wants her dead in a bad way. Think about it. Why bother hunting down one ignorant female? Why spend time and resources searching for her when the first attempt on her life failed? Why risk being caught over someone seemingly insignificant?”
Cortez went silent.
“I’ve wondered about the excess blood her husband was pushing on her. I have a theory about it. Trent has his own opinion…” Mace drew in a breath and let it out slowly before going on. “I think Winston and his cohorts were trying to figure out how to turn a human.”
The sound of something shattering in the hall drew their attention. Cortez yanked the door open.
Coraline stood pale and motionless but for a quiver in her hands. At her feet lay a multicolored mess surrounded by bits of glass.
Mason cursed.
Her voice came so faintly that normal human ears would not have heard. “That won’t happen, will it?”
“No,” Mace assured. “And it’s only a theory of mine. Winston and his cohorts were arrogant enough to believe they could live forever.”
Cortez regarded his stained rug with an air of indifference. “But it is possible—”
Mace shot him a scathing look as Cora went stark white.
“You care too much for this female’s feelings, Mason,” Cortez chastised. “It is possible to turn a human. That much is common knowledge. Yet not even most vampires possess the wisdom of how it’s done. It’s a secret guarded closely by the eldest of our kind. If you’re right, that means a group of humans are trying to discover what very few of us know. It could provoke a new chapter in their war.”
“I said it was only a theory,” Mace growled, trying not to let Cora’s horrified expression bother him. “We have no concrete evidence, except…” He darted his eyes to Cora and averted them too quickly.
Her shoulders slumped. “I’m evidence.” It wasn’t a question, but a bleak understanding. And in that single phrase there seemed to be a farewell of sorts; a goodbye, perhaps, to her old, safe life. Maybe even to her previous, not so safe life, both having been free of vampires and blood. Mason felt a twinge of sympathy over that, but it was overshadowed by something far more powerful, something that gave him too much satisfaction than he was willing to admit at the moment.
Cora met his gaze as if she were sensing from him what he was trying so hard to bury. And for the first time, it was he who looked away.
* * *
“Really, I don’t mind letting you have the whole bed to yourself.” Cora repeated yet again.
Cortez had provided her with a slip of a nightgown, black and lacy, giving Mace a conspiratorial wink before taking his leave. Mace didn’t know whether to thank or curse the man.
Mason rolled his eyes. “I already feel unmanned as it is, I’ll not have a female in my charge sleeping on the floor while I’m babied on a comfortable mattress.”
After their host had left, Cora had spent an hour in the adjoining bathroom crying. If he thought she would have accepted him, he would have ignored the agony of moving and gone in there to comfort her. Yet he had no idea what he could have done or said to cease her tears. He was just as much responsible for her sorrow as Winston’s callous use of her, or the discovery that her entire life with him had been a lie. Worse, Mace was the one who had stripped away her rose-colored glasses and shoved her into a world she wasn’t ready for, a world that terrified her. And he was the one keeping her there.
Her puffy eyes tentatively glanced his way as she finally slipped under the covers next to him.
“There, see?” He offered a reassuring smile. “Plenty of room for the both of us.”
She returned his grin with an inadequate, thin-lipped facsimile.
She didn’t bother with the pillow barricade tonight. Was she becoming more relaxed around him, or did she believe he was too injured to try anything lascivious? A broken spine wouldn’t stop him if she offered him a fair
Cortez went silent.
“I’ve wondered about the excess blood her husband was pushing on her. I have a theory about it. Trent has his own opinion…” Mace drew in a breath and let it out slowly before going on. “I think Winston and his cohorts were trying to figure out how to turn a human.”
The sound of something shattering in the hall drew their attention. Cortez yanked the door open.
Coraline stood pale and motionless but for a quiver in her hands. At her feet lay a multicolored mess surrounded by bits of glass.
Mason cursed.
Her voice came so faintly that normal human ears would not have heard. “That won’t happen, will it?”
“No,” Mace assured. “And it’s only a theory of mine. Winston and his cohorts were arrogant enough to believe they could live forever.”
Cortez regarded his stained rug with an air of indifference. “But it is possible—”
Mace shot him a scathing look as Cora went stark white.
“You care too much for this female’s feelings, Mason,” Cortez chastised. “It is possible to turn a human. That much is common knowledge. Yet not even most vampires possess the wisdom of how it’s done. It’s a secret guarded closely by the eldest of our kind. If you’re right, that means a group of humans are trying to discover what very few of us know. It could provoke a new chapter in their war.”
“I said it was only a theory,” Mace growled, trying not to let Cora’s horrified expression bother him. “We have no concrete evidence, except…” He darted his eyes to Cora and averted them too quickly.
Her shoulders slumped. “I’m evidence.” It wasn’t a question, but a bleak understanding. And in that single phrase there seemed to be a farewell of sorts; a goodbye, perhaps, to her old, safe life. Maybe even to her previous, not so safe life, both having been free of vampires and blood. Mason felt a twinge of sympathy over that, but it was overshadowed by something far more powerful, something that gave him too much satisfaction than he was willing to admit at the moment.
Cora met his gaze as if she were sensing from him what he was trying so hard to bury. And for the first time, it was he who looked away.
* * *
“Really, I don’t mind letting you have the whole bed to yourself.” Cora repeated yet again.
Cortez had provided her with a slip of a nightgown, black and lacy, giving Mace a conspiratorial wink before taking his leave. Mace didn’t know whether to thank or curse the man.
Mason rolled his eyes. “I already feel unmanned as it is, I’ll not have a female in my charge sleeping on the floor while I’m babied on a comfortable mattress.”
After their host had left, Cora had spent an hour in the adjoining bathroom crying. If he thought she would have accepted him, he would have ignored the agony of moving and gone in there to comfort her. Yet he had no idea what he could have done or said to cease her tears. He was just as much responsible for her sorrow as Winston’s callous use of her, or the discovery that her entire life with him had been a lie. Worse, Mace was the one who had stripped away her rose-colored glasses and shoved her into a world she wasn’t ready for, a world that terrified her. And he was the one keeping her there.
Her puffy eyes tentatively glanced his way as she finally slipped under the covers next to him.
“There, see?” He offered a reassuring smile. “Plenty of room for the both of us.”
She returned his grin with an inadequate, thin-lipped facsimile.
She didn’t bother with the pillow barricade tonight. Was she becoming more relaxed around him, or did she believe he was too injured to try anything lascivious? A broken spine wouldn’t stop him if she offered him a fair
Similar Books
