thing in the world that I could ever wish for. That Baal would be defeated once and for all.
Chapter 13
My mouth was watering, triggering sensations that sent electricity through every nerve in my body. Sliding my tongue across my fangs, I tried to focus on the warmth of Arrick’s fingertips across my back as he guided me toward the lively party before us. Delectable smells filled the air, sparking a powerful hunger inside me. I’d eaten earlier, but I was suddenly starving.
As we drew closer, I recognized the courtyard from our entry into the citadel. We were under the hanging gardens. The glowing, white flowers clung to the terrace above us, illuminating the area with a soft radiance. During a brief lull of the boisterous laughter and music of the party, a deafening roar shook me violently out of my trance. My body jumped backward into Arrick’s chest as the roaring sound boomed again, breaking through the now excited cheers of the crowd.
“What the hell was that?” I asked, fear prickling my skin.
“That would be a tiger,” Arrick answered, pointing in front of us through a break in the throng of bodies. And there it was, a tiger lounging freely beside a table overloaded with colorful food. The tiger was snacking on a massive hunk of meat at its feet, licking his ivory fangs after every bite.
“He’s got a friggin’ tiger!” Disbelief flooded me. I had never seen a real tiger before, only pictures. According to my teacher in school, they were extinct.
I let Arrick take the lead, hiding under his arm as we made our way closer. I loved cats, and remembered how badly I used to wish tigers weren’t extinct. I wanted to reach out and pet it, scratch its head and touch its ears, but the way it stared me down told me I probably shouldn’t interrupt its meal.
Surprisingly, a tiger wasn’t the only exotic animal Titan had. My father wasn’t kidding when he said Titan had a flare for the dramatic. There were multi-colored birds perched on jeweled posts watching the crowd through beady eyes.
Rare animals weren’t the only things that stunned me as we entered the party. I didn’t think I’d ever seen so much skin in my entire life. Most of the women were wearing nothing more than skimpy bikinis covered in gemstones, and draped with beaded sashes. Their skin was covered in a gold paint, and their hair hung elegantly down their backs, filled with ribboned braids and beads.
The guys, on the other hand, really got me blushing. Even though my heart was solely Arrick’s, I couldn’t help but gape at the muscled Adonis’s that strode around with nothing more than pants, or wrapped loin cloths that left little to the imagination. But, it was the sculpted males that walked around with swords on their hips and intricate tattoos across their bodies that really got me. There was just something about a vampire warrior that set my blood on fire, and I couldn’t help but imagine Arrick with his shirt off and a tribal tattoo etched across his pecs.
He gave me seductive wink, like he knew exactly what I was thinking as he guided me to a pillowed seat beside my father. I settled in, kissing my father’s cheek as he welcomed me. He felt considerably more relaxed than when he exploded on me after meeting with Titan, and I was so relieved. Seeing him stressed made it that much harder to stay relaxed myself. We sat, watching dancers, and enjoyed the music as the festivities proceeded. An elaborately decorated chair at the far end of the party was obviously meant for Titan, and it remained empty until he stumbled in with a woman on each arm. Wanting to stay on my best behavior, I turned my attention to Arrick as he walked back to our table with a plate full of food and two glasses clasped awkwardly in one hand. I stood up to take the drinks from him as he balanced his food and sat beside me.
My nose picked out the unmistakable scent of blood mingling with wine from one of the glasses, and I brought it to my lips without a second thought. The warm mixture tantalized my taste buds with a bitter tang. It was shock at first, the bizarre taste of blood mixed with the spicy, bitterness of the wine, but I licked my lips and drank some more. As my hunger abated I grew more comfortable and