Page 126 of Cruelest Kiss and Fairest Blood
The man who just appeared out of thin air stands even taller than Harrow. He’s clothed in a pure black suit made of a fabric that shimmers with a pearlescent hue beneath the moonlight. His skin is pale enough that I can see the tracing of veins under his skin. A mass of blue-tinged black hair has been twisted up into a knot atop his head. He’s currently staring down at his fingers, casually cleaning one of his pointed nails. When he raises his head, his eyes are hidden by a pair of small, circular glasses with gemmy red lenses.
He inhales deeply and smiles. “Ah, the scent of magically inclined blood.” A pair of sharp, extended canines flash our way. “Dark magic. My favorite flavor. Makes my cold, unfeeling flesh all warm and tingly. It’s been such a boring evening. I could use a buzz.”
“It took you long enough,” Mytha bites out.
The man moves in a flash, appearing beside Mytha. Taking her hand in his, he raises it to his sharp, dark lips, kissing the tops of her fingers. “Beautiful Mytha. It’s always a pleasure.”
“I usssually can’t sssay the same, but under thessse circumstancesss, I’m happy to sssee you, Angel.”
“I’ll ask you again. Who the fuck are you?” Cassius snarls.
The man, apparently called Angel, ignores him. He’s currently frowning as he looks at the bruises covering Mytha’s face. “I see you’ve put up quite the struggle.”
“Thisss one isss powerful.” Mytha’s gaze flicks to Cassius who is slowly sneaking up behind the stranger. He’s quiet as he draws his sword from its sheath.
Angel smiles, showing those sharpened fangs once more. “Good. Predators are my favorite prey.”
Cassius lunges and I scream. “Watch out!”
My warning comes just as the prince stumbles forward, his sword cutting through empty air.
In the blink of an eye, both Angel and Mytha have somehow teleported across the garden.
Cassius whirls, his eyes massive. “This kingdom is a fucking magnet for magical beings. What are you?”
Angel removes his ruby glasses. I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t the most brilliant blue eyes I’ve ever seen. The blue is so bright, so mesmerizing that it feels as if I’m looking into the soul of the sky. Beautiful, strange, and… slitted. His pupils are long black slits.
Cassius notices the pupils too. He raises his sword in front of him. “What the fuck are you?”
“Princesss.” Mytha is trying to get my attention. It’s so hard to tear my gaze away. Firm hands shake my shoulders. Mytha is staring down at me. Her voice is urgent as she hisses. “Don’t look into hisss eyesss.”
With incredible effort, I shift my gaze to his mouth. His fang-filled grin is more terrifying with his eyes revealed.
“What am I? I am the night sky and the moonlit breeze. I am dread on wings. The thing in the darkest part of your dreams. The big bad bat. Your people favor to call me”—his grins widens—“Vampire.”
My own shock and fear are reflected in Cassius’s gaze. “Liar. Where are your wings?”
Angel shrugs, taking slow, languid steps toward Cassius. “It is such a bother to cart those things around everywhere I go. Ibarely fit through the doorways as it is. Keeping them glamoured out of sight is far easier.”
How is this guy so casual? Cassius stands his ground, but his knuckles blanch where they grip his sword. “Vampire or not, I will kill you. Magic flows through my veins. I have lived far longer than any other mortal. My years of training are enough?—”
Angel disappears in the same moment Cassius stops speaking. Blood drips from his gaping mouth.
“He sure does love to hear himself talk, doesn’t he?” I nearly leave my skin when Angel speaks from right next to me. He’s leaning up against the well. Raising an elegant hand, he examines a small item clutched between his claws. “So small. How do you manage to do anything with something so flimsy?” He extends an impressively lengthy tongue and holds the item up next to it for comparison.
Oh my god.He ripped out Cassius’s tongue. That’s what he’s holding.
A whimper draws my stare back to Cassius. He’s clutching his mangled mouth. Gurgles choke out between spurts of blood.
Angel is back before him in a flash. He holds Cassius’s torn tongue in front of his own mouth before using his finger to waggle the severed flesh while making a lalalala sound with his own tongue. Who the fuck is this guy?
“Not even a laugh?” He tosses the tongue away. “You’re even more boring than I thought.”
The tip of Cassius’s blade bursts through Angel’s back. I scream. Even through the pain of losing his tongue, Cassius is able to fight back. He’s able to heal but a missing tongue will take far more energy to grow back. Angel grips Cassius’s wrist. With a quick, sharp motion he snaps his hand completely backward. Cassius wails. His arm falls to his side. There’s a wet, crunching sound as Angel slides the blade free from his body and drops it to the ground.
His voice is a cold whisper, all of its former humor forgotten. “Did you think that would kill me? When Death bestows his favor on you, you become something other than living.”
A swipe of Angel’s right hand opens Cassius’s throat. Blood gushes from the gaps. Angel’s face transforms, the lower half grows, fangs dropping until they’re the length of my hand. The sight of Angel sinking those massive fangs directly into the freshly slit throat opening makes me nearly faint. Clawed fingers shackle the back of Cassius’s neck, dragging his throat deeper into Angel’s mouth.
