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My hands flew to my chest, feeling the heat rising through my body against my open palms. Suddenly, I couldn’t move from the spot, forcing people to move around us. Sebastian extended his wings outward, pushing a black wing out in front of me, blocking the horrifying scene from view.
The taste of vomit bit at my tongue, twisting my mouth and nose. I covered my mouth, my fingers muffling my voice. “I’m going to throw up.”
“Come with me.” I walked in the shadow of his wing, reaching a garbage-pickled alleyway. A rat scurried from under a trash bag, rustling as it sped away from us. I stopped in front of a urine-splashed concrete wall and projectile vomited. After gagging twice, I leaned over, pressing my hands against my knees, attempting to catch my breath.
Sebastian shoved his hands in his pockets, anger lacing his sharp features. “One of the aniccipere was careless.”
“That was the work of a soul vampire?” I asked breathlessly. Strands of hair had fallen into the path of my vomit, so I wiped them with my sleeve.
“You seem surprised?”
“I mean, the body was eaten. Don’t they only suck out your soul?”
His shoulders slumped slightly. “Their process takes a toll on the body. That’s usually what a mortal looks like after being killed by one of them.”
Dizziness forced me backward, and my heel caught against the bottom of a blue dumpster. I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead and face with the backs of my clammy hands. “Gods, this place is awful.”
“We shouldn’t see any more. Usually, they clean up after themselves.”
“Let’s just get to these blood dens before I have to see any more rotting bodies.”
He closed the distance between us as he searched my expression. “You don’t have to go. Now you’ve seen what this city is really like, I wouldn’t blame you if you want to return to the house.”
“No.” I clambered for the words to persuade him I would be okay, despite standing next to a puddle of my puke. “It won’t happen again. It was a moment of weakness.”
“No one would think this was weakness. You shouldn’t have had to see that.”
Was that a sliver of pity I saw cross his expression? It was gone before I could decide if it was real or not. “Let’s keep moving,” I begged. “Draven needs me.”
He let out an inaudible sigh, then placed his hand, escorting me out of the alley. Erianna stepped out of the way from keeping watch. “All good?”
He nodded. “Let’s go.”
My shoulders rolled back. As we walked, I tried to distract myself from our surroundings, thinking back to the soul vampires. “Why did you say not to look them in the eye?”
“They can taste your fear when you do.”
“Right, you said.” I shook my head, trying to gather my scattered thoughts.
“Eyes are windows to the soul,” Erianna stated.
I made a mental note to never look at them again. “No staring at the creepy demon vamps. Got it.”
Sebastian laughed, a sound I had heard little since meeting him. It was nice, almost, to see his expression lighten, if only for a moment.
We walked out into the heart of the city, a large square filled with old buildings stacked several stories high. It wasn’t exactly clean, but then again, neither were the roads back home in Ismore. There were fewer aniccipere strolling the sidewalks, and musicians played various instruments on the corners. There was even a theater. I marveled at the ticket booths and inviting velvet curtains on either side of the entryways. “You have shows here?”
Erianna answered, “They’re not shows.”
I arched a brow.
“They’re auctions,” Sebastian answered. “More upscale ones.”
“For?”
He gave me a look.
“Say no more.” I grimaced, my lip curling as I gave the red-bricked building a last glare. The cool, early evening breeze caught the red curls of my hair, sweeping back any strays from my shoulder and chest to my back. Red streaks blotted the blue sky, and a thin layer of clouds hid the sun, arrowing light onto where we walked.
