“Homemade Neapolitans?” I chirped, flashing her a smile and recalling the time I walked in on her savoring a jam-filled shortbread treat with a nostalgic gleam in her eyes.
Corrine stood to escort me out. I placed the book on the table and gave her a hug. She made a surprised shriek, then tightened the embrace, giving me the impression that it was a farewell and not comfort.
“I can’t help you any further with this, so you have to stay safe. If you find the culprit, you must tell me.” Stepping away,she lifted my chin and held a firm gaze on my eyes. “And the real reason why as well.” There wasn’t a hint of threat, just curiosity. Immense curiosity and concern that leaned toward maternal. It made me uncomfortable. Corrine had been turned when she was in her thirties but had been a vampire for seventy years.
I nodded. I needed to determine if I should handle this situation alone or if it warranted a Corrine-response, which often entailed indiscriminate destruction and the erasure of an entire coven.
Corrine led me halfway to the door and, when she encountered the house manager, requested that she extend an invitation to Naaji. I assumed that was the hot guy I’d passed earlier. I’d never taken the time to learn the House of Knights Elite’s food source since they frequently changed. Corrine’s didn’t. I made a point of committing her favorites to memory.
“I didn’t leave,” a deep, sultry voice said from behind me. Glancing over my shoulder to find the man who I clearly hadn’t seen adequately, I could hear Amelia’s voice in my head. “He looks like he was created in an art studio.” Her highest of compliments.
Light brown skin with golden undertones. Strong, angular jawline that gave way to a slightly rounded chin. Deep brown eyes that appeared almost black and held an intensity that mirrored the way vampires held a person’s gaze when they compelled them. But this guy was wholly human and moved toward Corrine with lithe grace and confidence.
He kept his distance from me, giving me a polite nod and a small curl of his lips in place of a smile. A little over six foot, he had an overwhelming presence. Once he was close enough to Corrine, she gently ran her fingers through his dark wavy hair before cradling the base of his head. The nails of her free hand grazed over the stubble on his jaw. Judging by the long, hungrykiss she gave him, it appeared she’d forgotten I was there. Or just didn’t care. It was likely she didn’t care.
They headed in the opposite direction, and I quickly made my way to the front door. I was a little surprised the house manager didn’t escort me. He was always my shadow the moment a meeting with Corrine ended, as if I had some nefarious plan to hide out in the house, set up camp, or snoop. The restricted access Corrine placed on parts of the house piqued my curiosity about rooms I’d been denied access to, but I wouldn’t risk damaging our relationship or losing my job because of it.
As I navigated toward the door, a light citrus smell made me slip my hand in my pocket and secure the stun gun I’d stashed. The House of Hollows was a minefield for me because somehow I’d pissed off a few of the vampires when I was first hired. Not seeing the value in my role, they targeted me for bullying and violent acts of aggression. Corrine wasn’t going to intervene and used the incidents to determine my resilience and survival instinct. Among the vampires, witches, and werewolves, I was the weakest and the slowest and possessed the least amount of magic, so I was reduced to doing whatever was necessary to survive. And I did.
When one of the vampire bullies attempted to make good on their threat of making me a mid-afternoon snack, I broke one of her fangs with the hilt of a knife bespelled to prevent healing.
Now the bully skulked behind me, unable to get over the grudge she and several other vampires held because I dared defend myself. I was considered the menace, not the vampire who attacked me unprovoked. It felt like victim-blaming.
“You walk so freely in our home, as if it were yours. It makes me believe that you want to become one of us,” the low silky voice said from behind me. Whipping around, my hand went to my waist…where I’d forgotten to put my knife. Cursing mydistraction and haste that left me vulnerable with just a stun gun, I placed the grimoire on a nearby console and met her cruel twisted frown with a dismissive smirk that just added fuel to the flames of her ire.
The vampire’s parchment-colored skin was adorned with a smattering of freckles on her cheeks and over the petite upturned nose that never fit her esthetics. A midnight-blue pixie cut gave her a deceptively gentle appearance. As part of Corrine’s security, Anna had suffered a blow to her ego when I broke her fang.
“When are we going to end this animosity? It’s exhausting. Aren’t you tired of it? If you recall, you attacked me and I kicked your ass for it. It’s all in the past now,” I said breezily, closely tracking her movements as she rounded me. Her mauve bespoke suit showcased her slim, athletic frame. The missing shirt flashed the swells of her breasts each time she moved. Vampires or shifters could never be accused of being too modest.
It had been an exhausting day, and Anna was the last person I wanted to deal with.
“You didn’t kick my ass, you broke my fucking fang!” she spewed, revealing that her fang had finally healed after four months. I refused to be intimidated by her towering over me and leveled her a dagger glare.
“Seemed like it was a teachable moment. Don’t force me to give you another lesson,” I warned. I wasn’t prepared to give one, and adrenaline would be my only asset. I was tired, emotionally drained, and without adequate weapons.
Seething, she stepped back. Her eyes swept over me, scanning for potential concealed weapons that could deliver on my threat. My hoodie had the potential to store a number of things that could be dangerous to her.
“I don’t like you!”
“Whaaaat? News to me. You hide it well. Oscar-level performance. Honestly, I thought this was the beginning of us becoming besties. Oh, the stories we could share about our blossoming friendship. We’d tell them about you being a complete monster to me and how I had to tame you by breaking your fang. And we’d laugh at the absurdity. Now we don’t have that. This rejection stings. How will I go on?”
Her seething growl was cut short when she noticed the woman who’d sidled in next to her. Anna spun, shooting me a scathing look before marching away. I couldn’t parse out if her quick exit was from the threat of losing a fang again, or the new arrival. Regardless, I was happy to see her go.
The House of Hollows’s unofficial princess gave me a small wave before crushing me into a hug. Darby had been a vampire long enough for her to understand her strength, but I suspected she was one of those people whose hugs were always like receiving a spinal adjustment.
When she stepped away, I moved several more feet from the vampire traction device. She was dressed in a billowy off-the-shoulder burnt-orange midi dress that complemented her rich golden russet-colored skin. The Afro Brazilian vampire’s thick waves were twisted into a fat bun. I imagined the crown that belonged on it as the presumed princess of the house and the reason there were only five houses now instead of six. The Hollow’s undeclared princess was aggressively cute: round nose, winged sharp cheeks, and emotive molten acorn-brown eyes.
“Give her time, she’ll get over it,” she signed.
“No need to lie. I recognize when I’ve earned a life-long enemy,” I responded.
She offered me a tight-lipped smile.
“Things could be worse,” I signed.
Her eyes widened at my hands as they continued to move.
“Your signing has improved. A lot,” Darby signed. Her smile widened.
