Page 46 of Princess of Thorns and Ruin

Parties like this are the norm for him and Sebastian, I’m sure, but it shocks me to say the least. No wonder most vampires here are males, a sea of young, pretty humans ripe for the taking.

Sebastian elbows his way to me, beaming. “You just couldn’t stay away,” he says with a wink. A form-fitting red jacket hugs his torso, and he’s not wearing a shirt underneath, the smooth expanse of his chest only inches away.

I look down at my red dress and regret not taking the time to change. Judging by Sebastian and his guests, I should have worn something more…revealing, but I put on a brave face and answer, “I needed to get out of my room.”

“Hey, Beaumont.” Sebastian pats Alec’s chest in greeting. “Sucks to be on the clock during the party of the year.” Not waiting for his response, Sebastian wraps an arm around my shoulders and pulls me deeper inside the room.

Excited whispers and unabashed glances follow in our wake. A few heads bob over the crowd, women standing on the tip of their toes to catch a glimpse of us.

“Where did you find so many humans?” I ask.

“Humans crave what we offer, and the mortality rate at my soirées is among the lowest in the kingdom. With one word from me, they came in troves from the city and lurked in the village until sundown.”

What a strange thing to boast about…leave it to Sebastian Chastain to pat himself on the back for only killing a guest once in a while.

The fact that the humans are willing to die for one party confounds me. They don’t get any status, wealth, or power out of it. They will be thrown out in the streets by tomorrow morning and killed if they ever breathe a word of their experience to the wrong person. “Why do they come?”

“Because it feels better than sex.”

Better than sex? I paw the skirt of my dress, my tongue parched and dry.

Sebastian’s nose bumps the shell of my ear as he whispers, “You look hungry as fuck. Better drink up before you lose your shit. Do you prefer a dude or a dudette?”

I scowl at his language. My tutors would have scolded him for every single sentence. Hell, every single word.

Jason and Emilia preferred to uphold the decorum of our aristocratic lineage, but Sebastian, Alec…even Leo seem to embrace the new speech patterns. Maybe it’s time for me to do the same, but I focus back on the question.

“A woman.” I don’t know why, but I let my instincts guide me. I’m angry with men today, and I better not draw more attention to myself than necessary. My sheer presence here as a newborn vampire and unmarried woman will raise quite a few eyebrows, I’m sure. Maybe me feeding on a woman will not seem as scandalous.

Sebastian signals a tall, beautiful redhead woman to approach and pecks her cheeks with a genuine smile. “This is my first-blood, Fred. She’s at your disposal.”

My brows raise in surprise. “But we’re not supposed to taste another vampire’s—”

“Ari… These rules are outdated,” Sebastian chides, his lips pursing like he’s disappointed in me. “Fred is smitten with you, and she’s looking forward to it. I’m happy to share.” He punctuates his statement by squeezing my upper arm in reassurance.

Standing beside him, Fred stares, almost undressing me with her eyes before she curtsies. “It’s an honor to meet you, princess. You’re even more beautiful than Sebastian said, and my master is right—I would love for you to taste me.”

“Err—Thanks.”

Master? Isn’t that… a little too on the nose? I try to ignore the boom in my heart at her praise.

She probably embellished the truth to be polite.

I’m not sure what kind of games the two of them are playing at, but my beast is rising to the challenge, and I eye down Fred in a predatory manner, giving her a bit of her own medicine.

Her black dress is tied behind her neck, two criss-cross strips of fabric covering her breasts. A long, thick braid is tied neatly at the back of her neck and falls to her waist. Cute freckles create mesmerizing patterns on her neck, and I swallow hard, my mouth suddenly filled with saliva and a bittersweet, entirely new zest of venom.

I’d been wondering how long it would take for my new glandular tissue to produce enough for me to taste it on my tongue, and I take its presence in my mouth as a good sign.

Sebastian snatches a flute from an offered tray and chugs it down. “Or someone else? Maybe you’d prefer a one-time guest?” He probably mistook my silence as a sign of refusal, but Fred’s fresh, honeyed scent quakes my chest with hunger.

“No, I’m game.” I lean closer to him, so that the music is loud enough to drown out our conversation. “How do you…make it pleasurable?”

He smiles wickedly, his jaw slightly opened like he can’t believe his luck. “By Nyx, no one’s taught you, yet?”

I hold his gaze, swallowing back my embarrassment. “Teach me.”

It kills me to ask, but there’s no one else I trust to hold nothing back. Sebastian might be a lot of things, but he’s no shrinking violet. Another vampire would advise me against it, or try to postpone the lesson, but not him, and I need Leo to look at me without fear. This is the first step.

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