Page 92 of Taste of Death

Confusion, hurt, and betrayal didn’t scratch the surface of what I was experiencing. I felt like I’d stepped into a mirror world where everything looked the same, but in reverse. What else could explain Novak’s disdainful tone now when he’d spoke with such love and affection earlier in the evening?

“Was any of it true?” I heard myself ask. “What you told me at dusk, and in your office last night? Did you mean a single word of what you said to me?”

His expression barely changed as he took the woman’s hand from around his neck. He brought her fingers to his lips, and she let out a soft, surprised breath as he bit her fingertip. When he licked the resulting blood droplet where I could plainly see, he might as well had kissed her. Might as well have shed his clothing and penetrated her right in front of me, for how much it hurt.

What Tom Harrison did to me didn’t hold a candle to how utterly fucking painful this was.

I thought I knew pain. I thought I knew heartache and constant rejection and never being good enough. Watching the vampire who I thought wanted a family with me, a life with me, who I finally believed had accepted and loved me, scars and all, drink someone else’s blood was beyond heartbreaking.

I felt my heart die.

“You should go, Amy.” It was a cold dismissal from the same mouth that asked me to move in with him just a few hours ago.

I was numb, empty. Still trying to figure out what the hell had gone wrong, but my body responded like an automaton. I turned and left the house. Someone must have opened the door, and then I was outside.

My feet moved but I had no sense of direction. I felt severed, exposed. Cut off from what made me feel safe and grounded, and now floating aimlessly through space.

“Amy?”

I didn’t know how much time had passed before I heard my name. For all I knew, it could have been minutes or weeks.

My eyes focused on a familiar face with a harsh, concerned expression.

“Amy? Are you all right?”

“Man, look at her. Something’s damn wrong.”

Two voices. Male. Familiar. My brain processed this information incredibly slowly, like a computer from the last century. Their names came to me moments after their faces registered.

Thorne and Rhain.

The two Blood ‘til Dawn vampires blocked my path, the size of them together practically surrounding me.

Rhain leaned over to meet my eye level. “Amy, why are you walking like a zombie? Are you hurt?”

“No.” That one word seemed to take more energy than I had.

Thorne hung further back, but I felt his gaze on me like a weight on my shoulders.

“Novak?” He said it like he already knew the answer.

That name,hisname, broke though all the numbness and sent my systems crashing. A broken, ugly sob left my throat, the sound a perfect reflection of everything I felt.

“Take her bag, Rhain.” Something was removed from my hands, and then I felt a real arm over my shoulders, urging me gently to walk. “Let’s get you home.” Fingers squeezed sympathetically around my shoulder. “Guess you found out. I know we haven’t talked much, but you’re one of ours and I am sorry he played you.”

I looked up at Thorne in surprise. “You knew?”

“About his deal with Carpe Noctem? Yes. I gave him the benefit of the doubt, hoped he’d tell you before things got serious. Guess he really is of Rathka’s Order after all.”

“Let me guess,” I said bitterly. “Everyone knew except me.”

“No, that’s definitely not true. I just have eyes and ears inside every clan.” He gave me another shoulder squeeze. “Novak’s bloodline made an art out of betrayal and deception. Don’t blame yourself.”

“So fucked up,” Rhain muttered, but otherwise kept silent on the walk to the compound.

I was mostly able to keep my composure until I saw Tavia. She didn’t see me at first, too busy controlling the chaos in the kitchen. Wine bottles covered the central island. Buckets and carboys lined the counters with long tubes coming out of them. She employed Cyan, Laith, and Desmond to help bottle her latest batch, the three of them sanitizing, filling, and corking in a smooth assembly line. On top of all that, it looked like she had a test batch of something boiling on the stove.

“Put those with the crate going to Carnassian’s, please,” Tavia instructed. “Cy, don’t overfill! I didn’t bust my ass for this batch to give away free samples.”

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