Page 10 of The Guardian's Curse

“That’s exactly the thing we need,” she retorted. “Playing nice is playing weak. That’s why they’re still here a year after stepping into our territory.”

“I agree,” Dominic said.

“Eduardo does not,” Julian said sharply. “The rest of your opinions are irrelevant.”

There was a little giggle that broke through the tension, and Paris looked up from his snack with an expression of guilt. He pressed his finger to the human’s red lips. “I thought we came to drink.” He tilted his head. “And since Alistair won’t leave the house again for another decade, shall we enjoy it?”

“Don’t be a tool,” Nikko said. “Perhaps he’d join us more often if you weren’t such a dick.”

The look of mock offense on Paris’s face lifted his spirits ever so slightly. Alistair cleared his throat and said, “Paris has been a dick for two centuries. This is hardly news.”

Paris laughed. The girl in his lap whimpered and pawed at the lapels of his coat in search of his attention. “Patience, kitten,” he said in English. His blue eyes lifted to Safira. Paris cupped the woman’s jaw and eased her head to the side. He kissed the exposed flesh, following the sinuous curve to her shoulder. The human let out a soft moan as Paris bit slowly into her, a single drop of blood trickling over her collarbone. His other arm encircled her waist, holding her close to him. Safira joined him, one hand cupping her breast as she bit into the woman’s wrist.

Just watching them brought back flashes of better times, when they had fed and fucked to their heart’s content.

He looked away and caught Julian’s eye. At that, Julian rose and took the seat Zephyrine had vacated. He poured a glass of whiskey and handed it over. “It’s good to see you, my friend,” he said quietly. “I apologize that I’ve not made the time to see you recently.”

Alistair took the glass and drained half of it. “You’re a busy man.”

“Always,” he said. “Still, a vampire has nothing but time. Have you been well?”

“As well as can be,” Alistair said.

“And Lucia?”

“The same,” Alistair said quietly. As they all were and ever would be.

While Paris and Safira enjoyed their snack, Nikko and Dominic spoke quietly, both of them wearing intense expressions that said they were talking business rather than enjoying themselves.

He missed this, and at the same time, he wanted to be as far away as he could get. Seeing his circle gathered here only reminded him of how much they had lost. And no amount of forced smiles and half-hearted jokes would lift their curses.

Nothing had changed in over a century, and it never would.

4

After three days of long shifts at the coffee shop and late nights at the vampire club, Shoshanna York was headed home for a hot date with her couch. If she was really feeling frisky, she might consider a foursome with a Korean sheet mask and a slice of dark chocolate raspberry cheesecake from work.

The wire transfer from Violette had cleared that morning, so she had treated herself to takeout sushi that was normally well out of her budget. Then, she’d immediately paid down her credit card and preemptively paid next month’s bills, like a responsible little witch. Okay, maybe one Amazon order of non-essential kitchen gadgets and cat toys.

One large order.

The savory smell of steamed dumplings drifted from the paper bag in the passenger’s seat. Her stomach growled as she fought the urge to tear into her dinner in stop-and-go traffic. She silently willed the traffic light to change. Fifteen more minutes and she could ditch the bra and have an eel roll feeding frenzy.

Despite the appeal of a quiet, relaxing night, she couldn’t help feeling guilty in advance. Tonight would be the perfect time to work on her long-neglected grand travail, the project that would complete her intermediate training as a tisserand. It was gathering dust these days, since she rarely had the time to devote to magical studies. She’d completed her last intensive training over a year ago, and most of her classmates had already submitted their work for approval. Then again, most of her classmates came from rich families with long traditions of magic, and were baffled by the concept of minimum wage and subsidized health insurance.

When she returned from her final class in the French countryside last summer, she was motivated to tackle the massive project. Once it was done, she’d ascend to adept training, where her room and board would be covered. No expensive rent payments, no disappointed mothers. She’d even done the non-magical mundane woo by declaring her intent to the universe. But even for a disciplined and organized witch, the best-laid plans didn’t last when fate stepped in.

First she’d had a tooth that broke and revealed a cavity. Thankfully she’d gotten away with a filling and not a root canal that would have cost five times as much. Then her cat had gotten a kidney infection that set her back even further. The nest egg she’d saved before the trip quickly evaporated.

Instead of cutting back, she’d ended up taking more hours at the coffee shop to try to recoup her losses. And so, when one of her mentors from the Grand Guild called to tell her that the Auberon vampires were looking for someone with her exact skillset, she couldn’t turn it down. Now when she had time off, she was just too damned tired for intense magical study. Best intentions ended with her books discarded on the floor while she snored on the couch.

The Blue Monster’s brakes squealed as she pulled into the parking lot of her apartment complex. The car had miraculously started that morning, and she’d thanked her lucky stars all the way to the auto parts store where she reluctantly bought a new battery that put a hefty dent in her cash surplus.

The water-stained stucco betrayed the age of the complex. It was a decent place, but she hated running faster and faster on this financial treadmill to go absolutely nowhere.

One of these days, she was going to make it. Her younger brother Elijah had just bought his first house, which her mother mentioned every time they spoke.

As if she could forget.

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