Page 121 of Bite Marks & Broken Hearts

“No,” Seb replied. “It’s a relic from my human years.” His face darkened. “The blood… It’s my sister’s. Magdalena’s. Padre Rodrigo—my sire—he gave me the crucifix first as a gift. Then Magdalena stole it for some ritual in the woods. When they caught her…” He trailed off, staring at the cross in Rory’s hands as if seeing it anew. “They made her clutch it as she burned. Rodrigo returned it to me afterwards.”

“Hold up,” Rory said, turning the crucifix over in his hands. “If she was holding this when they… Shouldn’t it have melted? Or at least got a bit mangled? It looks mint apart from the blood.”

Seb went very still. “I’m… not sure.”

Priya continued her ministrations, spreading a cooling paste across my palm that provided blessed relief for about three seconds before stinging like hell. I tried to hold in my grunts of pain, but a few escaped. Seb’s hand remained steady on my shoulder, thumb rubbing circles through my shirt.

“Almost done,” Priya murmured, wrapping gauze around my hand.

“So silver doesn’t burn vampires?” I asked Seb, though why he’d keep that damned crucifix if it did was beyond me.

“No,” he said quietly. “Though it’s very harmful to shifted wolves, various other entities. Including demons.”

Priya’s head snapped to Seb’s. “Ah.”

“Ah.”

Looking between them, I waited for them to explain.

“It’s possibly…probably… something to do with your demon mark.” Priya’s brow furrowed as she examined my bandaged hand. “But this level of burn? Considering you’re not actually a demon?”

My throat tightened.Fucking hell.First Seb tells me my blood is demon-ing, and next I’m getting burned by a silver ornament? When was this nightmare going to end? It took all my patience each day not to question Seb, not to ask him if he was finally close to saving me.

With a large sigh, Seb took back the crucifix, holding it up to catch the light. “Something has compelled me to keep this, all these years,” he said quietly.

“It’s… lovely,” Rory said, his mouth twitching. “Really brings out the whole ‘centuries of guilt and trauma’ vibe you’ve got going on.”

“Rory!” Priya smacked his arm.

He dodged away, grinning. “What? I’m just saying—”

The door burst open, making us all jump. Kit strode in, his face grim. “We’ve got something. A lead on the Brixton vampire clan.”

Seb was on his feet instantly. “What is it?”

“Source spotted their leader, Marcus Vale, meeting with your friend Damien last night at that underground club near the market. Reliable intel—came through an old military contact.”

My stomach lurched at Damien’s name. The memory of his cold hands, that smile…

Seb’s entire demeanor shifted, a dangerous energy crackling around him. “Finally, something solid to work with. Let’s go.”

25

Flynn

Islumped further into the spare office chair Felix had dragged out for me. The hum of multiple computer fans created a white noise that made my eyelids heavy. If my right hand wasn’t still in agony from the burning incident, I could have fallen asleep.

Felix’s workspace was impossibly tidy—every cable zip-tied and labelled, monitors positioned at perfect right angles. The rest of the basement might be chaos, but Felix’s domain was a temple to organisation.

The door banged open, making me jump. Felix stormed in, clutching a metal lunchbox decorated with stickers.

“He’s done itagain.”

“What?”

“Rory’s eaten half my kimbap, the absolute prick. I spent hours making them last night. They were all… They were perfect.”

He thrust the box at me. Inside lay neat rolls of rice and vegetables wrapped in seaweed, arranged in precise rows, though several spaces were conspicuously empty.

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