A Den of Tricks (A Shade of Vampire #54)

“Meh, it probably means you’re getting the hots for me and your subconscious is trying to tell you that,” I chuckled.

He almost laughed, his lips stretching into a grin. But then his serenity faded and he faltered for a second, his gaze softening as it settled on my face again. The humor rushed past us, and I suddenly felt naked in front of him, vulnerable and defenseless. His eyes lit up, and what I’d just joked about seemed to sink in.

It was all happening in slow motion, and I had a front-row seat, watching as Patrik took my weak attempt at a joke as something very serious, something he’d actually considered:

“I’m in mourning, Scarlett,” he whispered. “I’m still learning to live without Kyana, and I’m getting the hang of it, you know…”

“I… I was joking, you know—”

“Don’t think I don’t see you, Scarlett,” he went on, determined to make himself heard, and inched closer. I had to look up to maintain eye contact, and I had to work harder to keep my breathing under control, our lips mere inches apart. “I’m not blind. I’m aware of the effect that you have… The effect that you have on me, even when we’re just standing next to each other. I just don’t know what to do with that yet. But I want you to know that I see you.”

I was simply floored. Out of words. My thoughts jammed in the back of my throat and my temperature spiked.

What… What do I do with this? What do I do with what he just said?

My lips parted, my mouth trying to form some words, but nothing came out. His gaze lowered, and I noticed a shadow settling in the blue pools of his eyes.

“Good night, Scarlett,” he muttered, then walked away, disappearing into his room farther down the hall.

He left me with a spiked temperature and a riled-up heart muscle. He’d just said he saw me. He noticed me. As if… As if I were real, and more than a teammate.

I exhaled sharply and went into my room, locking the door behind me. A couple of minutes went by as I tried to make sense of the storm brewing inside me—a strange mixture of excitement and… curiosity. What did it all mean? What did he mean?

For the first time in months, I didn’t feel like I was in a one-sided limbo anymore. Patrik had just acknowledged that he was aware of me, of the… effect I had on him.

Whoa.

My room was too hot. Or at least it felt that way. I went over to the window and opened it wide, gazing at the city spreading below with dark rooftops and alleys, thick tree crowns and twinkling street lamps.

There was so much to unpack in his statement. And I also needed to get some sleep.

“I’m screwed,” I mumbled, realizing how powerful an impact Patrik had on me. It had already gone past the stage of an innocent crush. There was so much about him that I couldn’t get enough of… I was falling for him, deeply and irreversibly. “I am so screwed…”

And the fact that there was the clear possibility of one fraction of my feelings being mutual—well, that certainly added a spring to my step. I had to give it time. He needed patience and understanding, more than anything. A friend. A teammate. Someone he could rely on. It would be me. It had to be me.

Movement somewhere below caught my eye. A passing shadow that crossed my field of vision. I caught a glimpse and followed it till it reached a dark cluster of large trees on the edge of the city level. My breath hitched as I realized what I was looking at.

“Holy hell,” I breathed, feeling my eyes attempting to jump out of their sockets. “Holy friggin’ hell…”

The pit wolf I’d rescued in the gorges had followed me all the way up here. I could see it clearly, resting at the base of a tree, out of sight on that level. Its glimmering red eyes were focused on me, its mouth open and tongue hanging out like it was a good dog.

What in the world…

For a moment I thought the city’s protection spell hadn’t worked, but I quickly shook the idea away, since the pit wolf didn’t have a collar anymore. It was free. And it didn’t strike me as evil or hostile, despite its frightening appearance.

It was just sitting there, watching me quietly. It didn’t react. It didn’t even growl or glare at the Imen who passed by, less than twenty feet away from it.

You giant weirdo…

Whatever it wanted from me, it didn’t involve stringing my intestines out. That was clear. I wondered if the creature was maybe feeling thankful after I’d released it from its charmed collar.

I also had a feeling this wouldn’t be the last time I’d see the pit wolf, and it didn’t bother me. In fact, it kind of comforted me. On any other day, the presence of a giant beast waiting outside my window would have creeped the hell out of me.

But on Neraka… It was better to have a pit wolf keeping me company than invisible daemons lurking around, eager to slice me open and consume my soul.





Harper





(Daughter of Hazel & Tejus)





The night went by in what felt like seconds. I remembered putting my head down, and then my eyes peeled open to find a solitary strand of sunshine slipping through the window shutters. A cold shower was needed to get myself back into a functioning mode—the past couple of days had definitely taken their toll on me.

After we went over mission details at the infirmary, we joined the rest of the people of Azure Heights on the fourth level, at the funeral home. Scarlett and Patrik stayed behind, as they had Minah’s coffin to bring out into the procession and the daemon’s body to burn.

Thousands of Maras and Imen stood quietly outside and in the alleys surrounding the simple, cubic white building. A plethora of beautiful flowers lined both sides of the procession path, leaving about twenty feet in between, and connecting the main entrance of the funeral home to the cemetery gates down below, on the north side of the mountain.

Candles burned inside, the scent of melted wax and jasmine filling my lungs. The terrace was covered, but we all wore black, as we were about to go into the sunlight for the burial ceremony. My team and I were in our usual black leather suits, with head covers, masks, and goggles ready to be put on once we left the safety of the awnings.

The Imen and Maras had opted for the same type of clothing—black cloaks, which made the crowd look downright eerie. They all held flowers in their arms, waiting patiently for the dozens of Imen and Maras killed in the attack to be carried out in their coffins.

The silence weighed heavy on our shoulders, but there was nothing we could say or do to make this easier. The people were in pain and mourning. Loss could not be reversed.

Caspian and the remaining three Lords came down, accompanied by Vincent, Rewa, Amalia, and the other family members who had survived the explosions. They, too, wore black cloaks and brought flowers with them. Caspian crossed the funeral path and came to stand next to me, his eyes searching my face. Emilian, Farrah, Rowan, Rewa, and the others waited on the other side.

“Did you sleep?” Caspian asked, his voice low. I gave him a brief nod. “You don’t look like you slept.”