Page 18 of Taste of Death

“She was with you all day?” Cyan went stiff, his eyes narrowed.

“Sheis right here,” I interjected. “And yes, I stayed at Novak’s house. But nothing happened, just like he said.” I returned Cyan’s stare, daring him to insinuate anything else.

“You took blood from him?” Tavia asked.

My gaze snapped to hers, and she startled as if she didn’t expect my reflexes to be so fast. She looked worried, even a little betrayed. And I had to admit, deep down, I got a little thrill out of disappointing her. I felt like a teenager rebelling against an uptight mother.

“Yeah, so? That’s what I do now, don’t I?” I put on a wide, exaggerated smile so that she’d see my fangs. “Thanks to you.”

Tavia swallowed and lifted her chin. “You were just so uncomfortable at the blood bank. I didn’t think you’d take from a stranger.”

“Novak isn’t a stranger to me; he’s a friend.” I wasn’t entirely sure if he would agree with that, but it felt right to me. Plus, I couldn’t resist throwing another barb in Tavia’s face. “He helped me,actuallyhelped me when I needed blood, rest, and to get out of the sun.”

“Amy, you don’t know him,” Cyan said. “You don’t know the history between our clans.”

For fuck’s sake. I was beyond done with hearing “clan history” as the excuse for mistreating people right now in the present moment.

“Whateverhedid, which sounds like absolutely fucking nothing, it doesn’t warrant you treating him like a criminal just because he walked me here.” These vampires might have been the ruling clan, but that didn’t mean they weren’t assholes. I crossed my arms and lifted my chin to give Thorne my best glare. “Let him go. Right now.”

For all I knew, I was breaking thousands of vampire laws by making any kinds of demands for Novak, but I was past the point of caring. He hadn’t done anything wrong, and my blood boiled hotter every second they kept their hands on him.

“It’s all right,akra.” Novak rolled his head along the wall to look at me, that small smile showing a glint of fang. “I’m used to this from my Blood ‘til Dawn neighbors. Par for the course.”

I opened my mouth to argue, to tell him that didn’t make it okay to treat him like this. I certainly had no bias for this clan, not even with Tavi basically marrying into them. But Thorne stepped forward, his gravitas soaking up all the attention in the room.

“Here’s what’s going to happen, Novak of Rathka’s Order. We will let you go, undisturbed. But you will not take this brusang or anyone else of our clan into your home. You will not see her again, period. I think that would be best to keep the peace among our kind, don’t you agree?”

Fuck no, I do not agree.

But the question was not directed at me. I had no power here, as Thorne made abundantly clear. And anyway, the choice was entirely in Novak’s hands.

His expression hardened, gaze falling on me without saying anything. I couldn’t even begin to wonder what he was thinking, what kind of history or politics his mind ran through to decide his answer. From the moment he was dragged inside, it was obvious this wasn’t just about me staying at a stranger’s house. Something bigger was at play here, something more than him and me.

And yet my breath caught in my chest as I waited, hoping for a certain answer. Or even just a sign, the hint of a smile or some expression crossing his face that signaled he wanted to see me again.

When several seconds passed with him saying nothing, Thorne pressed once again.

“Might I remind you that Blood ‘til Dawn is the ruling clan of Sanguine. While your ancestors may be spinning in their graves at that fact, it is still a fact.”

“Are you saying this is an official clan decree?” Novak’s voice roughened slightly, the ease and humor gone.

“I’ll make it one if I have to,” Thorne said. “But if you’re such an honorable, noble male, we won’t have to resort to that, will we?”

Novak glanced at me one more time, and my heart sank at the cool mask across his expression. “No, we won’t.”

“So you agree to never set eyes on this brusang again?”

No.

“I do.”

Satisfied, Thorne gave a slight nod to the two vampires, who released Novak from his pinned position on the wall.

Novak straightened his waistcoat and adjusted his sleeves, truly looking like a prince compared to Blood ‘til Dawn with their scuffed boots, faded jeans, and leather jackets.

My instincts surged at the sight of him. I wanted to rush over and hug him, to feel the reassuring pulse of his jugular under my lips. I wanted to put my body between him and the others and bare my fangs, challenging them to come through me if they wanted him.

At the same time, I knew all those urges were wildly inappropriate for someone I just met. Maybe my vampire side wanted to protect the blood source I liked the most. That had to be it—some kind of animalistic survival thing.

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