Page 231 of Claimed By Fangs and Darkness

“You’ve got a little something,” Vesper said, touching a finger to her neck.

I mirrored her touch before blushing, feeling the mark Kylo had left this afternoon when he’d fed.

He’d always told me he couldn’t wait until he could live openly as his true vampiric self. Who was I to deny Kylo his beautifully possessive, primal urges?

I took immense pleasure in showing off that I washis.

“Still honeymooning?” she asked, relaxing in her chair as she eyed the tarot deck between us. I detected the tiniest note of nervousness in her gaze.

“Something like that,” I said. “I fall deeper in love with him every day. We take care of each other.”

Vesper grinned. “You two are good for morale. I’m happy for you, Evie.”

“How are you feeling?” I asked.

“Better.” She glanced out at the cityscape, releasing another deep breath. “I imagined killing him a thousand times, a thousand different ways. Sometimes the visions were grand, cinematic masterpieces, and other times they were quick andunceremonious. In the end, reality was a mix of both. I had fun. He’s gone. And my daughter will be safe from him forever.”

Emotion clogged my throat, and I tilted my head slightly as her words sank in. At first, I assumed Vesper’s need to kill Conrad was merely revenge. But vengeance was only part of it, perhaps even the smaller part.

Lovewas her driving force.

“Do you want to learn about her?” I asked gently.

Vesper looked fierce as ever in her silky black gown and dramatic winged eyeliner. Yet, there was something beautifully vulnerable in her features as she stared at the tarot cards and slowly met my eyes.

“Yes,” she said, folding her hands neatly in her lap. “I want to know who she is.”

I lay a collection of hand-picked crystals and dried flowers on the table in offering. I asked my spirit helpers for guidance and aid, and I also asked Vesper’s and her daughter’s.

The chilly autumn air came alive for us, charged with a soothing, supportive energy. I glanced up at the clear sky of luminous stars.

Bringing a witch light closer, I began to shuffle the deck, clearing out old energies and inviting Vesper’s into the fold. I spread the cards out on the table in a crescent formation.

“Pick three cards. We’ll start there,” I told her.

Vesper leaned forward. She tapped on three cards. I pulled them out and flipped them over.

“Two of Cups. Ten of Swords reversed. The Empress.” I took a deep breath, zoning out as I stared at the cards' imagery and combined the symbolic meaning with my own intuition. “The Two of Cups is a marriage card—two lovers facing each other, perfectly balanced. I’m getting two messages here. The first is that she is deeply in love.”

Vesper smiled. Her eyes instantly became glassy. She raised a hand to her mouth, staring at the cards.

“Second, she also has a special sort of nourishing love with a best friend.”

“Good. She needs friends more than she needs men,” Vesper said, her lip twitching.

The Ten of Swords wasn’t exactly a pleasant card. It depicted a man fallen and impaled by ten swords and blood leaking from his head. However, the card was in the reversed position, which altered its meaning.

“She has faced great loss and great betrayal. She knows pain,” I said, reaching for Vesper’s trembling hand. “But she also knows healing. These swords are falling out of her back, not going in. I’m guessing the love she has found has given her a path out of past sorrow.”

Vesper’s daughter was a succubus, and succubi and incubi notoriously faced all manner of danger and cruelty from the world. People did not look kindly on creatures capable of manipulating desire.

“The Empress card is not surprising,” I said, and Vesper relaxed when she saw my easy smile. “It’s sometimes a motherhood or fertility card, but here it indicates a powerful expression of the divine feminine and sacred sensuality.” My shoulders relaxed. “I’m getting the very strong feeling she shares her mother’s high expectations and impeccable taste.”

Vesper laughed. A tear broke free, and she wiped it halfway down her cheek. “Good. That’s good.” She nodded. “None of us get to escape pain. I’m so fucking relieved to hear she knows more than just suffering.”

“Vesper, she knows so much more than suffering. Even from these three cards, I can promise you that.”

Chills swept over our skin, the spirits confirming my words from the beyond.