Page 25 of Taste of Death

I didn’t tell anyone I was leaving, nor did anyone ask where I was going or try to stop me. Tavia was giving me space, as she would put it, but I knew she just didn’t want to deal with me. The other Blood ‘til Dawn vampires seemed to feel similarly, which was just fine by me.

There were other people who wouldn’t treat me like I was a bomb about to go off. At least, I hoped there was.

I reached Novak’s house without incident and used the heavy brass knocker on the door to announce my presence.

A thread of insecurity coiled through my chest as I waited. What if he didn’t want to see me? I could have made an epic mistake by coming here. Thorne forbade us from seeing each other, but no one at Blood ‘til Dawn seemed to actually care much about what I did. And no one seemed eager to explain all this complicated vampire clan history they alluded to all the time.

The door opened to reveal a human woman who looked to be in her mid-forties. She wore a white chef’s jacket and the furrow between her brow softened when she saw me.

“Well, look who came back around.” A wide smile came to her face. “What can I do for you, Miss Amy?”

I was taken aback that she knew my name. Novak must have told her. “Hi. Um, nice to see you again. Is Novak home?”

“He’s not. He stepped out for a bit.”

Before I could feel any shred of disappointment, the chef widened the door and stepped aside to let me through. “Come in and wait for him. He shouldn’t be long. I’ll fix you something.”

“Oh no, that’s okay. I don’t want to impose. I just wanted to see if he was home.”

“Nonsense. I think he’ll like the surprise.” A smirk curved her mouth. “I’m Joanne, by the way. Call me Jo. I don’t think we formally met last time.”

“Nice to meet you, Jo. Your spread was incredible last time. Just delicious.”

She beamed with pride. “I’m glad you liked it. I’m playing around some more and could use a taster. Between you and me, vampires have no palates for actual food. Come in.”

“Well, as long as I’m not intruding?—”

“You got cement blocks on your feet, girl? Get in the damn house.”

Her sharp tone surprised me, but the smile softened it. Seeing as she left no argument, I crossed the threshold, chuckling sheepishly.

“Lourna!” Jo hollered as she closed the door and crossed the foyer. “We’ve got a visitor!” To me, she pointed at the kitchen island where I sat last time. “Sit. You like pastrami?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever had it,” I admitted, sliding onto a stool.

“Ah.” Her dark eyes lit up like she understood something. “Never ventured out to the human world, huh?”

“A few times, not a whole lot. My community was pretty self-sufficient, but we went to the human world once every few months for supplies. The closest place to us was a little town in Oregon.”

“Oh yeah, you’re from that little humans-only settlement in the Ribs, right?” Jo squinted. “What’s it called?”

“Sapien,” I said. “Yep, the last settlement in Sanguine is still run by humans, for humans.”

“How’d you end up with the… ?” Jo drew small circles in the air, indicating my eyes, probably.

My throat tightened. I’d avoided talking about it until now, but couldn’t exactly dance around the subject with Jo’s blunt questions.

“Our settlement was attacked and they got me.” I shrugged, as if I could feel casual about such a thing. “Someone was able to call my best friend, and she came to help. She’d been chosen as the sacrifice for the Half-Century Selection, so she brought Blood ‘til Dawn with her. She begged her mate to bring me back and,” I shrugged again, “here I am.”

Jo whistled as she swiftly sliced through a large cut of meat. “That’s some wild shit right there. Must be hard.”

“Thanks. I… You know, I’m figuring it out. Where are you from?” I was eager to get the subject off of myself.

Jo glanced up with a grin. “New York, baby. Born and raised.” Her accent made it sound likeNew Yawk.

“Really?” It was actually rare that I met a human from the human world. “How did you end up in Sanguine? And as a chef for a vampire?”

Almost everyone in Sapien had been born there. All we’d ever known had been a world of vampires, shifters, witches, and magic that the vast majority of humans didn’t believe in. My old home has prided itself on preserving human culture and community. Unlike other humans who had found their way into this world, we didn’t conform to the world of the supernaturals. We remained independent and had done so successfully for centuries. The thought of Sapien made me incredibly homesick.

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