Page 16 of Taste of Forever (Vampires of Sanguine #3)

Laith

I swung a leg off the motorcycle, and craned my neck to look up at the tall, stately home. “Why don’t we do all of our meetings at Novak’s place?”

“Because we’re not of his clan,” Thorne grumbled, tossing a spent cigarette. “Can’t give him all the power.”

“His place is nicer than ours, though. And his chef always has food prepared. Why don’t we have a chef?”

“You are more than welcome to hire one,” Thorne said irritably. “And knock yourself out with a home remodel. I can’t wait to see what you do with that squirrel brain of yours.”

Okay, he had a point there. But he didn’t have to be so grumpy about it. Actually, who was I kidding? Thorne was always grumpy.

If anyone had an excuse to be grumpy, it was me. I was still starving. Marrow was starting to lose its edge. I needed blood, Heather’s blood, really fucking soon or I’d be in big trouble.

Cyan was the third and final person of our merry little band. He’d been the first to park in Novak’s courtyard and now waited anxiously for me and Thorne by the front door. His foot jiggled as we approached, then he lifted the knocker to announce our arrival.

I grabbed his shoulder and gave it a friendly little shake in hopes of calming him. “Novak said it was good news. It’s gonna be all right.”

“Yeah.” He didn’t sound any more at ease. I could practically hear his teeth clenching.

Cyan was never anxious. Everything rolled off of him like water on a duck’s back. Except when it came to Kalix, which was precisely the nature of our visit.

When he was imprisoned by clan Carpe Noctem over twenty years ago, Kalix left a massive hole in Blood ‘til Dawn that we all continued to feel. None moreso than Cyan, who Kal had mentored like a father figure.

Quietly, Thorne had been trying for the last decade to break Kal out.

But despite having risen to become the ruling clan, it couldn’t happen with a single command.

Carpe Noctem was powerful and resourceful in their own right.

And their imprisonment of Kal was seen as justified, since it was due to the killing of their leader.

The door opened a moment later, with Novak himself grinning from across the threshold. “Hey, everyone. Come in.”

He held the door open wide while the three of us shuffled in. The guy was dressed down, but still looked more polished than us in our scuffed leather and jeans. His long, silvery-blonde hair was down, and he wore slacks and a buttoned shirt with the sleeves rolled past his elbows.

I wasn’t kidding about Novak’s place being nicer than ours; it was swanky as hell.

A big foyer with a polished tile floor and tall arching doorways that led to different areas of the house.

A grand staircase stood straight ahead, going up to the second level and then splitting off in two directions.

The clan he’d been born into, Rathka’s Order, had been a noble warrior’s class since their inception centuries ago. They lived well, and usually got the lowlife clans to do most of their fighting for them. In short, no one liked Rathka’s Order except for themselves.

They had been so shitty to their fellow vampires that an illness, known as Rathka’s Curse, had befallen their clan and nearly wiped everyone out.

Everyone except for Novak.

He’d ended up renouncing Rathka’s Order and starting anew as Blood and Truth.

Thorne had to approve it, as leader of the ruling clan.

At first, I’d wondered if Thorne would make Novak give up the riches and wealth accumulated by Rathka’s Order.

But it seemed he got to keep his house, which was fine by me.

I let out a low whistle when I caught sight of the chandelier hanging from the ceiling. It was easily bigger than my bike.

“Is that new, Novak?” I asked, pointing straight up.

He looked up. “No, that’s been there.”

Thorne snorted. “I swear, your eye catches some new shiny thing every time we come here.”

“I just cleaned it recently.” Novak smirked. “It was really dusty, so it’s much shinier now.”

“You did? Or you had your housekeeper do it?” Thorne asked.

“I did.” To his credit, Novak looked more amused than offended. “Believe it or not, I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty, Thorne. And if my poor housekeeper fell, she’d be in serious trouble. No, I wouldn’t let her get up there.”

“How noble of you,” Thorne drawled.

Even though we were now allied after being bitter enemies with Rathka’s Order for centuries, Thorne still didn’t seem to like Novak personally.

I understood his reservations, with all the bad blood—pun intended—and dark history between our clans, but Novak did seem genuine in wanting our alliance and trust. He was good to Amy and seemed humble for a rich guy, at least.

“Can we focus on what we came here to talk about?” Cyan asked the group.

“Of course.” Novak gave his shoulder a brotherly squeeze, similar to the one I’d given him outside. “Let’s go up to my office.”

The four of us climbed the staircase.

“Where’s your mate, Novak?” Thorne asked, his gaze trailing over all the luxury in the home.

“She’s with Tavia,” Cyan answered for him.

Amy and Tavia were best friends, having grown up like sisters together in Sapien, the only human settlement in Sanguine. If those two weren’t with their blood mates, chances were good they were together.

“Bea is with them too,” Novak added. “Girl’s night, they called it.”

“Huh.” Cyan rubbed his jaw as we reached the top landing and filed into Novak’s office. “Wonder if Bea would’ve wanted to be here for this.”

“Why would that be?” Novak rounded his large wooden desk.

Cyan and I both looked at Thorne. “He doesn’t know?”

“Guess not.” Thorne dropped into one of the armchairs in front of the desk and said nothing more.

“Know what?” Novak looked between the three of us. “Please, sit.” He gestured toward the second chair in front of his desk. “I’ll grab another seat.”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll stand,” Cyan said.

With a shrug, I took the seat next to Thorne and and Novak settled in his chair across from us. “So what don’t I know?” the silver-haired vampire repeated.

Cyan blew out a breath. “Bea is the reason Kalix was taken by Carpe Noctem. Well, her and me, you could say.”

Novak’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean? I thought Kalix killed Baros’s father.”

“Of course you did,” Thorne said. “You weren’t there. Weren’t involved.”

“It was me that killed him,” Cyan said, eyes burning. “Kal took the fall for me, because I was young and he didn’t want me to throw my life away.”

Novak’s brows lifted in surprise. “Oh. I see.”

“Bea worked in the Carpe Noctem household,” Cyan continued.

“You know how they are. They treat humans like shit. Kal felt bad for her, and I think he was sweet on her too, a little bit. When she came into our meeting to serve us drinks, she dropped a glass. Charos snapped and slashed her throat with no hesitation.”

“Fucking Temkra,” Novak muttered. “The poor thing.”

“She was bleeding out and Kal went to help her. This infuriated Charos even more and he rushed toward them. I didn’t think, I just reacted.

I grabbed the same letter opener he used on her and stabbed him with it.

” Cyan closed his eyes and shook his head, as if to dislodge the scene from his mind.

“I didn’t even realize Kal had given Bea his blood until later.

He shoved her body into my arms and said, ‘if she wakes up, look after her for me.’ And she did. But he was already gone by then.”

“Shit.” Novak stared at him with an intense expression, one of awe and respect. “That’s a lot to carry, Cy.”

“Yeah.” A sigh deflated Cyan’s chest. “Tavia has made it a little easier though.”

“I’ll say.” Thorne looked over at him with a similar expression as Novak. “I haven’t heard you say so many words about that day since it happened.”

“And did Bea return Kalix’s affection?” Novak asked.

“I think so. She doesn’t talk about it much, either. But the signs are there. She looks at his photos in the hallway. She hasn’t hooked up with anyone for blood or sex in over twenty years. She’s just kind of been quietly existing, almost like she’s waiting for him to come back.”

“Aren’t we all,” I muttered.

I wasn’t as close to Kal as Cyan or Thorne was, but he had been like an older brother figure to many of us in Blood ‘til Dawn. Especially those of us who had been orphaned and taken in as juveniles.

“Bea does seem happier since Tavia came along,” I pointed out. “I think she needed a friend.” I wondered if she and Heather would get along.

“Well, there is hope yet.” Novak picked up his cell phone and hesitated, meeting our eyes apprehensively with the device in his hand. “Inessa of Carpe Noctem sent me a video taken by someone on her staff. She claims it’s Kalix, but I need you to confirm.”

“You should have led with that,” Thorne grumbled as all three of us leaned forward.

“It’s short but I have to warn you, it’s pretty upsetting.”

“Play the fucking video,” Cyan growled.

Novak turned his phone around to face us, then hit the play button.

The video was grainy and low-resolution, clearly shot on an older phone.

Whoever had taken the video seemed to be pushing their way through a dense crowd of people, as the camera constantly panned with jerky, hand-held movements.

I could make out a low ceiling with long florescent lights, something like a garage or a warehouse.

The camera stilled when the person made it to the front of the crowd, and focused on an elevated platform encased by silver, interlinked chain fencing.

A large, muscular figure kneeled in the center of the platform, upper body heaving with ragged, panting breaths.

Blood dripped from his mouth, coating his chin, neck and chest.

And there the video ended.

“Can you zoom in?” Cyan asked.

“I can, but it doesn’t help the image quality.” Novak placed two fingers on the screen and slid them apart until the figure’s face took up the screen.