Page 26 of To Vanquish Darkness

Movement ahead nearly caused her to stumble, and Theo reached out a hand to steady her. When she tried to rip her arm away, Theo gripped tighter and gave her a sidelong glance. Bile rose in her throat. She could run. She could announce the truth and allow her voice to echo off the stone walls as she declared all that had happened since the night before. But the thought of defying Theo’s orders while surrounded by vampires felt like slitting her wrists and throwing herself into a pack of wolves.

He was the monster she knew.But how long would she have to pretend?

Amalie twisted, wrapping her arm around his and clinging to his bicep. Warmth bled into her through the thin cotton of his shirt. His spiced floral and citrus scent invaded her senses, and she forgot for a few brief seconds that she couldn’t allow herself to enjoy it. That calm, that pleasure meant one thing.

Vampires.

As if she’d conjured them with their thoughts, shadows began to shift. They appeared out of thin air from around corners, down stairs built into the hillside, and through the doors and windows of apartments built above the shops. Fluid, like smoke and mist.

Amalie’s heart beat hot at her throat.They could smell her.She clung tighter to Theo’s arm and scoffed internally at the lunacy of it. This creature who had taken everything from her, now a protector?

"Bonsoir, Theo.” A voice smooth as silk lifted from a man whose skin looked nearly blue under the moonlight. A sleek black coat hung from his shoulders, moving like liquid as he bowed, his eyes gleaming amber.

"Etienne." Theo nodded. The vampire moved to the side as two women slunk closer and clung to his sides. Even with makeup and brightly colored dresses, they looked small and dull compared to him.Humans, Amalie realized, and her stomach clenched.

Another group appeared across from them. Vampires and more humans, men and women this time. She was going to be sick. How many were there? Had they only arrived that night?Would they last past the morning?

A vampire wearing nothing but a pair of loose trousers gave a small wave.

Theo waved back. “Paul.”

“To what do we owe the pleasure of your company?” A stunning, statuesque vampire with light, silky hair and lips as red as a blood moon assessed Amalie with unveiled curiosity. She smiled, exposing sharp, white teeth. “Or it seems the pleasure will be all yours.”

Theo’s arm tensed under Amalie’s grip. “Jealousy has never suited you Clémentine.” He kept walking as the woman flickedher tongue over her cherry lips. Amalie wanted to run. To escape the narrow chute between the buildings and hold her face to the sun.

She glanced up at Theo. Could he stand in sunlight? The legends said no, but they’d already failed her. She hadn’t thought to ask.

“This one must be special.” A tall, muscular man with sandy hair that fell to his shoulders sat on the steps next to them. “How long has it been Theo? You never bring your toys home anymore.”

“He doesn’t like to share.” Clémentine pouted.

The man laughed, then sprang from the stone and fell into step next to them. He slung an arm over Theo’s shoulders. “We’ve missed you, love. We wondered . . .”

Theo shrugged him off and stopped, then pulled his arm from Amalie’s grip. He ran his hand up her back, then curled his hand around her neck, covering her marks. “Worried I’d moved on without you, Ren?”

This was a game. He didn’t want them to see he’d bitten her, and she had to play along. Amalie slid an arm around his waist, doing her best to mimic the other humans she saw and become the naïve, flattered girl while her mind whirred beneath the surface.

By the way they greeted him, it was obvious that Theo landed somewhere at the top of their social structure. His signet was on the doors. Had he found this place and made it his, or had he done something to earn that mark?

“Not worried. Rather. . . interested.” Ren stepped in front of Amalie and crouched to look her in the eye. “She looks terrified, Theo. Your charm may be slipping.”

Amalie’s heart fluttered in her throat. She wasn’t selling it. Keeping her expression even, she flipped through possible responses, roles she could play, but quickly settled on somethingclose to herself. If shedidlove someone, and if they were being taunted by friends—or enemies, she couldn’t quite tell—she would want to protect him. She would want to make him appear strong.

She met Ren’s stare. His eyes were slate gray, and though his mouth wore a smirk, they seared into her.

Amalie stopped fighting Theo’s blanket of calm. She drew a deep breath and let it wash over her. “I’m bored with your friends, Theo. Why are we still standing here instead of finding somewhere we can be alone?” The words came too easily, and the comfort of being close to him too natural. A wave of nausea engulfed her, and she turned her head, pretending to bury it in Theo’s shoulder.

His fingertips twitched against her arm as Ren’s brow lifted, his lips curling into a wicked grin. “Ah. I see it now. She’s got some fight in her. Theo’s gotten picky in his old age. Wants a challenge.” Ren shoved a hand in his pocket and stepped back, never severing eye contact. “I hope this one sticks around. We could use a bit of fun.”

Amalie rolled her eyes, then turned toward Theo, placing a hand on his chest. Her breath caught as she felt his heart beating hard and fast, and she cleared her throat before blinking adoringly up at him.

Theo lifted a finger, tilting her chin up, then lowered his head to an inch above hers. “You’ve been patient.” Amalie quivered, her pulse bucking wildly beneath his fingertips. Theo ran his thumb over her neck and raised an eyebrow. It was wrong how her body couldn’t discern between manipulated want and mortal threat. He was a predator. She was prey.

Amalie pulled him closer and slipped her cheek against his. “Don’t push your luck,” she hissed and felt his exhaled laugh against the shell of her ear.

He pulled back, his eyes glinting as if daring her to stop him, then slowly brushed his lips over hers. The touch was featherlight, and yet it ignited a blaze within her. Her grip on his waist tightened, her ribs cinching around her lungs.

She’d felt this before.There was a flash of dark sheets, Theo’s body positioned over hers. In a split second it was over, and she blinked, staring back at him in shock.

---