A Violet Fire (Vampires in Avignon #1) - Kelsey Quick Page 0,64

fear.

“You would be surprised.” He holds me fast to the edge, conflict filling the gaps in his expression, hand tightening on my neck. “Apologize.”

Fear ties my tongue into knots. “I… I’m sorry,” I cave.

He leans over me and drops his lips centimeters from mine. A moment passes where all I can feel is his breath and all I can hear is my heart. Something in this strange moment leads me to question his motives, his desires.

His chest heaves against mine with every anger-ridden breath.

What does he want?

“...Good,” he rasps. Reluctantly, he releases me and stands, his eyes fractal from uneasy anger to bitter torment.

“Get up,” he commands, clearing his throat.

I comply, but everything within my vision is a blur. Wobbling on my feet from blood loss and adrenaline, he steadies me with a single hand on my back. A part of me wants to rip it off, clean from the bone. Another part, the part that doesn’t like falling, wants to let it stay.

Zein retrieves the small red towel that I had staged before everything and holds it to my neck, firmly. Moments pass like this, silence gradually enveloping us as I try to grab a hold of myself. I stare blankly into his chest even as the weight of his eyes linger on my face.

“You’re not going to send them away, are you?” I don’t specify who, but I know he understands.

“...No. By the law, they don’t belong to him anymore.”

Relief envelops me. At least, that part of me.

He eventually drops the towel only to secure a salved arument bandage along the fresh puncture wounds. The immediate evaporation of pain is enough to make me gasp.

Zein’s hand slowly drops to my back and pulls inward, pulling me to his body. Rage gives way to utter shock and confusion.

What is he—?

His heat radiates across borders, warm and comforting—starkly different from the deranged and chilly atmosphere, from his very actions moments before. The citrus scent of his skin fills my nostrils and for a moment, I am not myself. For a second, the walls drop, and I am suddenly aware of his heart beat.

Ba-bump, ba-bump.

Exactly like mine.

Even as I’m drawn into stagnancy by Zein’s sheltering gait, I rediscover myself and curse my weakness. Vampires and humans are not alike in the slightest. His fingers slide across my shoulder blade, but I push away, everything a jumbled mess in my mind as I turn to stumble toward the door.

“Permission to leave, my lord,” I request as the knots tighten within my stomach.

“Granted,” he replies reluctantly.

“Thank God,” I mutter, pushing open the wooden doors. I don’t know which is more powerful—the strange throbbing from my heart or the painful throbbing from my neck. But what I do know, is that Zein is not my ally.

✽✽✽

“He did that?” Katarii’s jaw drops like the wooden fork from her hand. “You said that?”

“Yes, but don’t tell anyone,” I beg her and Savvy, my mind swimming in a constant, horrid replay. “I think there are enough rumors going on right now. I don’t need anyone to know about this.”

“That’s crazy,” Savvy says shaking her head in disbelief and I can’t tell if she’s referring to what Zein did, or how I reacted. “What do you think it meant, though? One moment he’s angry and the next he’s… embracing you?”

“He’s unpredictable. I have no idea,” I answer, burying my head in my elbows. From what I’ve noticed so far, punishment is conflicting for Zein. I wonder if he actually hates power plays, which would be so not vampire-esque.

“You don’t think he’s planning on dipping into your other services, do you?” I ask, trying to recall what my Other Services of a Supply Unit professor had taught on the awkward subject. Although I think I’m the only one who found it awkward. The other, brainwashed supply units seemed fond of the idea.

Savvy looks miles away in her own thoughts. “I mean, maybe? But it shouldn’t even be an issue with Zein. Remember what Emi said? He’s never messed with supply units like that. Not even Anaya.”

“...He told me I overestimate his patience right before he bit me,” I admit, readjusting the ribbon around my neck.

Savvy offers me a surreptitious side-glance.

“Finally. You hit on the subject that actually matters.” Katarii’s naturally deep voice booms. We whip our heads toward her.

“Is it impossible to be quiet? For once?” she barks at me, her knuckles curling on the cement table. “Whatever it was, Lord Zein was not happy. What does it mean