Page 83 of Malice

“Are you all right?” Mabel asks, sitting on the couch next to me. It’s early in the afternoon, and we’re waiting for the sun to go down so we can all go home. The irony isn’t lost on me that this place I lived in for so long doesn’t feel like home anymore. Instead, the place I was forced to go is where I feel the most welcome. It surprises me how homesick I am for the house in Charlotte.

We were able to make a decent portion of this compound lightproof. The large dining room doesn’t have any windows, so we’ve been hanging out in there a lot, going over our plans, trying to find any sort of flaw to fix.

“Yeah,” I tell Mabel. “I’m fine.”

She hands me my phone. “You have a couple missed texts from Delphi.”

“Oh,” I say, unlocking it. There’s one long message and several shorter ones.

Delphi: went out with that guy last night and had the best time but then when I came home I noticed his Instagram follower count went up by two and they are also doctors. What if he’s only dating me because I’m a doctor and not because he actually likes me? Do you think he’s just doing this to try to show his ex-wife he doesn’t regret her?

Delphi: dammit I looked at the ex-wife. She just won an award for one of her paintings. I also watched a video of her riding her new horse and she’s really good.

Delphi: he hasn’t texted me yet so I think I’m just gonna block him and tell him to fuck off. But I haven’t heard from you all day either… Are you alive? Like legitimately are you alive? If you are, can you curse this asshole for ghosting me?

Delphi: he just texted never mind

I chuckle and text her back, letting her know I’m okay and I’ll call her when I can.

Mabel, Devon, and I play several rounds of Uno, trying to kill time. I get up to use the bathroom and stop by the kitchen on my way back. This room has too many windows to cover up, which means the vampires have no reason to be in here—not that they really would anyway, since they don’t eat.

It’s stormy today, and the lack of bright sunlight makes the whole house feel gray and dull. I pour myself another cup of coffee and sit at the small kitchen table. Sheer curtains flutter in the breeze from the cracked windows behind me. Thunder rumbles in the distance, and I lean back, closing my eyes as I take a sip.

“Hey, sis,” Leo says, coming into the kitchen. He pours the rest of the coffee into a mug and sits next to me. Ryder and Antonio follow a few seconds later, heading straight for the fridge.

“Where’s Christine?” I ask.

“She left early this morning,” Ryder tells me. “Jet lag has nothing on hunters who have to stay up at all hours,” he adds, trying to joke.

“You’re leaving once the sun sets?” Leo asks.

“Yep. The sooner we get out of here, the better. Then Leo can start laying the groundwork to lure Vivian and Marco out.”

I finish my coffee and put the mug in the sink. The dishes need to be rinsed and loaded, but Leo’s been on his own for a few days and clearly hasn’t kept up. There are no rubber gloves, and my left hand is still bandaged. I haven’t checked it or changed the gauze like I was supposed to.

I sit back down and start unwrapping it, accidentally pulling at the scab.

“Let me,” Xavier says, appearing in the doorway.

Leo and Ryder both turn. Right—this room isn’t lightproof. Xavier stands there anyway, unbothered by the sunlight. He told me vampires his age can tolerate indirect light like this. It weakens him, but for the sake of an unspoken pissing match between him and Ryder, he’d probably stand here until he burned to a crisp.

Xavier gently removes the bandage and inspects my hand. “It’s healing,” he says.

“What happened?” Leo asks. “That looks nasty.”

“Funny story,” I say.

Xavier leans closer, a small smile on his face as he looks at me like he wants to devour me—and not just my blood. The intensity of his gaze makes me blush. He runs his finger up my forearm, pulling my hand into his lap under the guise of examining it. He’s not subtle.

“Basically,” I start, “I used my blood to pull a demon out of Xavier. Then Marcus Henry ripped open my stitches and put my bleeding hand in the middle of the sigil. He drew it with Antonio’s blood, and that’s how they opened the door to Val’s cage.”

Leo blinks. “Typical Tuesday night for you, huh?”

“For real.”

“Wait,” Ryder cuts in, eyes narrowing as he looks at Xavier. “You were possessed by a demon? You sure he’s not still possessed?”

“Come on,” Antonio says, shaking his head and shooting Ryder a look that says don’t fucking start.