The Blood of Angels: Divine Vampires by Selena Kitt Page B

the mouth before turning me around and pointing me down the hall. “Unless you want to be her breakfast, I suggest you go into the bedroom and wait for me.”
    I nod, swallowing hard as I glance back, seeing the dark look in Zeph’s eyes, remembering the hungry one in Muriel’s. I suddenly remember what they told me just before they granted my wish. The words echo in my head.
    You realize becoming mortal for any length of time leaves you subject to all the possible consequences, including the possibility of injury or death?
    And my first thought had been— what could happen in twenty-four hours?
    I hadn’t counted on vampires.
    “Go!” Zeph smacks my bottom for good measure and I yelp. It stings.
    “I’m going!” I insist, scooting down the hall.
    Zeph waits for me to go in. Then he waits for me to slowly close the door.
    I stand there shaking for a moment, remembering the inhuman look in Muriel’s eyes. The unquenchable thirst in them. If Zeph hadn’t been there…
    “What did you kiss her for?” Char’s voice rises in anger. I can hear him, even through the door. “She’s not sleeping fucking beauty!”
    And I remember my own anger, my jealousy. I want to hear more about that kiss.
    I tell myself to just get back into bed and wait for Zeph. I tell myself that I don’t want to be some young vampire’s first meal. I tell myself that Zeph is likely to kill me himself if he finds I’ve disobeyed him. I tell myself that curiosity killed the cat.
    And then I open the door. Just a crack. Just enough so I can hear.
    “How long has she been in love with you?” Zeph asks quietly.
    I’m glad I opened the door, because I wouldn’t have been able to hear them through it, not now that they’re talking in reasonable tones.
    “Fuck, Zeph. It’s not my damned fault!”
    “How long?”
    Char sighs. “What, Mr. Know It All, you couldn’t see that?”
    “It was… murky,” Zeph replies. “I think she was trying to keep me out. She’s still trying. She doesn’t want me to know. She doesn’t want you to know.”
    “Why did you kiss her?” Char asks again. His voice shakes slightly, probably in anger. It’s clear he cares for Muriel. Has he turned her into a vampire?
    “I didn’t do it for kicks!” Zeph snaps. “Listen, in her mind, she thought I was you, It… it was all I could do to bring her fully here.”
    “Don’t!” Muriel croaks, speaking for the first time. Her voice is like gravel. I remember how I felt, waking up on Zeph’s couch, cold, alone, in an unfamiliar human body. “Don’t you dare tell him!”
    “Tell me what?” Char sounds almost as confused as I feel.
    “Take her home, Char.” Zeph sighs. “Feed her. Talk to her. Maybe she’ll tell you what happened. She knows. She remembers.”
    “Goddamnit, tell me!” Char insists.
    I remember how they wrestled together and wonder if they’re going to start again. I check to make sure there’s a lock on the door, in case they go at it and Muriel decides to follow her nose and make a meal of me.
    Not that I’m sure a lock would keep her out.
    “It’s not for me to tell.” Zeph isn’t going to say, I know by the tone of his voice. I know so little and so much about this man all at once. “Go home. Both of you, go home.”
    “So you can get back to your twenty-four hour fling?”
    “Char, don’t.” There’s a warning in Zeph’s voice. I don’t like being reminded of how little time we have either. Or being called a “fling.” It reduces what we have together. What we have is outside of time.
    “Are you going to turn her?” Char’s question turns me cold. Turn me? Into a vampire? Is that what he means? I imagine waking up like Muriel and shudder.
    “Are you mad?” Zeph exclaims.
    “You could, you know.” Char sounds so calm, so casual, talking about turning me into one of them. A part of me is appalled, but another part of me comes alive. I suddenly have a little bit of hope. Is it possible? I’m human now. They