recognized as Meresin stood. His wings were arched high above his back, half extended, and violet light, like electricity, coiled up his arms and crackled at his fingers. A man who Sofia could tell was a vampire was sprawled not far away in the street, that same electric charge flashing around his body, making him yelp in pain.
“Meresin,” Phenex said, his voice hard. “You’re not supposed to get us kicked out before we even go in the building.”
The other Fallen turned his head to look at them, and Sofia sucked in a breath at the fierce light that filled his eyes, as strange a violet as the power that still coiled around him. She tried to remember that picture he’d tucked into her things as they approached. He couldn’t be as frightening as he seemed. Couldn’t be.
“I was just teaching someone a lesson about keeping his opinions to himself,” Meresin said, his voice soft and silken. Sofia realized, all at once, that she hadn’t yet been this close to him—and that it might be a bad idea when he was in this state. He was, like each of the renegade Fallen, beautiful in his own singular way. There was no softness in his face, which was all angles and edges. A short and tousled crop of ebony hair was a striking contrast to his alabaster skin and wild eyes. His clothes were nondescript, black on black, drawing attention away from a form that was just as lithe and powerful as Phenex’s. From the look on his face, Sofia thought that Meresin would prefer that no one pay any attention to him at all.
Which was hard when he was frying people in the street.
The vampire he’d zapped staggered to his feet and fled, and Meresin watched him go with only the barest hint of satisfaction. Whatever was wrong with him, Sofia thought, that hadn’t fixed it.
Phenex exhaled loudly. “What did this one say to you? Hello?”
Meresin fixed him with a hostile glare. “No.” Then, to Sofia’s horror, he turned his attention to her. Immediately, something shifted ever so slightly in his expression, and he surprised her by giving a slight bow.
“Miss Rivera. I hope the things I brought you were adequate.”
His formality surprised her.
“I…yes. Thank you. For everything. It was very thoughtful.”
He flinched, so quickly she might have missed it if she’d blinked. But he didn’t look any closer to electrocuting her. So that was something. Phenex, ever helpful, snorted. But then, she hadn’t shown him the picture. Something had stopped her. And now, looking at how wary Meresin was, she was glad she’d kept that to herself.
Meresin slid a rather ugly look at Phenex before returning his attention to Sofia.
“You’re welcome.”
“You eating with us?” Phenex asked. “Or are you just standing out here looking for fights?”
“I—”
“Hey!” A warm, female voice cut him off neatly, and Sofia saw the look of absolute horror on Meresin’s face before she turned to see who else was joining them. She felt an instant of horror herself as she watched a tall, icy blonde approach. Being surrounded by impossibly gorgeous people was something she doubted she’d ever get used to, and this woman was a knockout of the first order. She was what Sofia would have pictured as the perfect vampiress—ruby lips, long waves of pale hair, cheekbones that could cut glass. And the body clad in nothing but a black tank and black leather pants could have stepped right out of a magazine.
The only thing that kept Sofia from being completely intimidated was the fact that the woman’s grin was about as friendly as it got. That, and the next words that came out of her mouth.
“You jerk, you’ve been back in town for days and I haven’t heard so much as a Springsteen riff from you. Nice.”
There was the softest rustle of wings behind Sofia, a breath of air, and somehow she knew that Meresin had just vanished. The woman’s eyes narrowed, her mouth tightening just for an instant as her eyes flicked to where Meresin ought to have been standing. She looked disappointed, but seemed to collect herself quickly.
“Been busy,” Phenex said, and Sofia felt his wing brush her back. “Dru, this is Sofia Rivera. Sofia, this is Dru, Justin’s sister. Make girly noises at each other for a sec. I need to go see what crawled up Meresin’s ass and died. Again.”
“Don’t bother,” Dru said flatly, tucking a lock of shimmering hair behind her ear. “Pretty sure he’s got a virtual