Page 110 of Her Vampire, His Ruin

“Think, Edie.” I tell myself.

I clench and unclench my fingers, angry at myself, fucking furious at Dorian. Scared for Henrietta, for Elizabeth and Nina, for myself. I’ve put us all in danger.

A light knock on the door has me backing up against the far wall, bracing myself for Dorian’s entrance.

Only it isn’t Dorian who enters, but Viktor.

My relief is quickly overshadowed by fear.

He’s one of them, too.

“Edie, Dorian asked me to bring you some food and something to drink,” he says, stepping into the room. I trace his steps as he places the tray on the side table next to the bed. The scent of braised beef and roasted vegetables lifts into the air. I gag.

“I’m not hungry,” I snap.

He sighs, meeting my gaze. “You’re angry. Scared. You have every right to be.”

“You think?” I retort, flinching as he takes a step towards me.

“I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Is that a line all of you feed your victims before you drain their blood?”

“I don’t drink from humans. I never have.”

“What?”

“Edie, despite what you might think, I am not like⁠—”

“Dorian? Well, that just makes me feel a whole lot better.”

“He’s trying to control himself around you. He’s feeding now so when he comes to speak with you, he won’t be tempted to⁠—”

“He’s feeding from someone right now?” My voice rises with every word, punctuating the air between us with my intense jealousy. I shouldn’t feel jealous. I should be worried about the person he’s drinking from. I hate that’s my reaction.

“Not from a person. We have a blood bank. Since meeting you, Dorian has avoided drinking from a human as much as possible.”

“Well that’s good of him,” I snap, folding my arms across my chest.

Viktor sighs. “He can’t help his cravings, but he is trying for you.”

“I don’t fucking care. He already drank from me. He’s already proven to me that I can’t trust him. You’re vampires. He’s a predator, and I’m nothing but prey.”

“You’re more than that to him.”

“Bullshit.”

“Edie, the only way you’ll survive this is to draw out Dorian’s human emotions. I can fight the draw of blood by remembering who I was, by feeling. I know he can do the same. He cares for you. He doesn’t want to admit it, but he does.”

Tears prick my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. “If he cared so much for me, he’d let me go.”

“He can’t do that. You’re immune to his compulsion. He can’t risk you revealing our existence It would put us all in danger.”

“People deserve to know they’re at risk. I deserved to know,” I choke out, turning away from him so he can’t see the tears threatening to fall.

“For our survival, we have hidden our existence for centuries. We have found a way to exist in this world by abiding by strict rules. The main one being none of our clan can feed outside of Avant Garde. It has kept us safe all these years,” he explains.

I round on him, refusing to be swayed by his gentle tone.