Page 129 of My Big Fat Vampire Wedding

“That you’re not purely evil creatures.”

“How did you come to that?”

“Because I spent weeks around your family,” he told her. “No one who has met Ravenna would think she’s evil.”

“But she drinks blood,” Pandora said, pitching her voice lower.

Victor glanced around. Clearly uncomfortable with the close quarters and possibly eavesdropping ears, he looked back at her. “Is there an office where we may speak more freely?”

“Sure.” She led him down the hall, past the toilets and into the shoebox-sized office.

Away from the scents of brewing coffee and sugary syrups, Victor’s cinnamon, vanilla, and leather scent overwhelmed her senses, making her chest feel tight and her skin warm.

The longing was acute and instantaneous, and she couldn’t help but wonder if the need was etched all over her face.

“That’s something I’ve been wondering about,” Victor said, no longer whispering.

“What?” Pandora asked, too focused on the nearness of him to keep track of the conversation.

“The blood.”

“Oh, right. OK. What about the blood?”

“Does Ravenna drain people? As in dry?”

“Not that I know of, no.”

“But it happens.”

“Yes, it happens.”

“The night of the stag and hen party …”

“I thought he’d been drained,” Pandora said. “Lucy and I were worried that you might step into the alley, find him, and call the police. We were just going to move him, not get rid of him.”

“Have you done that often? Hidden bodies?”

“Never.”

“Not even your own … meals?”

“I don’t drink human blood. Not anymore. I did as a child, back before I knew any better.”

“What do you drink?”

“Well, it was pig’s blood. Until the night of my hen party. We were at a club next door to your pub.”

“There’s no club there … Oh,” he said, putting things together. “It’s an … underground club.”

“Yes. And, well, the barman told me that there’s a new blood on the market for ‘vegetarian’ vampires like me and Dante. It’s synthetic, but provides everything we need to survive. I’ve been drinking that since.”

“Wow. Is there a market for it?”

“Seems to be. I think it’s a sign of the changing times, the newer generation having different feelings from our parents.”

“Your parents are OK with it?”

“They’re … learning to adjust,” she told him.