“Etienne lent me books about your race,” she said finally. And if she recalled correctly, that one line had summed up the painful lesson the Caros learned after their race gave birth to the world’s first vampire because of love. They had transformed themselves into the cold race since then, not wanting to risk history repeating itself.
“Oh.”
Caylie was gazing at her so oddly now, and it made her feel self-conscious. “What?”
“Did Etienne also tell you we’re quite the patriotic race?”
Spencer shook her head.
“Don’t get me wrong. We’re super selfish, too, and yes, cold, and addicted to pleasure. But above all else, we were trained from the day of our birth to put our race first. We wouldn’t risk exposure for anything, so for Etienne to trust you with those books…”
Spencer tried her best not to think about what Caylie was implying. The other girl was just being overly hopeful and reading too much in Etienne’s actions. That was all there was to it. So she quickly changed the subject, saying, “You still haven’t told me what all those negative write-ups are about.”
“You still haven’t figured it out?” Caylie asked.
Spencer shook her head.
“My fiancée is usually the smartest person in the room,” the other girl confided in a whisper, “but in this case I’m totally siding with your man. I told you before that both Luka and Etienne share the same weakness, right?”
“And?”
“Luka thinks chemically compatible blood made men like him and Etienne predisposed to love the two of us. Your man, however, is determined to prove otherwise. He wants to show everyone that love – even though it’s intangible and unquantifiable – was what turned your sangferia into something chemically compatible with his, and that’s why all the Caros have been laughing at him.”
Chapter Twenty-One
“Welcome back, Your Highness.”
“Evening, Anderson.” Etienne rubbed his temples wearily as he walked inside his apartment. Spencer’s scent in the air seemed particularly prominent tonight, and since he could only be imagining such a thing, he wondered if all the sleepless nights of the past weeks had finally caught up with him.
It had been over a month since Spencer walked out of his life, and since then, work had been the only thing that effectively kept him from stalking her or, worse, from making a mess of her life anew by begging her to give him another chance. It was also better this way, he tried to convince himself, since vampire attacks had increased in alarming frequency in the past few days, and it seemed only a matter of time before Riyu’s premonition of a grim future were to come true.
The vampires were becoming bolder and violent, almost as if they were taunting other races with every bloodless corpse they left for human law enforcement to identify. Vampires didn’t give a damn if they were discovered, but Caros and the other races did, and it was this that tied their collective hands in a way that vampires would never find themselves similarly restrained.
Spencer’s scent grew stronger as he took the stairs leading to his room, and even though he knew it was only a product of his imagination, it was more than enough to have his fangs flash out, and hunger for the unforgettable taste of her blood struck him.
Fuck.
Maybe it was time he took a break and let someone temporarily take over the experiments. It wasn’t as if anything would change, anyway. He had hurt her beyond forgiveness, and if he truly loved her, he would let–
Thud. Thud. Thud.
This time, he knew he wasn’t imagining things. That was the sound of someone’s heart beating, and since he could still hear Etienne’s footsteps moving around in the kitchen—
Thud. Thud. Thud.
He moved in a burst of speed, his Caro senses allowing him to track the source all the way to his own fucking bedroom, and…holy fuck!
One moment, Spencer was seated on the edge of Etienne’s bed, heart racing madly upon hearing his voice coming from downstairs. The next thing she knew, she was flat on her back, fingers curled around her throat, and a pair of viciously sharp fangs flashing out before her very eyes.
Shock and terror got to her before common sense kicked in, but just as her lips parted, her gaze clashed with his, and the scream died in her throat. He was still devastatingly handsome as ever, but there was a gauntness to him that she had never seen before. His clothes, which were usually a perfect fit on him, seemed a size too big now. She wasn’t used to seeing him like this. Didn’t want to see him like this. Because it hurt.
She swallowed hard, wanting to speak, but she couldn’t. She had dreamt of him so often that it sometimes she felt he had never been gone from her life. But now that she was really seeing him…