Page 31

Well, goddamn. Maybe Luke did need a protector after all.

11

SYRUS

Syrus stood tensed and at the ready, his warning rumble ringing loudly through the air.

He wished Luke and Colby were still behind him. Syrus was at a disadvantage here, in this form, in this new box. If he were in the water…

But he wasn’t. Here, he might have had certain strength, but if the legends were true, these vampires were both stronger and faster. If they attacked, Syrus would use his body as a shield for his mortals until the end, but for now, all he could do was put the strongest suggestion in his voice.

“You will not harm Luke or his spawn.”

But maybe his vocal strengths were unreliable when reaching undead ears, because the one called Seth, with the brown curls and round cheeks, only let out an indignant huff. “We would never.”

Syrus narrowed his eyes. He found that very hard to believe. True, it had been ages since any pod Syrus knew had set their sights on a vampire, but stories had been told of vicious, bloodthirsty creatures, of entire ships of sailors lost to their hunger.

Ships of sailors that those pods had intended to devour themselves, but still.

Syrus should have realized as soon as he’d walked through the door that something was off, but scent was a sense he was still adjusting to. One did not sniff out one’s enemies in the water. And the bakery was a confusing mix of smells, all sugars and fruits and doughs—the smell of old blood had taken too long to register.

Syrus inhaled again, grimacing at what coated the inside of his nostrils. No matter what this Seth said, the one called Riley did not smell like the forest. Maybe somewhere underneath his vampire odor a bit of damp earth and pine lingered, but it wasn’t anything like Luke’s fresh woodsy scent. It was a mockery to suggest as much.

“Luke,” Seth called again, and Syrus bristled at the familiarity in his tone. “I know this is hard to believe, but that man really isn’t human.”

Luke frowned at his supposed friends as he clutched Colby’s tearful head to his shoulder. “I know that already. Are—are you?”

Syrus readied himself. If these two dared lie—if they dared deceive Luke, lull him into trusting them again—Syrus would take Luke and Colby and flee. It didn’t matter if he wasn’t fast enough. He would endure fangs and claws in his back, if he could get his charges to some sort of safety. Perhaps the car, and then Luke could drive himself and his spawn far, far away as Syrus was torn to shreds.

But before Seth or Riley could speak, the front door opened again, and a young human—somewhere on the cusp between spawn and adult, with dark hair and dark clothes and dark paint around her eyes—entered the bakery.

Luke let out a gasp. “Violet, stay back!”

A familiar entity, then. And mortal, if Syrus’s senses did not deceive him.

The young human named Violet didn’t so much as blink at Luke’s warning. “What’s gotten into all of you?” She peered around Syrus and Luke to catch sight of the two vampires behind the counter. “Why does Riley have his vamp face out?” She stuck a thumb out toward Syrus. “And who’s the beefcake?”

There was a stunned silence after her words, and then Luke cleared his throat. “He’s a merman I found on the beach.”

Syrus frowned at the description, not sure how he felt about its tone. He wasn’t some flotsam from a shipwreck washed ashore.

But Violet nodded slowly, her black-lined eyes flaring with interest as they roamed over Syrus in an oddly calculating manner. “Uncle Luke, I didn’t think you had it in you.”

She was family, then, this young creature who was familiar with the vampires in their presence. Meaning Syrus would need to add her to their party if they fled. He adjusted his contingency plan accordingly.

Luke didn’t seem to know what to say in response to Violet’s proclamation. He only stared at her in vague confusion. Maybe he hadn’t expected her to take his words for truth. Meanwhile, Colby raised his teary face from Luke’s neck. Violet’s entrance had stopped his wails, and he sniffed pitifully. “Wan do-nuh,” he said, apparently resigned to petitioning the young lady when all the other adults in the room had failed him.

“I can get him one,” Seth offered cautiously, as if they had already reached a stalemate.

Syrus exchanged a wary glance with Luke. True, no one had attacked so far, but still…

Violet scoffed loudly. “You can settle down, you know. They’re, like, super boring for vampires. They never hurt anyone. They’re too busy sucking face.”

Luke turned to her in horror. “Violet.”

Violet only shrugged. “It’s true though.”

“What about him?” the vampire called Riley asked gruffly, his black eyes fixed on Syrus.