Page 24 of Vervain

“Tired of looking at the creatures,” Serun mutters.

Movement stirs from behind, and Serun’s shadows quiver. His eyes widen a fraction, and in a human heartbeat, he cocks his head to the side just as a dagger whips past him and sinks into the already very dead echo. Light burns at its chest, melting it into ashen particles.

He follows the line of light up to the rooftop, but Saya is nowhere to be seen.

“Amusing.”

Reyes scratches the back of his head. “Is this a kink between you two? Trying to kill each other?”

“Possibly,” he replies.

“Stop entertaining it,” Reyes says. “If you die, we die.”

Serun’s shadows bleed into the night, and he materialises on the rooftop. Serun’s ear twitches at the faint sound of her breathing nearby before he looks to his brother. Reyes stands over an open vent, and with a broad smile, says, “Is this where you entered to creep on your consort?”

Serun steps forward. “Imagine the audacity it would take to critique me when you did something similar to claim Avianna.”

Reyes laughs nervously and looks to his wife, who would gladly rip his cock off.

“Let’s move quickly. I’d rather not disturb the dead,” Serun says.

“We are the dead, brother.”

CHAPTER TEN

SUSURRATION

Saya Claymore

I fall flat on my back with a gasp of shock. The butterflies I have from falling through the airshaft tingle sickeningly in my gut. Exhaling, I look over to the door, my hands gripping the sheets below me.

I’m back in the private room. Back in the fucking feeding ground I had finally escaped. Only this time, I’m here to see the friends I didn’t have time to mourn.

After another breath to steady my nerves, I shuffle off the bed and cross the cool tiles. With every step, I struggle to ignore my imagination bleeding through, forming nightmares.

The image of the nightwalker who sexually assaulted me comes into focus. His head cuts away from his shoulders, and his shocked expression melts down into ash as I walk past the macabre vision and reach the door.

Whatever light Darkovish had is gone. Slipping out into the hallway, darkness drenches the walls and floors. A foul perfume like rotten fruit lingers, but the corridor is clean—untouched. No one must have been caught down here. Or the creatures cared little and focused on the Feeders congregated at the mess doors.

“So, you met your consort in his room, yes?” Reyes’ voice cuts through the quiet, and when I look behind me, I find Serun slouching by the doorframe. An unnerving sensation creeps across my skin at the way he watches me. From inside the room, Reyes continues to ramble. “Did anything happen here? The way she leans into you seems as if something has already bloomed.”

The fucking sun scorches across my cheeks. Even in the dark, I know Serun can see it.

As I try to escape this awkward conversation, Serun shoves his hands into his pockets and walks beside me. “Did you try to kill me earlier?”

“No. I was merely warning you that if you don’t hold your liar’s tongue around me, I won’t hesitate.”

“Hmm…”

My eyes adjust to the darkness as we make our way around the corner. A wall of stench hits us and burns the hairs in my nostrils. My hand snaps out, grabbing Serun’s arm to prevent me from collapsing.

Horror splatters across the walls, and the fleshy, bloody smell of death scorches my throat like dry heat. Rats scurry across lumps of torn limbs, and streaks of red stain the tiles that lead up the staircase ahead. Flesh lies scattered across the steps, cracking the cage encasing my heart. Dan.

“Should we burn this place down?” Reyes says.

Serun and I make our way to the mangled body. I let go of his arm and crouch by the bloody mess that was once Dan. Mum’s words return: “No matter how horrid the smell is, breathe through your nose. Accept the stench instead of poisoning your lungs.”

I breathe through my nose. Small inhales and exhales. Eyes already prickling, I bend my ears back as I try to stop tears from falling.