Twisted by Showalter Gena

Author:Showalter, Gena [Showalter, Gena]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, azw3, pdf
Tags: Juvenile Fiction, Love & Romance, Paranormal
ISBN: 9780373210381
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2011-08-30T07:00:00+00:00

SIXTEEN

THE VICTORY CELEBRATION was in full swing before Aden and Sorin entered the house. Goblets of blood had been given to each of the vampires, and glasses of wine to each of the wolves and humans. Laughter abounded. The king had proven his strength and cunning, after all, and the people here had followed him wisely.

Whispered theories abounded, too, everyone wondering how a human had finally turned into a vampire, and if other humans could now be turned.

“We haven’t tried a turning in so long, the circumstances that prevented our success could have altered.”

“But what were those circumstances? We’ve never known.”

“Could have been our blood. Or theirs.”

“I’d love to run some tests and find out.”

“Yes, but will the new king allow it?”

No one seemed to mind their cold, wet robe or sopping hair, yet Victoria couldn’t stop shivering. Her teeth were chattering so vigorously, she feared everyone in the massive ballroom could hear them over the angelic hum of the harp.

Stupid human skin.

As she claimed a goblet of blood for herself, determined to feed the still-weakening Chompers even if the thought of drinking blood currently upset her stomach anew, she panned her surroundings. The marbled floor, the glass walls, the columns stretching to a web of crystals on the ceiling.

In the center of that web was a glittering chandelier in the shape of a spider, eight legs seeming to move from one corner of the room to another. A lovely space, if you liked a darker, almost gothic atmosphere. She preferred colors and always had. Pink, yellow, blue. Even white. Anything but the black her father had always insisted upon.

Perpetuate the myths, he’d said, and the humans will never take you seriously. They will always underestimate your strength.

She had been half awed and half horrified by her father. But she’d always assumed Sorin adored him utterly. Why hadn’t—didn’t—he?

Sorin. He was a puzzle to her, the pieces so scattered she wasn’t sure she would ever be able to find them and put them together. And Aden, well, he had won a fight against a seasoned warrior.

Even more shocking, no one here had hindered him or helped Sorin—if she didn’t count Lauren and Stephanie, who were watching the doors for Sorin, and after yesterday, she didn’t count them. More than that, Aden had a beast and the skin of a vampire. Her skin.

How much more had they traded?

She’d lost her ability to compel humans with her voice. She’d lost her ability to teleport. Aden could do one, which meant he could probably do the other. And what about her lightning quick speed? He’d moved so swiftly in that ring. Swifter than ever before. What about her strength? Only weeks ago, she had jerked a tree out of the ground with her bare hands, roots and all.

Just then, she wasn’t sure she was capable of lifting her hair out of her face.

Would she still have saved Aden if she’d known this would happen?

The answer came in an instant. Yes. Yes, she would have. She would have given up more.

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