My curiosity piqued, I rise from my bed, don my boots, and wrap my new cloak around my chemise. Then, on silent feet, I cross the loft to the window and pry it open. Chill air bites at my cheeks and I hear Harlow mutter a complaint in her sleep. I glance back at the room to ensure I still haven’t woken anyone, then hoist myself onto the window’s ledge. It’s a dormer window, set midway through the pitched roof. I scoot from the ledge to the roof, securing my feet firmly on the tiles before closing the window behind me. Then, clinging to the ledge above the window, I stand as quietly as I can.
The night is beautifully dark, the sky clear and speckled with stars. I spot Dominic’s silhouette farther down, limned by moonlight. He’s half turned away from me, but I notice the open vial in his hand, extended like an offering. Then I smell it. The sickly-sweet tang of blood.
Something about the scent sets me on edge. It’s not like I haven’t smelled blood before, and I should be used to it from how often Calvin drinks from his vials, but the rotten scent hits the back of my throat, making me gag. A sudden spike of rage funnels through me, and I curl my hands into fists—
Dominic whirls around and caps his vial.
The scent disappears, and my muscles relax. My anger cools to a simmer, but what lingers serves as a reminder of what Dominic is. A half Sinless with secrets he refuses to share. Well, I won’t make it easy for him to treat me like a tool, discarding me when he’s done.
“What are you doing here?” Dominic’s voice is sharp. Cold.
I climb the roof toward him, each step careful despite my ire. “I could ask you the same.” My eyes drop to the hand that holds the vial. “What were you doing with that?”
“It’s dangerous out here.”
“Were you trying to catch another Shade?”
“I’m keeping watch,” he says through his teeth. “Go back to your room.”
I scoff. “Why? Hiding something?”
He strides toward me, his balance effortless despite the precarious terrain. “What I’m doing is none of your concern. You can’t be out here.”
“Looks like I’m out here just fine.”
He reaches for my arm, but I lift it before he can make contact. He grabs for it again, and this time his fingers close around my wrist. He tugs me a step closer, expression dark. “Go back on your own or I’ll haul you inside myself.”
I hold his gaze with a glower and lean into his threatening pull. “I’d like to see you try.”
“Ah, so would I, love,” comes Lust’s deep and sultry voice. His dark shape coalesces beside the Shadowbane, his visage an impersonation of Dominic’s. “So would I.”
Dominic closes his eyes, teeth bared in irritation. His hand opens at once, and I lower my arm. In taking a step away, my foot slips on one of the tiles. Dominic reaches for me, but at the same time, a heavy weight presses against my thigh. I regain my footing, thanks to Sloth, who now stands between me and the roof’s decline. Dominic stopped himself before he could touch me and now closes his fingers into a fist. “You see? This is why I didn’t want you out here. It’s fucking dangerous.”
“I was perfectly fine until you got handsy.”
“Handsy,” he echoes.
“I like getting handsy,” Lust says.
“We fucking know, you prick,” says Pride. His form wavers on the Shadowbane’s other side. He too wears Dominic’s face, but his expression is haughty where Lust’s is flippant. “The more you brag about your lecherous proclivities, the more pathetic it makes you look.”
Lust scoffs. “Stop trying to stir up my shame, Pride. You know I don’t have any.”
“Clearly.”
“Gods, it must be exhausting for you, always looking down on everyone. I, on the other hand, prefergoingdown. You should try it sometime.”
“I don’t need to try,” Pride says. “I either do something, and do it right the first time, or I don’t.”
Lust rolls his eyes. “Just say it, Pride. You don’t know where the clitoris is, do you?”
“Just say it, Lust. You’ve never lasted longer than three seconds, have you?”
“Was that a premature-ejaculation joke? Am I supposed to take offense? Sounds lovely to me.”
Sloth’s eyes volley between the bantering Shades. “Can everyone just sit down where it’s safe?”
Dominic puts his hands on his hips and heaves a long-suffering sigh. Meanwhile, I’m left baffled. I never could have imagined I’d one day witness two Shades verbally sparring in a figurative dick-measuring contest. Do Shades even have dicks? Lust and Pride may wear Dominic’s face, but below their necks, their bodies undulate in wisps of black and only a hint of clothing. An open shirt and loosened cravat for Lust. A crisp jacket and starched collar for Pride.
