Blood and Hexes (After Darkness Falls #4) - May Sage Page 0,22
down by the time she'd met everyone.
Not wanting to take over Avani's spotlight, she retreated to the kitchen, and opened the fridge. She was relieved to see bottles of blood. Synthetic, by the smell of them. She pulled out, uncapped, and chugged one, needing the boost of energy, and the relief drinking it provided.
"Is there another one somewhere in there?"
She turned to face a man no one had introduced her to, standing next to Mikar. They were night and day. The guy stood a little taller than Mikar. He was a ginger—actually copper-haired, unlike Belial—with long hair and stubble on his strong jaw. His amber eyes seemed the exact same color as his hair. He looked pretty. Too pretty for her taste. Diana would have bet he had a haircare routine. No one could have hair that shiny without an addiction to expensive conditioner. Or magic.
"Sure." She retrieved a second bottle and chucked it his way.
He caught it, and tilted the butt up. "Cheers, lovely. I'm Sylvan. You must be the sister everyone's talking about."
She curtsied elegantly. "That'd be me."
He grinned at her. "Pleased to meet you. I hear you kicked Mikar in the family jewels. Many dream of the chance."
Mikar rolled his eyes and walked out, leaving them.
Diana stiffened the moment he was gone. At first, she assumed she was bothered by his going without saying anything, but that wasn't it. Or not just it, anyway. Now that he was gone, Sylvan's entire demeanor had changed. He'd seemed laid-back, but right now, everything in her told her he was a threat. A real threat.
She was so tired of this endless night.
"What do you want?" she asked with a sigh.
"I think the real question is what do you want, Diana?" he countered smoothly. "What are you doing here?"
She held his gaze. "I'm here to see my brother. I'm in my home. If you have a problem with that, don't let the door hit you on the way out."
His smile was cold this time. "Fine. So long as that's all, you and I won't have a problem. But make no mistake. Night Hill is a family. If you're here to hurt any of us, you won't get out of Oldcrest in one piece. And your brother will help tear you apart." With those parting words, he followed Mikar out of the kitchen.
Her jaw set, she remained where she was, more hurt than she would have thought possible. Because he was probably right. Alexius would take their side against her, if push came to shove.
"Don't make a long face."
Diana's spine became steel. Chloe Eirikrson was standing where Sylvan had been.
"I heard that, despite the music," Chloe told her. "My hearing's a little better than most."
Diana didn't know what to say.
"Sylvan means well. He's very protective. All of us are, truly. He's right; we're a family here."
"And I'm an intruder." Diana threw the empty bottle in a recycling bin. "I get it."
"You aren't an intruder, Diana. You're a Helsing." Chloe shrugged. "That does make you family to Alexius. To Avani. To us." She lifted her chin. "If you want to be."
Diana was starting to feel hot under the collar, with Chloe's bright blue eyes boring into her very soul. She'd been wrong to assume this was just a girl. There was strength in her. She just chose not to use it. Much.
"I'm just here to see my brother," Diana reiterated. "I'll be out of your hair by Monday."
Chloe shrugged. "No one's chasing you away. If you want to stay, you're welcome to. It's your home."
Diana didn't know what to say. She didn't like how she felt around the girl. Vulnerable. Like prey with an open wound.
"I'm exhausted. I have to crash. But it was nice meeting you."
Chloe's fangs flashed as she inclined her head. "Likewise."
Lord of Schemes
Mikar generally listened to his gut feelings, and right now, they told him that Diana Helsing was going to be a hell of a lot of trouble, one way or the other.
Levi was the first to walk in the study where Mikar had been working for a couple of hours on Saturday evening. "I didn't expect to see you here on your day off."
Today was Ruby's shift. She'd been training Chloe and Cat when he'd left Levi's home earlier. Typically, Mikar used his days off guard duty to catch up on shows, listen to audiobooks, and train, either with Levi or Sylvan, now that he was on the hill.