Before he ruined me for anyone else.
My hands clenched into his hair, but the texture was wrong. When I opened my eyes, it was to realize it was Gerald holding me, his hips grinding up into the silks of my skirts.
I had always thought it would be a danger to be indebted, as my parents had been. But now I knew it was nothing in comparison to the danger Lord Azad represented. It was one thing to be indebted to another and wholly another to be possessed by them, to be owned—to willingly give up your freedom, your mind, yourlife. I knew, in that moment, if Lord Azad had asked for my life I would have given it to him without question. I would have allowed my wings to be clipped, my song to be quieted. The desire I felt for him was too great.
That could not happen. It was a relief to know I would more than likely never see the immortal again, except for perhaps in passing. Gerald had staked his claim on me, however feeble it might have been, and that was for the best.
The last thing I wanted was to be a bird in a cage.
Chapter Two
The Searah townhome was everything I imagined when I dreamed of a family home.
It might not have been opulent like the mansion of Lord Azad, but it was lush with history and comforting touches—and most of all love. Every time I visited, one item or another was pointed out to me as once belonging to a however-many-times-great-grandmère. I could not imagine such a thing: to be nestled within the womb of a family who truly loved and cared for you.
Lilith proffered a heavy mug, steaming with a rich earthy scent. “Here.”
I tried not to wrinkle my nose at theserangunah, but Jules caught it anyway. The blood-replenishing potion was thick, like drinking chocolate, but bitter with a grit I could barely stand.
“It’s an acquired taste. Give it a few more months.”
There was no use in holding my breath, though I did so anyway as I took a large sip before spluttering. “You’ve said that for the last six months, Jules.”
Before I’d come to Oylen, though I’d worked as a blood giver, I’d never been given such luxuries asserangunah.
Lilith and her mother laughed, alto and soprano mixing in harmony. Calling Jules by her first name had been adifficult habit to make after her mother had lectured me over proper etiquette. Solange Searah would have taken Deimos, the god of the moon, by the ear and chided him on his treatment of Amayah, the goddess of night, if she’d had the chance.
Lilith flopped down beside me on the couch, nudging my knee with hers. “So, how was last night?”
I took another large sip from the mug, choking a little. “Fine. Lord Montag generously dropped me at the Souzterain and Noah walked me home.”
The Vyenur in question ambled in from the kitchen, flipping through a book labeledRecipes of the Hearthand shaking his black hair from his face, flashing a portion of the demon sigil etched into his light brown skin. “The male calls himself a gentleman and then doesn’t accompany her home.”
I didn’t agree—the last thing I needed was a client knowing where I lived.
“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” Lilith teased.
Noah gestured to the window while he turned and fell into a worn armchair by the fire. “It’s day.”
As a Vyenur, his job was to hunt the venefica—nighttime demons that plagued Oylen and the outer regions. Though we’d heard more and more reports of them slipping into other regions, even down into Flourisant. At two hundred and ninety-eight, he was regarded amongst his people as a youngling, something that rankled each time he successfully defeated a swarm of venefica.
We’d met my first evening in Oylen after Lilith had offered me a tour of the neighborhood. She and Noah had been acquaintances for a few years and we’d run into him on his way to patrols. Lilith had only mentioned in passing that I was their newest blood giver and looking for a place to stay before he’d offered up his spare room.
Since then, the three of us had been damn near inseparable.
“Jules, can you make this?” Noah asked, turning the book in her direction. She raised a brow, leaned over to read the page and hummed thoughtfully.
“What do you need with a seven-layer gâteau, Noah? You don’t eat food,” I teased before Jules could agree.
He grumbled, shifting his shoulders deeper into the chair and disappearing behind the leather spine. Lilith laughed while Jules leaned over to pat his hand consolingly and turned back to me. “Eamon was very taken with you.”
I froze, the rim of the mug pressing into my lips. Flashes of Lord Azad’s face burst before my eyes and I took another drink of theserangunah.
Jules smoothed the skirts of her black day dress after she crossed one knee over the other. “He asked me to inquire as to whether you’d be willing to come to his house tonight for a private session. I believe he is interested in offering an exclusive contract.”
Theserangunahturned to mud and I struggled to swallow the rest of it. I could only imagine for a male like Lord Azad he was unused to hearing the wordno. In fact, there were probably dozens of blood givers in Oylen alone clamoring for his attention.
“Doesn’t he usually patronize Cheyenne?” I hedged, setting the mug on the table beside the couch.
