She’s desperate to cling to this new life—to the girl she’s become, to the friends she’s made in this loud, glittering place. But for the first time, I don’t fear being the one who takes it from her.
I fear it will spit her out on its own.
Chapter 20
The Second Knuckle and a Little Faster
TALON
Acouple nights later, Aurora is as right as rain again. I don’t know what was said during her girls’ nights, but I know Snow and Ariel were more than supportive after discovering Aurora’s true identity. Though I confirmed she didn’t reveal the Succubus part.
Thankfully, I don't have to convince Aurora why that would be a bad idea. I know she trusts her friends, but how they would react to a Succubus in their midst is an entirely different beast.
More people rolled in for Goldie and Ted’s wedding through the week. The engaged couple even rented out the bar for their rehearsal dinner, and Aurora and I worked the event. I made sure Kai stayed far away from Aurora, though I didn’t need to worry. Apparently, everyone else shared the same mission, and the most he did was shoot daggers at her from across the room.
The Vampire King’s focus on her waned after a couple martinis, and he lost all interest when the dancing began.
Aurora doesn’t speak as we walk home after our shift. We were invited to stay, but neither of us felt like it.
Though tomorrow is Friday, Poison Apple will be closed for the wedding, and we’ve been given the night off. The city is quieter than usual, and so is Aura. Despite her silence, Ifeelher.
I’ve been watching her hunger grow in intensity over the last few days, and tonight the spectral shimmer pulses.
It rises from her like heat off blacktop, distorting the air in waves I’ve come to recognize. A warning sign.
Her skin has gone pale. The vibrant flush that usually follows a feed is long gone, and in its place is a drawn, sallow exhaustion that no amount of sleep will cure.
She’s starving.
In the apartment, Aurora moves through the space like a ghost—too quiet, too careful. I watch her from the kitchen as she sheds her boots, her bracelets, the outer layer of her armor.
I stay in the kitchen, nursing a drink I don't want, flipping through every possible solution in my head.
It’s even less safe to go out seeking a meal for her with Mal’s vampire lackeys crawling through alleyways, trying to sniff her out. Aurora's too visible now. Too vulnerable.
I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop her from killing this time. Without full feedings to satiate her, it’s likely she’ll gorge faster on instinct. And dealing with bodies and disappearances in Boston is going to be a lot tougher than in the Realm of Roses.
She needs someone disposable.
And I don’t know a single damn person in Boston who checks that box.
The brief fantasy of having her feed on the Vampire King Charming comes to mind. But considering he’s like family at Poison Apple, and he’s royalty, he’d be missed.
So I lie awake while the city sleeps, Aurora's needs clinging to my throat, the inside of my skull. The air in the apartment warps around it, too heavy, too saturated with my own worry.
Eventually, I grab my phone from the side table. I still don’t like the damn thing, it’s too slick, too bright, and too loud when I don’t want it to be. But tonight, it’s the only way I can chase a lead.
I open an app, careful with my thumbs as I’m still not used to typing such little characters. I pull up an option I considered a few nights back. It’s an out of the box idea, but Aurora’s been stomping on the box since we got here. Maybe it’s time I do the same.
I haven’t decided if my idea is a necessary risk or just...a risk.
Either way, I don’t like it, but I might not have a choice.
Eventually, I pass out on the couch, no closer to an answer.
My sleep is shatteredwith a guttural moan, strained and sharp enough to twist my gut. My eyes snap open, body lurching off the couch before my mind can catch up.
“Aura?” I call in a panic as I cross the threshold to her room. Mid-morning light filters through the windows.
