“Mates. A bond stronger and rarer than any other. You’re Blooded by fate. The bond you feel will only grow with time.”
“And this is what, in a book somewhere? Like vampire lore? Is that how you know all this?”
He arches a brow. “You think I read books for fun?”
I don’t know how to answer that. I mean,Iread books for fun. Or, at least, I used to.
“Common knowledge, Georgia.”
Right. Common for vampires. Not so much for me. I could ask more questions, but I know it would only lead me back to Valen saying there’s more to blood than what I can see under a microscope.
Druin returns to brooding, and I decide to head back to the library. Maybe Druin isn’t in the habit of researching vampires, but I’ve developed a bit of a specialty in the area, and there’s always more to learn.
8
“Sun’s almost up.” Juno’s voice wakes me from where I’ve dozed off in one of the library chairs. “And your loverboy hasn’t returned.”
I sit up, immediately feeling the crick in my neck and a slight pull in my lower back. The book I’d been reading falls to the floor with a thud as I look around and find Juno standing in the stacks. “What time is it?”
“About 7:30-ish, I’d guess. We get this sort of sensation when the sun’s coming. I don’t know how.” She shrugs. “I don’t think human bodies have any idea about the earth turning or the sun threatening, but we do. It’s like a whisper in my ear, almost a needle poking my eardrum and telling me Death is waiting close by.” She taps a finger on her chin. “Or maybe sort of like when I was a human and I really had to pee. Like that.”
“Thanks. I’ll be sure to write that in my notes.” I stifle an eye roll, only because I don’t want to fight with her. There’s too much pent up anger in me to do much more than sarcastic commentary.
I stand and stretch, then head for the door. Druin must be losing his shit since Coal isn’t back. A niggling voice in the backof my mind says I’m the one who sent Valen after him, maybe sent him into danger. What if they’re both caught? My stomach turns at the thought.
“You know?—”
I yelp when I realize Juno is on my heels, her voice as sharp as it is unexpected.
“Jesus, don’t do that!”
“What?” she asks innocently.
“Sneak up on me.” I march through the rooms and head for the staircase.
“I wasn’t sneaking.” She dogs my steps, though she’s still so silent I glance back every few moments to see if she’s still there.
When we reach the landing, I turn on my heel and face her. “What?”
“Why are you so combative?” She cocks her head at a surly angle.
“Are you seriously asking me that right now?”
“Yes.” She crosses her arms.
The movement is so familiar, so classically Juno that an ache rips through my chest.
“What’s your problem? I thought you’d be glad I was alive. I thought?—”
“That what, we’d live happily ever after? Two plucky sisters in a death-ravaged world? Oh, but one of the sisters is the villain of the story, oh and also avampire?” My voice ends so high that I have to take a deep breath.
“Villain?” Her eyes widen with incredulity. “You thinkI’mthe villain?”
“Ofcourseyou are!” A hysterical laugh bubbles out of me.
Her mouth drops open. Then her eyes narrow. “That’s rich coming from someone who fucks Gregor’s Specter every chance she gets.”
Now my mouth drops open. “What?—”
