Chapter One
Rain patters against the pavement as Cain kisses me.
I thread my fingers through the soft curls at the nape of his neck. They’re slightly damp, and I can smell the woodsy shampoo he used, as though he just stepped out of the shower. Something about it makes my core tighten, and I moan into Cain’s mouth, pressing closer. His erection teases my lower stomach. “Fuck,” he groans. “Charlotte—”
Headlights sweep past. From the corner of my eye, I see a car reverse and stop at the mouth of the alley. Alexei, my driver for the past fifteen years, gets out and circles the hood of the car. His silver hair—rare in our world, as humans don’t typically reach old age due to our brutal treatment of them—glints in the streetlights. “Are you ready to go home, Your Highness?” he calls, opening the back door.
Before I can answer, a feminine voice shouts drunkenly to the stars, “Carpe noctem!”
It sounds like she’s a few blocks away. Seize the night, she’d said. It’s essentially the party anthem for vampires who still frequent the clubs. For vampires like myself, who much prefer the company of a novel and a large glass of wine every night, I only go when Cain is able to persuade me with promises of decadent blood and delicious sex.
I’m an introvert, not a prude.
As the echo of the vampire’s shout fades to nothing, I realize Alexei is still waiting for my answer. Cain is waiting for me to speak, as well.
I give the handsome vampire a sympathetic smile. We met on a dating app a few months ago, and I’ll freely admit that I’ve become rather fond of Cain… but going to bed before dawn is more tempting right now. “Sleep well,” I say.
Before the vampire can persuade me otherwise, I duck under his arm and hurry toward the street. I hear Cain release a long-suffering sigh. We’ve had sex before, dozens of times, but now I’m leaving him with balls as blue as the streets of Lancaster.
Morning is coming, anyway—there wouldn’t have been much time to enjoy each other. While our kind won’t burst into flame, as old human legends depict, sunlight does accelerate the depletion of our blood. We prefer the comfortable glow of moonlight, and as such, the rest of the city is forced to live by night, as well.
After a moment, Cain apparently decides to follow me anyway. I hear his footsteps and glance behind, catching sight of his playful pout. I’m forced to pause when a group of fairies walks past, which allows Cain to catch up. Their wings glitter as they sing one of this month’s chart toppers, and I avert my gaze, thinking of the pair hanging in my father’s study.
I can’t remember the name of the song, but I know the singer is a water nymph. There aren’t many left due to the limited number of natural springs and waterways, but those who survived the pollution and virus outbreaks have mostly adapted to life outside water.
Just as Cain reaches for my waist, the fairies finish passing. I escape his grasp, laughing, and dart into the car. I raise my eyebrows when he slides in after me. “What do you think you’re doing?”
Alexei lingers at the door, his lavender eyes on the vampire next to me. Cain ignores him. “Why, seeing you home, Your Highness. What kind of date would I be if I let someone else do it?”
“It’s fine, Alexei,” I tell the old man, flashing him a grin that reveals my delicate fangs. I’m no helpless human.
Apparently not reassured, a frown flits across Alexei’s face before he pulls back and closes the door.
As the car moves away from the curb and merges into traffic, Cain’s long fingers reach for the hem of my knee-length maroon dress. My eyes meet Alexei’s in the rearview mirror, and the blood I drank not too long ago rushes to my cheeks. I shove Cain’s hand away. “Stop it,” I insist, trying not to laugh. “We’re not exactly alone here.”
A line deepens between Cain’s brows. His scarlet eyes glance around the backseat before his gaze lands on the back of Alexei’s head. “You’re worried about the slave?” he asks, a note of incredulity in his voice.
Now I’m frowning, too. “Yes, I am.”
A brief silence falls between us, but Cain can’t be still or uncertain for long. Within a minute, he’s teasing me again, trailing the tip of his finger along the inside of my thigh. While I try not to giggle and continually block his wandering hand, he whispers in my ear. Charming, dirty nothings that make my insides heat.
In a metropolis of over three million citizens, it can take a while to get home. Between kissing Cain and keeping track of his mischievous hands, I catch glimpses of the city, everything covered in an ethereal glow. It’s that halfway time, the sky trapped between night and morning, not quite one thing, not quite something else. My favorite time.
A car driving alongside us pulls ahead at a light, proudly displaying a collection of bumper stickers. Caution: I don’t brake for vampires, one reads. Another shows a bible verse from Leviticus. You shall not eat any flesh with the blood in it.
While the Vampire King hasn’t made it strictly illegal to speak out against our kind, I’m certain the owner of that Mercedes Benz is closely monitored by his security team. It’s probably a subspecies of some kind—shapeshifter, fairy, or nymph—because even the free humans who live within these walls don’t have the freedom to defy us.
I lose sight of the other car when ours pulls onto Travesty Road. Turning back to Cain, I watch as he realizes he’s missed his chance. Heaving another sigh, the young vampire cups my face between his cool, smooth hands. His forehead presses to mine and his breath touches my mouth, a gentle exhale that smells of hard liquor. “How do you have such a kind heart, Charlotte of House Travesty?” he whispers.
“How do you have such a nice ass, Cain of House Broadbent?” I whisper back. “It makes being annoyed with you so difficult.”
Just as he starts to respond, familiar lights appear ahead. Two of them, each mounted on elegant stands flanking either side of the gate. Cain wordlessly reaches for the door handle, knowing this is as far as Alexei will allow him—only our staff and family are allowed through those gates.
“I hope you have delicious dreams, sweet girl.” With a mischievous glint in his eye, Cain leans forward and gives me a long, thorough kiss. I don’t stop him this time, since it could very well be the last night we see each other. Then, moving with a preternatural speed that stirs the strands of hair around my face, Cain gets out of the car.
As he closes the door, he doesn’t say anything about the Awakening. I’ve seen him almost every night this week, so there’s nothing left to say at this point. His own happened last year, and since then, he has been living in Kin, spending his father’s money and dating his way through the city. That’s why we work well together—neither of us has any expectations of the other. Eventually, Cain will settle down and make a good match, and within the next few days, I’ll be Awakening and starting my new life.
“Goodbye,” I whisper, watching him go.
Cain must hear the words—there aren’t many other sounds to drown them out—but he doesn’t look back. As he’s swallowed by the glittering lights of the city, his stride is so confident, his whistle so boyish and charming. Seeing this side of him, it’s difficult to believe how vicious he’d been with that human at the club tonight. The purple-haired vampire groupie had been taken away by one of the bartenders with part of her neck missing.