Page 67 of Vervain

I don’t want to share anything about myself with her. I don’t want to bond with someone who might not be around for long. Besides, after ten years in Darkovish eating the same thing, most of what I ate in Cherry Bloom is just a memory.

As we make our way down an aisle, I only see food in cans and packages. Fresh produce would be a dream, but in this world dying without sunlight, I doubt they have the resources.

“Hmm…” Olivia walks ahead, her ears twitching and eyes scanning. I follow with my hand pressing against my stomach, as if stifling the hunger. “I remember this!” Her finger circles the top of a can, spinning it until the label comes into view. A type of beef stew. Whatever it is, she takes it and keeps grabbing more things I haven’t heard of before.

“Where does this stuff come from? Topside?”

Olivia muses. “Yesterday, I scouted the Undercity. A few of the buildings process human food. I’m assuming some nightwalkers are gatherers and bring human resources to the Undercity for the Feeders here.”

Most of what she grabs reminds me of junk left scattered and unwanted. Packets of chips, bars of chocolate in clear packaging with a powdery, white-freckled layer.

We turn into another aisle, and I hesitate at the row of powdered custards. I take a few. It might not be the same as what I had in the feeding ground—still, it is something to remember the days spent surrounded by friends.

I hold my locket, wishing I’d found a piece of Emily.

“We can get meat from the butcher, if you want something more exotic.”

Exotic…Those nightwalkers outside called me that, and the one in the private room said something similar. Is it because I am a daywalker? Or a vegodian?

“I’m fine with these for now,” I say after my stomach grumbles like a war is being waged inside my body. “I’d like to return to the manor.”

Olivia grabs the custard, and when we leave the aisle, she tells the store owner that Serun will give him blood. He waves his hand dismissively, and we leave with no problems.

As I step outside, ash crumbles beneath my feet, and the scent of decay lingers in the air. Blood pools across the path, and when I raise my lantern, Serun stands in the middle of it. Black shadows slip away from the aging corpse beneath him, wrapping around him.

I take a step forward but hit the gutter and trip. A seething hiss escapes me as flesh from the new shoe wounds peels away. With an irritated sigh, I hook my finger into the strap and take off the offending shoe. As I am about to plant my foot on the ground, broad arms wrap around me, and in one swift motion, Serun is carrying me in his left arm while the other holds the lantern and shoe.

“You are a menace, Serun,” I say through clenched teeth.

“I enjoy my name rolling off that tongue of yours,” he says, ignoring my complaint. “Is there anywhere else you want to go?”

My arms move around him, and I scan the darkness. Nightwalkers watch, glowing eyes observing, and more low hissing seethes out. “Are we in danger?”

“Should we be in danger?”

“You killed someone.”

“Nightwalkers have no souls. They don’t care unless it is their life, and right now, they’re hissing to tell me they’re not a threat.” He rolls his shoulder. “Is there anywhere else you want to go?”

“No.” I sigh when I realise he will not let me walk barefoot. So, I shift more comfortably in his embrace and glare down at his shadows. “Why did you kill them?”

Shadows stir, smoky tendrils quivering against my skin. “You didn’t say it would make you less inclined to share my coffin with me.”

“Nightwalkers,” I say with a shake of my head. “Always twisting things to benefit yourself.”

“Yes,” he says. “How do you think I made you my consort?”

“Enough with the consort stuff. I don’t like it.” I kick my legs up and shuffle closer to him. When I do, Serun’s hand grips my thigh, sending an electric pulse between my thighs.

“Do you think you will stay?”

I grimace. “Indefinitely? No.” My fingers brush along the shell of his pointed ear that bends back submissively. “But for a time, yes. Until I am strong enough to protect Cole and for us to find true freedom.”

“And when you say us, you mean…”

“Cole and I.” My fangs sink into my bottom lip, and I taste the iron. “And you, if you desire it.”

“Hmm…” Serun rumbles deep in his throat. “Remain alone in my manor or follow my sweetest dream. What a hard choice, consort.”