"Do you think maybe…" Thomas scratched his chin. "Guardian angel?"
Everyone looked at him.
"What? We're vampires. Is an angel really that strange?"
"Yes," Connor said. "It's very strange."
"He helped save us," Charlie said. "Whatever he was."
Silence settled over the room, everyone contemplating the impossibility of Noah.
Viktor stood abruptly. "Dessert?"
"Vampires don't eat dessert," Connor said.
"This one does." Viktor disappeared into the kitchen and returned with a plate of what looked like chocolate cookies. "I've been experimenting."
Everyone leaned away slightly.
"Viktor," Simon said slowly. "Remember the ketchup incident?"
"That was different. This is properly researched." Viktor set the plate on the coffee table. "These are blood cookies. The iron complements the cocoa."
Maya made a face. "That sounds horrible."
"Just try one."
Viktor looked so proud of his creation that Charlie couldn't help himself. He picked up a cookie. It looked normal enough. Like dark chocolate, maybe a little redder than usual. He took a careful bite.
Everyone watched him.
"Oh." Charlie took another bite. "Oh, these are actually good?"
"You sound surprised," Viktor said, offended.
"You mixed blood and ketchup last time," Simon reminded him. "Charlie threw up."
"That was a learning experience."
Maya grabbed a cookie, clearly suspicious. She bit into it, and her eyes widened. "What the hell? This is delicious?"
Soon everyone was trying them, even Connor, who usually wouldn't touch anything that wasn't exactly body temperature.
"How?" Thomas asked, examining his cookie like it might reveal its secrets.
"Proper temperature control, pH balance, and the right ratio of cacao to mask the metallic notes." Viktor looked smugly satisfied. "I may have taken an online pastry course."
"You took a pastry course to make blood cookies?" Charlie asked.
"I was bored."
"Well," Simon said. "You won't be bored much longer. We'll put you to work."
They bickered and laughed, and Charlie leaned into Simon's side, feeling the solid warmth of him. When he'd first become a vampire, he'd been alone, confused, and trying to survive on ketchup packets.
Now he had this—a makeshift family of broken vampires trying to be better than their nature demanded.
Simon's hand found his under the table, squeezing gently.
