Page 89 of Blood as Sweet as Roses

“Yes, it was very successful,” she answers. “No one was lost or injured.”

“That’s good,” I reply, real relief in my chest. The more time I spend here, the more I feel like the Night vampires are…well,home, I suppose. It’s weird, but I’m genuinely glad that they all came back safely.

Crimson nods. Then her lip twitches, and there’s a hesitant expression in her eyes. It’s unlike her, and makes me a little nervous. But I don’t want to rush her. I watch her as she finds her words.

Finally, she speaks, in a voice like the final rays of twilight, quiet but bold against a quickly darkening sky. “I should tell you that…I didn’t mean to became angry with you, when we spoke the other night. It was hasty of me.”

I shake my head emphatically. “It’s all right, sir. I’m sorry that I tried to tell you what to do…”

“No,” she counters. “Don’t apologize. I admire your boldness, and I’m grateful for your counsel.” She furrows her brow, looking down at me with a frown. “And I was sorry to hear about your mother. That must have been quite difficult for you.”

A lump forms in my throat, and I can’t respond. Instead, I press my face against her chest, as another slow song fills the lounge.

In the foggy haze of the early morning, we lie together under the expansive canopy of her four-poster bed. I’m still caught in the last wisps of her glamour, my skin sensitive and glowing with magic. But somehow, I feel more clear than I have in a long time.

“Good morning, Paige,” Crimson whispers, her lips brushing against my temple.

“Don’t go,” I beg her, reaching out to catch the sleeve of her oxford shirt. “Please…hold me a little longer.”

I can feel the weight of her undead bones, the heaviness in her grey eyes as she regards me. She gives me that look again, like she’s seeingme for the first time, like she’s trying to figure me out.

Like she’s trying to remember me…

So much stretches out between us, both binding us together and keeping us apart.

I love you, Crimson, I think to myself, although I’m too afraid to say the words out loud.

Silently, she reclines back, pulling me tightly to her chest.

CHAPTER 31: THE THING THAT'S HEAVY

Crimson

“What was hername?” I demand, glaring furiously down at Alin from my throne.

“It wasn’t Paige, my king,” he says quickly, accurately guessing what my main concern is. “I think her name was Jocelyn.”

Relief floods my chest. Thank god Paige is safe. But this still isn’t good news. “Who found her?”

“Some joggers,” Alin replies, his expression grim. “They called the police, who recovered the body. According to our source, they’re doing an autopsy, but they know that she was one of our donors.”

“Fuck,” I hiss, rubbing my eyebrow in frustration. Can I just haveoneweek where nothing explodes in my face? Aren’t vampire kings entitled to a little respite now and again?

“She…was in a bad state, sir,” Alin continues, eying me nervously. “Completely drained. It’s clear it was a vampire, and that they had attempted to dispose of the body.”

Murad sighs from his spot at my right hand side. “And just when we were getting along with the district chief…”

“Can we pin it on someone else?” I look at Murad. “Cedric’s gang? The police chief must be aware that they’re operating north of the city. Maybe we can spin it.”

“It will be tricky if the victim was one of our donors,” Murad answers. “It’s an open-and-shut case. Why would Cedric’s vampires drain one ofourdonors?”

Sabinaraises an eyebrow from where she stands on the left hand side of the war room. “Unless…Cedric and Oana have someone on theinside.”

“What are you insinuating?” I snap.

But it’s Murad who responds. “There’s no way Cedric and Oana would be able to find out who our donors are. We keep that information extremely private.Unlessthey have an informant among the Night vampires.”

There’s a hush across the war room. This is an incredibly inflammatory statement to make, and I know Murad and Sabina wouldn’t make the suggestion lightly. Since my ascension, there have been more and more events to suggest that someone from the outside could have infiltrated our ranks. Cassandra being staked, Eloise’s suspicious allergic reaction, even the shifters turning against us…it would be nefarious, but certainly within Oana’s capacity to orchestrate, if she had a contact among the Night vampires to do her dirty work.