Page 43 of Vampire so Virtuous

“I said she’s marked. Do you not know the Code?”

In a blink, the man in the long leather coat was between her and Minh. He moved so fast she wouldn’t have believed it, if she hadn’t been staring, physically unable to look away. He moved as fast as Minh.

The bite. The fangs. The red eyes. Their inhuman speed.

Cally was in no doubt anymore: Minhwasa demon. His mesmerizing voice, the way he compelled her, the flashback to his bite on her neck—she knew what he was, although she could scarcely believe it. A vampire. A demon.

Cally couldn’t breathe. All her nightmares were real. And like in the worst of them, she couldn’t escape.

But if Minh was a demon, what the hell was Antoine? A savior? A fleeting hope? Or another horror given form.

The demon sneered. “What would an outcast like you know of the Code?”

“More than you, evidently.”

It happened so unbelievably swiftly that, if it hadn’t been for her well-trained combat eye, Cally wouldn’t have been able to follow it. Even then, she missed most of it.

The demon lunged, his hand outstretched, but Cally could tell he wasn’t trained in combat, relying solely on his speed. The outcast had no such disadvantage, and, if anything, was even faster. With almost casual grace, he twisted away from the demon’s reach. Then, moving so quickly Cally could barely follow, he completed the turn and positioned himself behind the demon. Gripping Minh’s chin, he yanked his head back, and, with brutal precision, sank his fangs into his neck.

Minh struggled, trying to break free, but for several long seconds, his blood fed the outcast. Then he staggered away, one hand raised to the wound on his neck. Antoine had let him go.

“You… you bit me!” Minh gasped, his eyes wide with disbelief. “You fed from me!”

Antoine straightened, the leather coat tight across his shoulders. Cally stared in horrified fascination as he licked the blood off his fangs. Where before she could’ve sworn his eyes were pale blue, now they were a vividred.

Fuck, they’re both vampires!

“You attacked me,” Antoine said coldly. “It is my right to defend myself.”

“I did no such thing! I was merely trying to reach the chattel!” The demon pressed his palm to his neck, a trickle of crimson staining the crisp white of his shirt collar. “You claim to know the Code. What’s the punishment for feeding from your own kin?”

To Cally’s bewilderment, Antoine chuckled, a sardonic sound, as though he shared a joke no one else would understand. “In my experience, it varies,” he said, his tone dry. “But you attacked me, Minh. You’re here unannounced and uninvited. Now, why don’t you take what thralls you have left and leave my territory before this escalates further?”

“This is not over, Outcast,” Minh growled, his animosity so palpable that Cally knew, if it were aimed at her, she’d be dead before she could react.

“It is for tonight, Minh,” Antoine replied wearily. “Get out of my territory. The next time you enter without my permission, know that I will retaliate in force.”

Minh scoffed. “What ‘force’? You and that aging butler?”

“I haven’t forgotten how to make thralls. If you want a war, then so be it. But know it will draw the attention of the Curia.” Antoine raised an eyebrow. “Is that your goal?”

He turned his back on the demon with casual disdain, then, to Cally’s surprise, he walked over to stand beside her.

Minh’s attention lingered on her, sharp and unsettling. Her throat tightened, panic swelling again. He sneered and looked at Antoine.

“I will not forget how you broke the Code this night.”

“Neither will I, Minh,” the outcast replied wearily.

“You killed some of my thralls,” Minh said, not sounding like he really cared.

“They were in my territory.”

“So they were. But thralls are just thralls, aren’t they? The Curia won’t care if one more dies.”

Between one breath and the next, Minh was gone. One moment, he stood there, his hand pressed to his neck, blood staining his expensive suit, and the next—nothing. How could he vanish so completely?

The return of her autonomy hit like a cold splash of water, leaving her disoriented and unsteady. She gasped a breath, her body jerking, her mind slow to regain control. Minh paralyzed her, and only with his absence hadit faded—if any proof was needed. How could she fight something like that?