Page 17 of Saved by the Vampire Goddess (Dark Wine Vampires #1)

Chapter seventeen

Valroy

Minnesota Ark Prime—The next night

A ravening hunger wakes me. My stomach is an empty pit, and the desire to stop the clawing pain inside my gut is so strong, I’ll kill anyone who gets between me and food.

Then a tantalizing scent hits my nose.

I open my eyes to see Evelina holding out a glass, the scarlet liquid warm when she raises it to my lips.

“Drink slowly.” She tilts the glass.

I grab her hands, forcing the glass higher, pouring the liquid into my mouth as I gulp the savory sustenance, draining the glass and licking the rim to catch every drop. “More,” I growl.

She tsks and holds another glass to my mouth. “Slower. I don’t need bloodstains dribbled all over my mattress.”

When that glass is empty, I focus on my surroundings. I’m in her bedroom. Only a tiny night-light is on, plugged into an electric socket on the wall. Despite the lack of illumination, the furniture’s colors are vivid, every corner of the room visible. Three more glasses filled with a brilliant scarlet liquid sit on the night table.

And the tangy scent wafting from them makes my mouth water.

I grab the next one and, in three swallows, empty it, staring into her iridescent blue eyes as I do. I could count every one of her pale eyelashes despite the darkness.

Then I drink down the next.

When I get to the last one, I drink more slowly.

“Cheese and f’n crackers. I’m gonna rename you Lord Piglet. That’s your fifth pint. You’re lucky I traded a diamond the other night and had extra fresh dark wine on hand. How do you feel?”

“Better. Still hungry.” I run my tongue over something sharp. Have my canines become fangs? No. I’ve read about this. A muscle on the roof of my mouth holds my fangs back and deploys them when needed. So what happened? Vague memories surface. Of suffocating from the bee sting and feeding from her wrist. Of begging her to turn me. Of feeling her fangs pierce my skin. “Will I always be this hungry?”

“Nah. It’ll pass. I’ve got a book on the shelf out there”—she tilts her head in the direction of the living area—“ What Every New Vampire Needs to Know , remember? You can read up on it later.”

She’s right. I only skimmed certain chapters until I discovered the section on sleep pods. Now I need to read everything, but I already know the basics from living with her for three weeks.

I take another sip and steady my nerves to offer the apology I owe her. “Evelina, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have tried to leave for New Rome without telling you.”

“I heard you the first time.”

“Huh?”

“Last night. Don’t ya remember what you said?”

“A little.” I remember the most important part—telling her I loved her. “I planned on returning once I found my sister.”

“Of course you would’ve returned. Where else would ya go?”

“I mean, even if there was somewhere else to go, I would’ve returned for you. I, uh, I…love you.” Looking into the half-full glass, I struggle to find the words. “I didn’t recognize the feeling at first. I’ve never let myself fall in love before.”

She rolls her eyes. “Sure.”

“That is the truth.”

“Uff-da.”

“Look, my duty to my sister came first. I needed to know what happened to her. But I hated leaving you.”

“Is that why you kissed me?”

I turn away, ashamed, not able to look at her. “Yes.”

A very loud bell clangs repeatedly, interrupting us.

“Crapola. Drink that fast. We have company.”

I down the glass and set it aside, then clamp my hands over my ears. The ringing noise is killing my eardrums. “Is that the vet again? Or is it another like you?”

“You mean like us?”

I blink. Yeah, I have to get used to considering myself a vampire. “Another vampire?”

“No.” She shakes her head, her white-blonde hair swishing across her shoulders. “Follow my lead and we’ll get through this.”

“When will that noise stop?”

“In thirty seconds. Automatically. Darn Lux.”

She strides from the room, and the clanging soon stops. Disoriented and dizzy, I roll off the bed to my feet and stagger after her.

The overhead lights in the living area blind me at first. My eyes take a moment to adjust to the brightness, and then I see who is here. Oh Jupiter .

Standing in the living area, rustling its wings, an angel scowls at Evelina—at least, it looks like a scowl. The angel’s blue-skinned face wrinkles around its large, swirling silver eyes, and its ivory-colored feathers stand on end.

I drop to my knees, pressing three fingers against my forehead and bowing.

I’m in the presence of a genii. At least, that’s its Latin name in the Roman pantheon. In English, it’s an angel , and I raise my gaze enough to get a glimpse.

The angel’s small, round mouth sings, then a mechanical-sounding voice echoes from the thin metallic cylinder in its hand. “No one gave you permission to create him.”

The multifaceted eye on the angel’s forehead radiates three shades of brilliant blue, creating a halo effect. I bow my head again and return to pressing three fingers against my forehead. Those three fingers represent the three eyes and show my reverence. The imperial purple skirt of the angel’s full-length robe is still visible, and I resist the urge to kiss the hem.

Then I sniff the air. The angel doesn’t smell right—whatever blood is in its veins doesn’t tempt me, despite the vicious hunger grinding my stomach again.

Evelina crosses her arms. “So what if I didn’t ask permission? It was an emergency—which could have been avoided if you took him to a mixed dome, like I asked.” Then she kicks at my ass. Yes, kicks. “Get up off the floor. They aren’t real angels. They’re aliens from another planet who are stranded here.”

I glance up at her. “I-I must show the proper respect.”

“You don’t have to show them anything.” She grips my shoulder and hauls me to my feet. “I’m your maker. You do as I say. We’re blood-bonded now.”

Blood-bonded? I stand—for some reason, it’s Evelina I want to obey.

The angel sings again, and the mechanical voice says, “You admit it, then. You have violated the rules.”

“Hey, listen up, blue boy. I’m not in a mixed dome. Those rules don’t apply out here.”

“They do as long as you’re here under our protection.”

She shrugs. “That’s up for interpretation.”

“Did you take him outside to turn him?”

“What do you think? He was going to die if I didn’t turn him when I did.”

The angel’s scowl tightens. “Then he should have died.”

How can an angelic being say such a thing? Life is precious. And the way Evelina stands up to the angel and defends me—her willingness to face down an angel on my behalf—well, her actions tell me she isn’t yet indifferent to me. The center of my heart warms.

Maybe she’ll forgive my transgressions. Maybe we’re not over after all. Maybe we have a chance together.

Maybe. If we both survive the angel’s wrath.