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I turned because she was the only one I really wanted to see. The princess was in her usual outfit of soft leather pants and a tunic with sturdy boots and a heavy leather belt that I happened to know held some enchanted items. Even with the binders on, I could sense some of the magic coming off the princess. There was a streak of pure black that split her auburn hair and twisted through the thick braid swung over her left shoulder. She was a lovely girl, and it was obvious to me that she wasn’t pleased with whatever had happened this morning.
Well, that was two of us. “Lucifer’s an ass.”
Evan’s hands fisted on her hips. “He is a total jerk, and Lee’s down there having a beer with him. Trent and Fenrir didn’t like how he smelled and took off for the woods. I can’t change into a wolf and escape my problems, so I was left with ‘I’m turning into a monster and my baby sister is going to be an abomination.’”
“The baby the queen is carrying? Myrddin was concerned with her pregnancy, too,” Casey said, going serious in a heartbeat. “I need to do some research.”
Of course he did. It was what he lived for—being around stuffy, dusty books or hunting some antiquated fact down on the Internet. “Excellent. Go and save the queen. I need to talk to the princess.”
His eyes narrowed. “About what?”
“I’m having my period,” I tried. It usually sent men running.
Not vampires, though. Casey took in the longest breath, scenting the air. “No, you’re not, baby. You know how horny I get when that happens, and I’m only a regular amount of horny now.” He shook his head. “You can’t embarrass me anymore. I’ve lived through Lee’s puberty. Nothing can embarrass me.” He turned to Evan. “Is there something I should worry about?”
Evan’s expression went blank. “Not at all. I wanted to talk to Liv.”
“Then why did you bring her demon blood?” Casey asked.
The world seemed to stop. Was he going to take it away? Now I could feel my hands shaking because I didn’t know what I would do if he refused to let Evan give it to me. I’d been on a knife’s edge before she gave me a dose the day before.
Evan sighed and pulled the syringe out of her pack. “I should have used a scent charm, but I gave Fenrir the last one. I take it you can smell it?”
Casey took it out of her hand and held it up to the candlelight, inspecting it. The blood was black against the light, but there were flecks of red spinning around in it. Like it was alive.
I’d never studied the blood before. I’d simply stood there and allowed Myrddin to give me unholy communion.
That was a dumb, pretentious name for it. It wasn’t freaking communion. It was control. It was addiction.
I still needed it.
“Evan, is this Eddie’s blood?” Casey asked the question with a tightness that worried me.
“Yes. He knows what it’s for. I didn’t steal it or anything. I told him in the beginning that it was for Puff, but it was pointed out to me that one dose should have worked with a hellhound and I had to come clean,” Evan replied. “But Eddie agreed this is the right thing to do. He feels sorry for her.”
A brow rose over Casey’s eyes. “Really? He feels sorry for her?”
I didn’t like the sound of that, but I wasn’t going to argue.
Evan’s jaw firmed stubbornly. “He claims his blood is like methadone.”
“I bet he did,” Casey said under his breath and his head came up. “All right, then. Give me your arm. I would bet I’m far better at this than the princess. Or have you been doing some hard drugs I don’t know about?”
“Feel free.” Evan stood back. “I hope you’re not going to go straight to theNex Apparatus. I’m only trying to help Ms. Carey.”
Oh, she was doing more than that, but who was I to correct her. If Casey was going to be our accomplice, I wouldn’t have to worry about hiding it from him. I placed my hand in his and he quickly found a vein. Vampires are the most natural phlebotomists in the world. If you have tricky veins, find a vamp to help you out.
Sweet poison started flowing, and I felt that slight chill that flooded me when I took the satan’s blood.
Casey handed the syringe back to her. “She’ll need it at least once a day for the next few weeks. Don’t make her wait too long. She should have it at roughly the same time every day for it to work properly. Liv, if you change your mind, you know where I’ll be, and I would bet Kelsey will want to complain viciously about Lucifer, too.”
That would be fun.
Casey closed the door behind him, and I had the feeling I’d missed something in the exchange between him and Evan. “What did he mean by methadone?”
“Satan’s blood won’t have the same high effects that the blood you’ve been receiving does.”
I’d noticed. “It also doesn’t hurt as much.”
