He took the stairs two at a time and I stepped back to allow him room to enter, but instead of going toward the bedroom, his dark eyes flicked over me. “Where are you going?”
“To get some…” My voice trailed off and I cleared my throat, trying again. “I was…”
Noah frowned, grabbed my hand and tugged me into his chest in almost the same manner Lord Azad had Lilith. “Save your pretty lies for your clients.”
I huffed a laugh that was more watery than humorous. “You smell like venefica shit.”
He rested his chin on top of my head and laughed along with me. But it was true, he did smell like the sickly rottingscent of the monstrous creatures that plagued our world. When I pulled away, I realized he was covered in their black blood—it was speckled across his face and uniform, even the back of his hands.
“Don’t worry, you didn’t get any on you.” He let me go and clomped to the washroom to rinse his hands.
“How did you know to come?”
He turned off the tap and reached for a towel. “A vampire found me.”
“Which vampire?”
Noah pursed his lips and raised his hand a little over his head. “About this tall, curly brown hair—beautiful.”
“I’m sorry, beautiful?”
A blush colored his cheeks. “I mean, he was…you know how vampires are.”
I hummed, crossing my arms. “I do.”
He ran a hand through his hair and then shouldered past me. “Anyway, he told me Jules had taken ill and to come to the townhome. So here I am. Let’s go see what they need.”
Lord Azad stepped through the bedroom door and closed it behind him. Blood was smeared across his cheekbones and there was a heaviness in his gait that spoke of ancient suffering. He nodded to Noah and extended a hand in greeting. My friend took it immediately, dipping his chin.
“Thank you for coming so quickly,” Lord Azad said. “Lilith and Jules will need all the help they can.”
“You’re leaving?” Noah asked.
I eyed the window through the small sitting room. “It is almost dawn.”
Noah nodded. But Lord Azad’s gaze was fixed on me. My friend’s attention flicked between us before he nodded again and slipped through the bedroom door. His voice was merely a hum, followed by another round of Lilith’s sobs.
Lord Azad sighed. “Come here, my heart.”
Slowly, I stepped into his embrace. He slipped one hand beneath my hair while the other circled my waist and his head dipped until his nose brushed my cheek. My shoulders relaxed a fraction as I twined my arms around his neck.
“How are you?” The words were a rumble against my skin and I fought a shiver.
But I didn’t know the answer to the question. My stomach was tangled into knots, my chest hollow and vacant, and there was an oppressive darkness looming in the distance like a storm I could not outrun.
So I settled for: “Worried.”
Lord Azad hummed, his fingers massaging the back of my head while he brushed his lips against my temple. “So am I.”
However, it was more than just Jules and Lilith I was worried about. Before tonight I had been so sure of everything. I was a blood giver in the Souzterain, I had faithful clients, I had friends and even a woman who I’d come to see as somewhat of a mother figure. But in one single night I feared all that had been wiped away. Lord Azad claimed I was his blood mate and I did not know what that meant for my job and my family. And Jules? I could not think of what it would be like to lose her.
“I will call on you tomorrow.” Lord Azad tilted my chin up with his grip on my hair and pressed his lips to mine in a chaste kiss. “Tomorrow and the next,” he continued in Kysoi.
“Tomorrow and the next,” I answered.
Dawn was already threatening through the window, the dark night lightening to azure and purple. I nodded as he reluctantly let me go, kissing me again before he disappeared through the front door.
Only the goddess knew what fresh horror tomorrow would bring.
