When Life Gives You Vampires by Gloria Duke

Author:Gloria Duke
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
Published: 2022-07-25T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 24

The eyes—Raven’s eyes—flit from Tristan, to me, and back to Tristan. Then there’s a muttered curse as the panel slams shut.

A beat later, the door flings open, and I get a gander at the rest of Raven. Creamy, pale skin. Pouty, red mouth. A cascade of luxurious, raven-black hair that reaches almost to her waist. And speaking of her waist? It’s tiny, nipped in by a black corset that barely contains what have to be double-D cups, at least. A slinky black skirt, slit high up one side, reveals about eight hundred miles of shapely, fishnet-covered leg. Black patent-leather stilettos add five or six inches to her already statuesque height.

While Cat looks like she could be a high-fashion runway model, Raven looks more like a Goth wet dream.

Oh, and obvi, she’s a vampire. So she gets to spend all eternity looking like this.

“I heard the whispers,” says Raven, throwing Tristan some serious shade. “But I didn’t believe them. You’ve done some foolish things over the centuries, Tristan Newberry, but I never thought you’d be foolish enough to defy Gideon and the council and make an illicit newborn.”

“Raven Dupree,” says Tristan, totally unruffled, “meet Lily Baines.”

She raises one perfectly groomed eyebrow at him. “And you bring this abomination to my club?”

“Hey!” I say. “The ‘abomination’ is standing right here.”

“But you shouldn’t be,” says Raven. She redirects her attention and starts throwing shade my way. “Neither of you should be. The last thing I need is trouble with the grand master.”

Okay, so I’m going to go ahead and say I don’t much like this Raven Dupree. And, I swear, it has nothing to do with the fact that she’s forever gorgeous, and I’m forever more.

I’m sorry, but I don’t like the way she’s talking to me. Or to Tristan, for that matter. I don’t like what she’s saying.

But, okay, putting all that aside? I really don’t like what she’s, um, not saying. Because beneath her abrasive facade, I’m also picking up on some genuine, bone-deep fear. No doubt about it, she’s scared of Grand Master Gideon and the Vampire Council.

A wave of oh-fuck washes over me.

Not that I haven’t been scared before now. Only, I think there’s also been a tiny corner of my mind that’s been in some serious denial.

But now, here’s Raven, a totally independent source. And her reaction basically confirms that Tristan and I are headed for vampire death row.

Oh—unless, of course, Evan gets to us first.

“There’s a slayer, Raven,” says Tristan, piling on this latest complication. “A new slayer.”

Raven turns sharply back to Tristan. “The newborn triggered a slayer?”

“Apparently,” he says.

She glances at me warily. “Someone she knows?”

“A male coworker.”

“Well, sorry, but she can’t hide from him in here,” says Raven. She starts to close the door on us.

“Raven,” says Tristan. “The slayer knows about The Crypt.”

That makes her stop. Her eyes become dark slits as she scrutinizes Tristan for what seems like years. Then, she shakes her head of abundant black hair and expels a frustrated breath.

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