Page 54 of Her Vampire, His Ruin

“You and Sybil are a lot closer than friends, aren’t you?” Edie accuses.

“We have history, yes,” I concede, “But we are nothing more than friends now.”

“Does she know that?”

“She’s well aware, and after all these years, entirely uninterested in me despite how it might appear. The feeling is mutual, believe me.”

Her shoulders drop, just a little, just enough to tell me that she trusts my word.

“How long have you been friends, exactly?”

I pause, searching Edie’s gaze. “A long time.”

She nods. “Ordinarily, I admire powerful women who protect the people they care about, but Sybil feels different. More viper than mama bear.”

“You’ve got that right,” Elizabeth mutters.

Edie waits for a response, but there’s nothing I can say because she’s right. Sybil is a viper, and her bite is deadly.

“Well, if that’s all. I want to leave,” Edie says.

“Of course, but Edie?”

“Yes?” she replies, stepping into the lift as Elizabeth frantically presses the button to close the doors.

“This isn’t over.” Then I step back, allowing the doors to slide shut.

Chapter 13

Edie

“Nina, get back here,” Elizabeth hisses as Nina darts through the throng of people and towards the far end of the gallery. “This is an art gallery, not a playground.”

“Leave her be, she’s having fun,” I say, taking a sip of my coffee as we both watch Nina clamber up onto a stone bench, her pad and pencil gripped in her hand, determined to capture her own version of the portrait hung on the wall in front of her.

“She’s trying my patience today. Honestly, that girl is⁠—”

“Just like her mother,” I interject with a wink as we stop and take a seat at the bench opposite Nina.

“I was never this wilful,” Elizabeth argues.

I scoff. “You’re joking, right? Don’t you remember the time you snuck out of our bedroom window at midnight when you were fifteen and met Joseph Appleby at the park? Mum nearly had a heart attack.”

“That was an error in judgment. Joseph turned out to be a prick, much like every man I met since that ridiculous first crush.”

“Hmm, what about the time you⁠—”

“Speaking of ridiculous crushes, what are you going to do about that man?”

“By that man, I’m assuming you mean Dorian?”

She throws me a look, her eyes narrowing. “Please don’t tell me you’re going to see him again, not after what happened at dinner?”

“I might,” I reply, taking a sip of my coffee.

The truth is I’ve already decided I want to see Dorian again, not because I’m weak, or repeating past mistakes, but because I believe Dorian is exactly what I need right now. I’m following Henrietta’s example, and for the first time in my life, taking what I want. It’s about time I clawed back my power, and I’m going to do that by exploring my desires with a very handsome gangster. No strings attached.

“Seriously? There’s clearly something going on between him and Sybil. Why else would she be all over him like flies on shit?” she asks, giving me her full attention now.