Penelope’s shoes squeaked on the tile when she pulled him up short. “You can’t be out in sunlight, can you?”
His eyes were hidden, but she felt the intensity of his stare. “No. I can’t.”
Which explained why he hadn’t come with her to her apartment. He’d been waiting for the sun to set.
Stepping closer and lowering her voice, she said, “And what exactly makes younota vampire?”
Obsidian leaned down, his mouth close to her ear. “Wings.”
Wings.
Great.
Nodding because, you know, what else was she going to do, Penelope settled on a blueberry muffin and a Coke, figuring it would provide sufficient fuel for however long he intended to be on the road.
Once they were in the car, Obsidian wasted no time getting them back on the highway.
Penelope relaxed into the seat, doing her best not to clutch theoh shithandle, or shriek from the sheer velocity of the car’s speed. It wasn’t that she minded the fact he could’ve been auditioning for Formula One, hitting triple-digit mph, but only because he seemed to know what he was doing.
“Are there any other idiosyncrasies I should know about?” she prompted. “I’m finding it difficult to understand the whole angel thing. Wait.” She cut her eyes to him. “Do you drink human blood?”
“No.”
“Then why the fangs?”
“Because I do require blood, just not from humans.”
“Then from who?”
“Fae.”
“Fae?” Penelope frowned, relying on her studies to put her finger on the entity. “Fairies? You drink the blood of fairies?”
“Yes. Although we don’t call them fairies. Only Fae. They consider themselves a different category.”
Curious, she peered over at him. “So, are we talking human-sized fairies? Or Tinkerbell?”
He chuckled. “Human size.”
Angels getting sustenance from fairies … er … Fae. Surely nothing could surprise her now.
“You said you had wings?”
Obsidian nodded.
“Where are they?”
She could see his smile in profile. “Wouldn’t be all that easy to blend if I walked around with wings, now would it?” He glanced her way. “I can bring the wings out when I need them.”
Oh. Holy moly.
“So why can’t you go out in sunlight?”
“When Michael made his proposal to God to send us to Earth, there were a few stipulations. God wanted us to blend, so he made it impossible for us to be out in daylight. And we feed from the Fae so He can keep track of us. With their blood in our veins, it’s like a homing beacon. He did the same with vampires when he created the race. Although they’re not required to feed from Fae. They prefer their own race, although humans suffice just fine.”
“You’re telling me God created vampires?”
“Yes.”
