Page 69 of Vervain

No one sees what I’ve been seeing.

To hide yourself from all who worship you. Wearing a mask for fear of what they would do if they really knew him. It makes me wonder if they adore him the way he believes they do, or if they fear him because they will never see him coming in a crowd of faceless nightwalkers.

Serun raises his hand to me once we reach the tunnel. I bite my lip, my fang sinking into flesh when I take the last step, my hand on his. “Your eyes aren’t as good as a nightwalker’s. I don’t want you to trip.”

“Liar.”

Serun breathes a laugh.

I wear flat-heeled shoes that don’t make my feet ache. Most of the blisters have healed enough, but I indulge Serun. I grip raw, taut muscle, and we enter the tunnel to the Undercity.

My breath is harsh, echoing in the passageway. Everything I do reverberates. The way I walk, the movement of my dress, my exhalations.

Serun, however, walks soundlessly. If I weren’t holding onto his arm, I’d believe I was walking alone in the dark. I decided not to bring the lantern this time, hoping that being in the pure dark might help my eyes adjust to it.

“Where does your sister live?”

“There are two passageways leading off this tunnel. Ahead is the Undercity as you know, but we are making a right to Maeve’s. Reyes lives to the left.”

“Lucifer doesn’t have a place here in the Undercity?”

“The Sunken City is his only home.”

My eyes narrow slightly, reminded of the way Lucifer looked the last time I saw him. “I get the impression he doesn’t like me because I am vegodian.”

“Lucifer is wary. You are a daywalker. A rarity—and likely the only one.” Clawed fingers cup my hand, his thumb brushing against my knuckles. “Nightwalkers cannot reproduce, so you are a wonder. What are you? And if we are questioning what you are, others will too.”

“Slayers…You all seem to believe they will want to experiment on me.”

The tunnel brightens enough to see the outline of Serun beside me. “They want everyone but themselves dead. So, to eliminate us, they will exploit your daywalker qualities to create something that could turn us all to ash. Somewhat like that little portal orb—I assume they created it to infiltrate the Undercity.”

I nod slowly. “That’s why I need to control my magik. At least enough for me not to pass out or become exhausted using it.” Flesh peels away from my bottom lip when I bite down. “Anything to give me an advantage.”

“You have been able to hold your glamour for thirty minutes these past few days before you are completely drained.” Serun inches closer to me. “Soon enough, you will be able to draw on your power without needing pain to bring you back.”

Serun is…devoted. I find it difficult to keep these swirling feelings at bay.

My fingers slip through the cracks in his hand, holding tight—my way of silently telling him I enjoy his company.

He says nothing. Doesn’t gloat at the slightest hint of affection. Instead, his long claws close, holding my hand tighter as he guides me out and into streams of dusty red lighting.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

LATRODECTUS MACTANS

Saya Claymore

Gloom emanates from Maeve’s home.

My fingernails penetrate Serun’s skin at the sight of the webbed garden. Silver light spills from fluorescent streetlamps outside the iron gate to her estate—milky white strands coating garden beds like a blanket of frost.

My ears prick at the movement of critters under the soil, and insect song stings my ears. Black spiders with red streaks creep across every web, coiling around stones, bushes, and poles.

“I see your sister likes spiders…” I say, hoping a conversation can distract me from what’s creeping around my feet.

“They keep visitors out.” Serun’s focus settles on the house ahead. It’s a two-story cottage made of dark cobblestone with a sheen of spider silk covering the windows.

I bite my lower lip as I take in the man standing at the entrance. Dressed in a skin-tight white shirt and black pants, the exposed parts of his flesh reveal silver scars against olive skin. Spiders crawl over him like friendly companions and not venomous prey.