Page 35 of Taste of Death

“Amy… ” Tavia shook her head, clearly disappointed. “Why?”

“I like him.” I shrugged. “He’s nice and easy to talk to.” His blood was also the best thing I’d ever tasted, but I wasn’t ready to admit that to her yet.

“He’s an enemy of Blood ‘til Dawn,” Tavia pleaded. “If Thorne doesn’t want you seeing him, it has to be for a good reason.”

I rolled my eyes. “Apparently it’s a reason so good, no one can tell me what it is. Novak has been nothing but kind to me. I consider him a friend.”

“Just a friend?”

I licked my lips, remembering the taste of his blood and all the lustful feelings I’d been having right before drinking it. “Yes.”

Tavia shot me a look like she wasn’t buying it. “And you want to bring him to my mating ceremony. Why? They could kill him on sight!”

“Not if you don’t let it happen,” I argued. “And I want him there because I don’t want to be alone while you’re up there.”

“You won’t be alone. Bea will be there.”

I sighed. “Don’t get me wrong. I like Bea, and I appreciate everything she’s done to help me as a fellow brusang. But she’syourfriend. I’m sure I’ll get there with her eventually, but Novak is the first friend I’ve made here on my own.”

Tavia groaned, dropping her head into her hands. “Even if I want to say yes, this is going to cause trouble with the clan. It won’t put Cyan in a good light.”

“Who says the clan has to know? Until he shows up, of course.”

Tavia dropped her hands and gave me a withering stare. “You know I can’t do that. I can’t convince Cyan to do that.”

“Why not?” I challenged. “I just want Novak as my plus-one. It’s not like I’m trying to sneak him into the compound for clan secrets or whatever.”

My best friend sighed as her head fell back. “I don’t know, Amy. This feels like it’s inviting so much more trouble than necessary.”

“Novak will behave himself. He’s just going to sit with me. As long as Blood ‘til Dawn doesn’t act out, there will be no trouble.”

Tavia leveled her gaze on me again. “You’re so different now. I used to be the troublemaker, and you were the peacekeeper. What happened?”

“I guess things change when you’re sacrificed to a vampire and I wake up from the dead as one.”

She huffed out a soft laugh over a sip of coffee. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

Nothing was said for a few minutes, and after some deliberation, I decided to lift the biggest weight sitting on my chest.

“Look, I miss you,” I said. “I miss… how we used to be.”

Tavia’s smile was tinged with sadness. “Me too. I feel… responsible for fucking up our friendship.”

“Well I certainly didn’t help.” I took a deep breath. “I’m really happy for you and Cyan. Seriously, I’m glad you two found each other. I know things will never be exactly the same between us, but I still want us to be… you know, good.”

“Thanks, Ames. That really means a lot.” Her smile brightened. “I want us to be good too.”

I steeled myself with another breath. “I’m excited to watch your ceremony. I can’t wait to be there and support you. But Novak is important to me too. It would really mean a lot to me if you allowed him to come.”

Tavia sighed again, but there was noticeably less exasperation in the sound. “I can’t promise anything, but I’ll do my best to convince Cyan.”

My heart soared with relief. “Thank you, Tav. I appreciate that so much.”

“He better be worth it,” she grumbled with another soft smile.

“He is,” I said. “I think if you got to know him, you would really like him.”

“I do hope I get that chance.” Her smile widened. “Who knows, maybe this gesture will go toward healing whatever centuries-long grudges the two clans hold against each other.”

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