Page 37 of Taste of Death

An agonizing four minutes later, I heard the perimeter guard let out a gruff, “What the fuck are you doing here?”

Gathering all my courage, I stood and headed in his direction. With an inward groan, I realized it was Rhain posted to this spot. He was the massive vampire who had his arm against Novak’s throat.

“I was invited,” I heard Novak say.

“By who?” Rhain demanded.

“Me.”

Rhain whipped around, his expression confused as he stared into the air above my head.

“Down here.” I smiled as the huge vampire’s gaze slowly lowered to meet my eyes. Sure, I was shorter than most people on a good day, but compared to him, I was an absolute pipsqueak. “There you go.”

Rhain’s glare softened only a fraction, and he at least had the decency to back up so as to not loom over me. “I’m sorry, but he’s not permitted.”

“Yes, he is,” I chirped. “Tavia said I could invite him.”

“Tavia is not the head of this clan.”

“It’s her ceremony. She’s the one giving up her human life to spend centuries with one of your kind. Are you telling me she has no say over the guest list?”

Novak’s eyes bounced between us, his mouth tense like he was fighting a smile.

With a frustrated noise, Rhain pulled out his phone. “Give me a minute. Don’t fucking go anywhere.” He walked a few feet away, leaving Novak and me to stare at each other with matched wide-eyed expressions.

“Cyan, it’s Rhain.” The big vampire turned around, keeping us in his narrow-eyed sight as he muttered into the phone. “Got a small problem with your mate’s brusang friend… huh? Don’t tell me you’re… Are you fucking with me? Cy… ” Rhain’s glare hardened even more as he listened. “You’re sure about this? What if… fuck, fine. Okay.” He ended the call so abruptly, I wondered if he broke his screen. “Stay where we can see you,” he said to Novak. “And if you try anything, even breathe weird, you’re out of here, Rathka’s Bastard. Understand?”

“Completely.” Novak grinned as he entered the perimeter and paused to dip his head at Rhain once he was past the barrier. “Thank you for your hospitality. I’m sure it’ll be a beautiful ceremony.”

Rhain just snarled and turned his back, resuming his post.

“Oh shit, we did it!” Once we were out of earshot, I was practically squealing. “But Jesus, you didn’t have to antagonize him.”

“Ah, he makes it too easy. Couldn’t help myself.” Novak’s smile softened, his eyes darkening as he took me in from head to toe. “You look beautiful, akra.”

Heat rushed from my belly to my cheeks. I was borrowing one of Bea’s dresses, one that she had to hem thanks to my height, otherwise it would be dragging on the ground. But the top fit me nicely, giving me a bit of cleavage and accentuating my waist. The dress was a cornflower blue with sparkly black accents. Tavia blurted out that it matched my eyes when I tried it on, and while she meant it as a compliment, I wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

When I was human, I always thought my eyes were pretty, my best feature even. Now, I was just getting over the shock of seeing my blue irises surrounded by black. I was so self-conscious of them because they made it abundantly clear that I was neither human nor vampire.

But when Novak called me beautiful right then, all the insecurity melted away and I felt radiant. It was the first time a man had told me such a thing and meant it genuinely. I knew Novak wasn’t trying to flatter me, trying to manipulate me with the hopes of getting something later.

“Thank you.” I hoped those two words sounded humble and gracious and not like his compliment was the highlight of my whole week. “You look handsome, very dashing.”

He shoved his hands in his pockets, rocking back on his heels to look down at himself. “I clean up well, sometimes.”

His charcoal waistcoat was embroidered with a subtle pattern, making him look elegant and refined. Even under his jacket, I could tell how well everything fit him, tailored to his form like a glove. Meanwhile, I was in a borrowed dress that reflected how strange my eyes were.

Suddenly I didn’t even feel deserving enough to be standing next to him, let alone being his date.

“Should we find a place to sit?” Novak offered me his arm, oblivious to the downward turn of my thoughts.

“Oh, sure.” I slid my hand around his bicep and let him lead.

The stares and chatter were in full swing as we found our way to a row of empty chairs. I could feel the eyes on us as we walked, hear the whispered conversations but not all of the words. Logically, I knew it had to do with the fact that he was here at all, a rival clan member in enemy territory, and whatever history that entailed.

But a small part of me was paranoid that they were whispering about me, wondering why a nobody brusang was on the arm of such a handsome vampire.

“Here should be good.” Novak allowed me to sit first before lowering next to me. “In plain sight of everyone who wants to murder me, but far enough away that nobody feels threatened.”

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