” I said, not mentioning the many times over the years that I’d wished, hoped, prayed even, that I could be more than what the gods had made me. “I’m fully human. Through and through.”
Odile nodded, and Gia took my hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
“I’d like to be alone with Miss Eloise,” Neo said, his voice unreadably cold. His face unflinching in its appraisal of me as he addressed his family.
Family. It struck me then that even an angry, brooding vampire like him had a family. People to argue with, to cast from a room. To blame for mistakes and to share secrets with. People like Gia and Odile, who expanded their family through marriage and love. The ache in my chest swelled to despair, but I lifted my chin and nodded. “I believe you’re right. We should speak privately.”
Antonia and Dale left the room, nudging the boy Flynn, who was still listening in the hall.
Odile gave me a quick hug as she stood from the settee. She assured me if I needed anything that she’d be in her workshop creating a salve just for Sara. “I’ll be just upstairs. Although I believe she’ll be a lot better now that she’s had the venom,” she said kindly, “it can’t hurt to have something more, just in case.”
Gia gave me a reassuring squeeze to my shoulder before taking her husband’s hand.
“I am truly sorry, Brex,” Rain said, his voice low and his eyes meeting mine for just a moment. He humbled me by kneeling on the tile floor before me and extending his hand. “Truly. I thought I was doing something kind, something to help…”
“I’m sure that was your intention.” I squeezed his hand firmly. “And I am grateful for it.”
I gave him a flat smile and held my breath until the entire household had left, closing the door behind them. Then, I was alone with Neo. Now the truth would have to come out.
Once we were alone, Neo fell silent. No stomping of feet, no pointing, no accusations. The crackling of the fire was the only disruption to the absolute peace of the room. Not peace, I supposed. There was nothing calm or comforting in the agitated clamp of his lips, the furious set of his brows as he just stood there and stared at me.
“Have you decided?” I finally asked, stretching my legs before me and leaning back slightly against the pillows on the settee.
Neo walked close, his hair cascading over his shoulders. He stood before me, transformed into a furious, angry beast. His once-golden eyes glowed a sickening, bright red, and his scarred lips parted to reveal a pair of long fangs. “Decided what I should do? I believe I should kill you,” he seethed, glaring at me. “End this nonsense once and for all.”
I stifled a yawn. “Ah,” I said, drawing out my words, boredom coating my tone. “I see. You’d like to try and scare me into cooperation? Into being coerced or controlled. Is that what you’ve settled on?”
He growled, a vicious, terrifying sound that rattled from deep within him. Yet, I would not be startled into submission like a deer surprised by a hunt. He had no idea how much worse I’d seen. How much more terrifying the other beasts were that roamed this Realm, and how I’d faced them. And lived.
I leapt to my feet and grabbed the front of his doublet in both fists, yanking his face close to mine. “Is that what you mean to do?” I seethed, his breath sweet against my skin. “Intimidate me? Terrify me?” I released his garment and turned away in disgust. “You’ll have to do more than growl like a rabid dog if that’s your aim.”
As soon as I released him, the flames of my anger swelled, and I turned on him again. “No,” I exclaimed. “You, a petulant, selfish little man, you do not scare me. If you want to kill me, if that’s how you manage your—” I swept a hand around the empty sitting room—“your household, then fine. Take my life and be done with it. But unless you plan to do that, put those fangs away and speak to me as what I am. Someone who has far more power in this moment than you do.”
Neo’s mouth fell open as his fangs retracted into his mouth. His eyes resumed their normal honey-gold color, and he cocked his chin at me. “You are an infuriating, dangerous, reckless woman,” he seethed. “Why would you provoke me? If you know what I am, you know what I’m capable of!”
“I know what all people are capable of,” I said simply. “And I’ve already told you. There is no more powerful bond than the bond of secrecy. And now, I know yours.” I stepped close to him and reached out to touch his face. “These scars,” I said. “You’re a vampire. Naturally quick to heal, as long as you drink blood at least every third day. For these scars to mark your face permanently, that means you were likely tortured. Deprived of blood. Beaten. Mistreated, I would assume while you were imprisoned. The marks on your face no doubt match the scarring in your heart from what I can only imagine was a horrific circumstance. Whether deserved or not, you, Neo, have known unspeakable suffering.”
Neo lowered his chin, moving his face closer to mine.
“I do not fear your kind, nor do I fear you,” I said, watching his eyes flutter closed as I ran my fingertips along the fullness of his lips, the poorly stitched flesh of his broken eyebrow. His beauty, the warmth of his flesh under my hands, dissipated my anger to something like frustration. Impatience, diluted with compassion. He had to have been cruelly mistreated to bear the scars he did. I knew how painful the wounds that left visible scars were, and while my own injuries might not have marred my face, my heart was no doubt as broken and battered as his.
His lips parted as I traced his scars, scratching lightly against the stubble on his chin. An unexpected erotic heat flooded my body, and my fingers froze. His eyes flew open, and he took hold of my wrist and gently moved my hand from his face as if he too felt the power of something unspoken flow between us.
“You enrage me,” he whispered. “What are you? If you’re to possess my secrets, it’s only fair I possess something of you.”
I walked away from him, heading back toward the settee. “You’ll never possess any part of me, Neoruzzi Oderisi. I don’t give myself freely, and you’re not a clever enough thief to steal what little I do have.”
“Is that so?” He crossed his arms, watching my every move. “You might be interested to know my family business—the enterprise Flynn spoke of—is, in fact, thieving.”
I took a seat, leaning back against the cushions and meeting the angry vampire’s eyes. Then I burst into a fit of laughter. “The gods indeed intended us to meet when we did!” I said. “You’re a family of vampires and of thieves.” I unfastened my cloak and let the garment drop to the settee. “It looks more and more certain that the job you spoke of was meant to be mine. And now, in fact, you might just owe it to me.”
Neo watched me, his gaze heating and his lips parted as I removed my traveling purse from the strap around my waist. I untied the leather that had compressed the embroidered pillow.
“But before we speak about the specifics, I should return this pillow to where it belongs.”
ChapterSix
