Page 68 of A Token of Blood and Betrayal

“I heard you,” I said.“Why… What are you doing here?”

“Following you.”Her voice flattened.So did her expression.“I wasorderedto.”

“By who?Phedre?”Deagan and I hadn’t exactly gone out of our way to avoid people, but we hadn’t called attention to ourselves either.

“Of coursePhedre,” Thordis snarled.Where had the slightly crazy, overly eager-to-maim version of her gone?

“Couple’s quarrel?”Deagan asked, peeking out from underneath a blanket at the very back of the garage.

Thordis gave him a killing glare.

He cleared his throat.“How did you open the door?The keypad ensures it stays locked.”

“That keypad?”She jabbed her finger toward the half-open door.A plastic frame lay broken on the ground, three severed wires exposed to the sun.

Deagan muttered something under his breath, then focused on the keypad beside the locked door to the house.Giving it a glare that rivaled Thordis’s previous one, he gripped the frame, ripped it from the wall, then tossed it to the ground.

His narrowed eyes made it look like he hoped the door wouldn’t budge when he turned the knob.It did.Still muttering, Deagan pushed the door open.It scraped and squeaked, indicating it was as heavy as the doors of a decoy house.

Thordis and I followed Deagan inside.We entered a bright, gleaming kitchen that could have been the big reveal in a home makeover.The white granite counters were bare except for a shiny black toaster and picture-perfect utensil holder with wooden spoons.Every light in sight happened to be on, brightening every surface and piece of furniture in the attached living room.Deagan either had a high electric bill for an unoccupied house or the system was set to activate when anyone entered.Either way, it was remarkably modern.

Thordis whistled.“This doesn’t look like you, vampire.”

He stopped mid-step.“Why is that?”

“It’s not very Deagan-ish,” I replied.

He turned to take in the place.The open-concept kitchen, the white leather couch set, and the sturdy coffee table.A single remote sat on the latter’s surface, ready to turn on the TV, and a floor lamp with a neutral shade occupied a corner.This could have been a typical upper-middle-class home except for the distressed wooden panels occupying the space where windows should have been.

Deagan swept his hand through the air in a motion that saidsee.“It’s perfectly normal.”

“Exactly,” Thordis and I said at the same time.I snort-laughed.Thordis smiled widely.

Deagan rolled his eyes, then headed to a counter beside the refrigerator.I watched his hands as he opened a drawer.He hid it well, but they were still shaking.

He shifted through whatever was in the drawer—probably typical junk drawer things like scissors, broken pencils, dead batteries, and random cords.

“What are you looking for?”Thordis asked.

“Phone,” he said.

“Do you want to borrow mine?”I asked.

He paused his search and looked at me.At my neck again?I couldn’t tell, but Thordis’s posture changed as if she sensed a threat.

Deagan shook away whatever he’d been thinking or feeling.“I need my contacts.”

“You need blood,” Thordis stated.

“I will call someone.”He started to resume his search.Paused.“Unless…?”

My neck tingled when he cocked his head, and I felt a flush beginning to heat my body.I started to tell him to keep his fangs to himself.Then I realized he wasn’t actually looking atme.

That Valkyrie-crazy spark returned to Thordis’s eyes.“Only if I get more than blood.”

“Done!”Deagan shut the drawer with a flourish.

The energy in the room pulsed when he held out his hand.Thordis strode toward him, hips swaying.My mind was still processing the fact that she was volunteering for this when Deagan slid one arm around her waist.He lifted his other hand to her neck, letting his knuckles lightly graze her skin.She tilted her head, giving him easy access to her blood.The room heated—Iheated—as his mouth descended.