Page 75 of Bitten & Burned
Dmitri never yelled.
But his voice was louder than both of them.
“Shut up, both of you.”
The silence was jarring after so muchsound. A moment ago, there had been nothing but noise, and now there was nothingat all.
I swallowed, the taste of her blood and mine still in my mouth.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
Vael stomped over, bent in my face. “You’re sorry?” he hissed. I could feel his breath on my face. “Damn right you’re sorry. A sorry excuse for a man. Nothing but a mongrel monster who touched what he shouldn’t have.”
There was a blur of motion as Anton seized Vael by the throat and slammed him against the far wall with an impact that knocked books from the shelves.
Vael snarled, baring his teeth, fury radiating off him. His hands clawed at Anton’s arm, but it was like trying to move a boulder. He wasn’t choking, but he wasn’t going anywhere, either.
“What, you’re defending him now?” Vael spat. “That’s just like you, isn’t it, Anton? Maybe you want a turn next? You like them weak and helpless, don’t you? Get them drunk on your blood and you?—”
“That’s enough,” Anton growled through clenched teeth.
Anton’s grip tightened.
And then helifted.
Vael’s boots left the ground; the words stopped the second his heels couldn’t touch the floor.
“That mouth of yours always seems to get you in trouble, doesn’t it, Vael?” Anton’s voice was suddenly smooth as silk. But dangerous, like a dagger hidden just beneath the folds, ready to be brandished at a moment’s notice.
“It gets the job done,” Vael rasped, still glaring, full of fire and venom.
“You forget yourself,” Anton said through gritted teeth.
Dmitri and I froze.
I’d never noticed how utterly…terrifyingAnton could be. I was used to him folding pastry dough, not felling grown men. Reorganizing the wine cellar, not enforcing order with a hand around someone’s throat.He didn’t let this side out much.
But he was a vampire like the rest of us. We all had a little of that in us, only his was beautiful and lethal. And gods help anyone who mistook his apparent softness for weakness.
“I forgetnothing,” Vael hissed.
Anton’s eyes flashed.
“Vael Vexley, I am older than you. Wiser than you. Stronger than you. Cassian’s not here, so in his absence? I. Am. The. Law. I am the judge, jury, and executioner. You will obey… or face the consequences.”
Vael was silent. Obedient, even if his rage was simmering below the surface.
I almost wished he’d snarl again. Anything was better than this silence, heavy as a tombstone and twice as blunt.
Anton dropped him unceremoniously.
He landed hard.
Anton turned, voice steady again. Unshakable.
“That man is no more a monster than you or I. He’s not bragging. He’s not self-congratulatory. He is a man who knows the gravity of what he’s done…theconsequences…and he would crawl through the hells themselves if it meant he could undo it. It could have been any of us. And you’ll take care to remember that before you open your mouth again, Vexley.”
It took me a moment to realize he was talking about me.
