Chapter 25 Blood
BLOOD
RAE
Ash’s jaw clenched, and Zeke’s mouth hung open. Even Cyn looked surprised. I dared to look at Ezra, and the intensity of his unwavering stare hit like a physical force.
“What? Did I say something wrong?”
“Hold the fuck up,” Cyn pressed his hands on the counter, rising to his feet. “Are you—are you saying Ezra’s blood tasted like candy to you?”
Heat rushed to my face, making my cheeks burn. “I don’t know,” I mumbled. “I don’t remember much of what happened once he bit me.”
Ash tilted his head. “Then what made you ask that?”
I grabbed the cloth, pressing on his wound as I wrapped his hand in gauze. “I woke up with a sweet taste in my mouth, but I don’t remember eating anything.”
His voice softened. “Sweet taste?”
Shrugging, I taped gauze in place. “It’s not a big deal. Forget I asked.”
“Maybe it’s just your blood,” Zeke said, looking at Ezra.
Ezra’s eyes narrowed.
“It really isn’t a big deal. It’s not like I’m gonna drink infernal blood again, so it doesn’t matter.” I looked at each of them, trying to understand why they looked either uncomfortable, pissed, or confused. “I’m sorry if I said something I shouldn’t. I just know human blood tastes like copper.”
“All blood tastes metallic,” Zeke said, a grim look on his face. “It’s why I don’t like it.” He motioned to Ash and Ezra. “They put it in alcohol because blood enhances the flavor.” His gaze slid to Cyn, but he said nothing more.
“Then why are y’all acting so weird?”
“Taste his.”
I spun around, staring at Ezra. “What?”
“Taste Ash’s blood.”
My mouth dropped. “Are you insane?”
Cyn glared at Ezra. “Yeah. What the fuck?”
“I don’t think that’s necessary,” Ash said.
As Ezra rose to his full height, I took a hesitant step back.
“What’s with you?” Cyn looked from Ezra to me. “She doesn’t need to drink anyone’s blood.”
“You all know the conditions for candied Shyrlivi blood,” Ezra all but spat. It was the most emotion I’d heard from him since he appeared in my home.
Zeke’s eyes widened. “But she’s human!”
Cyn’s face screwed up. “Wait. Did her blood taste that way to you?” He looked at Ezra.
Ezra ignored Cyn, repeating his earlier command, voice severe rather than malicious. “Taste his blood.”
“That’s enough,” Ash barked.
If I didn’t intervene, it looked as if Ash and Ezra might fight. I didn’t want to cause a rift between them. I envied their brotherly connection.
“Stop!” I turned and grabbed Ash’s hand, lifting it in front of my face. Before I could overthink it, I ran the flat of my tongue over where fresh blood remained below the gauze.
I froze at the sound of Ash’s groan, my eyes widening as I stared at him.
Had I hurt him? He didn’t sound pained.
“Sorry,” he mumbled. “Caught me off guard.” He cleared his throat and stepped around to the side of the counter.
Ezra eyed him before looking at me. “Well?”
I turned toward him. “What?”
“What did it taste like?”
I licked my lips, hesitating to answer.
If their blood tasted like dessert or candy to me, then what did that mean? From the way they all responded, I suspected nothing good. I already found myself in hot water with them. We’d only just gotten to the point where we could live together amicably. Would confessing the truth ruin that?
“She looks scared,” Zeke said.
I glanced away, clutching the hem of my shirt.
“Because it tasted like candy,” Cyn said, standing. He rounded the counter, his booted footsteps heavy on the floor.
Sucking in a sharp breath, I retreated until my back hit the wall.
Zeke stood. “Wait, Cyn, don’t.”
“What are you doing?” Ash stepped forward but stopped when Cyn waved him off.
“Testing something.”
I watched, horrified, as Cyn’s eyes turned black as night. His canines and incisors descended into sharp, gleaming fangs.
My heart galloped in my chest. He hadn’t transformed—no claws or horns—but I didn’t understand why he’d changed this much.
“Don’t bite her,” Ash snapped, coming toward us.
Cyn turned and growled like an animal. “I won’t. Back off.” He turned to me.
My breath hitched when he bit into his wrist, never taking his eyes off me. Blood poured down his arm, dripping onto the floor. He took another step closer, and I swallowed the knot in my throat.
“I want you to do the same thing you did to Ash,” he said, voice smooth and deeper than earlier. His calm tone contrasted the blood coating his lips, chin, and double fangs, making the request feel even more surreal.
“What? N-no.”
He growled, snatching my chin between his thumb and index finger. “Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I fucking said so,” he snarled.
I put my hands on his chest and shoved him back, but he barely moved. “I told you, this is my house. You don’t get to boss me around. I don’t want to drink blood.”
“Cyn, stop,” Zeke called.
Cyn threw his head back and bellowed his frustration, making me flinch.
A chill went up my spine when his black eyes met mine.
“I’m not going to fucking hurt you.” He approached me again and sneered. “Will you please drink my blood?”
“For the love of… fine! If it will shut you up. You know, I don’t make a habit of consuming blood. Most humans don’t do this sort of thing.” I leaned against the wall and opened my mouth, waiting. I wouldn’t lick him like Ash. He could drip it into my mouth and be done.
Though, he didn’t need to bite himself. A drop was all we needed.
Cyn stepped into my personal space and lifted his arm, surprising me by pressing his wrist to my open mouth instead of letting it drip onto my tongue.
I gasped the moment his blood hit my tongue, which allowed him to press his wrist snug against my open mouth. His blood tasted sweeter than the aftertaste of Ezra or the remnants of Ash’s blood. Was it because it came straight from his veins?
Cyn’s knees buckled before he righted himself with a firm hand on my hip, pulling me against him. He pressed his wrist harder to my mouth. Why wasn’t he moving away?
Our eyes met. I knew he realized I’d had a taste, but he remained in place.
I hated that I liked the taste.
I hated how something deep inside me flared to life as the blood spilled over my lips and down my chin. I hated even more that my lips clamped around his wrist. Worse, I hated myself when I sucked at the wound.
Cyn panted, his forehead dropping onto my shoulder.
My eyes closed as I succumbed to the addictive taste.
Before I knew it, someone tore his wrist away, and I slid down the wall, breathless.
“What the fuck?” Cyn rounded on Ash. But before he could throw a punch, Zeke grabbed him from behind, restraining him.
“You were about to bite her,” Ash snarled.
“No, I wasn’t!”
“Were you so far gone you didn’t realize you turned and opened your mouth to strike?”
Cyn stopped thrashing against Zeke and looked at me in horror on the floor. “What? No, I…” He pulled out of Zeke’s hold. “I didn’t mean to—I wouldn’t…”
Ezra rounded the counter and crossed the kitchen to stand in front of me.
I looked up at his figure looming over me, feeling more than a little drunk.
“I take it his blood also tasted sweet?”
My speech sounded slurred to my own ears when I asked, “What happened to me?”
Ezra studied me, his expression tight. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen this before.” He glanced at Cyn. “To have a reaction to all three of us makes little sense.”
Ash crossed his arms, watching us.
“If it were only Ash and me…” Ezra shook his head. “No. You’re human. Perhaps Shyrlivi blood affects humans differently. This isn’t something I’ve read before, but I don’t believe we’ve ever encountered a time where a human has fed on a Shyrlivi, or any other infernal, for that matter.”
“I told her I wouldn’t hurt her,” Cyn mumbled to Zeke, turning and dropping his forehead onto Zeke’s shoulder. “I wasn’t going to bite her.”
“You didn’t hurt her,” Zeke said, hand cupping the back of Cyn’s head.
I pushed off the floor on shaky legs. “I’m fine,” I mumbled when Ash came to me. “Make sure he’s okay.”
“Zeke’s got him.”
“But his wrist.” I looked at the blood spatter on the floor. Between what I’d taken—which I refused to address—and what he spilled, I worried about his well-being. “I can’t do stitches, but he’s lost too much blood.”
Ash put a hand on my shoulder, stealing my attention away from Zeke’s back, where he blocked Cyn from sight. “He’ll be fine. Mid-level injuries heal if we transform.”
“What?”
“He bit himself while transformed. He should be okay soon.”
I pressed my tongue to my cheek.
“See.” Ash held up his hand, unraveling the bandage. Only a faint scratch remained. “Superficial injuries like this heal even faster. It’d be completely gone had I transformed. But without transforming, it still heals from the magic in our blood. It’s a royal thing. Not all Shyrlivi can do this.”
For a moment, I entertained what Ash’s infernal form looked like. Would he have the same type of horns as Cyn or Ezra? Something different? How would his big body look with sharper infernal features? I shook the mental image that didn’t disturb me like it should.
Peering up at Ezra, I said, “No more experiments. I don’t care if you guys taste like candy, cake, ice cream, or any other dessert. I don’t drink blood. You don’t have to worry about it.” I crossed to the sink and wet another washcloth, cleaning my face.
I’d have to change shirts and soak this one in bleach or something to get rid of the bloodstains. I thought Grandma used club soda once—or was it peroxide? I’d need to Google it.
I turned to find them looking at me. “What?”
“Until we can figure out a way home, we need to stay with you,” Ezra said.
“I already know that,” I said, tossing the washcloth into the trash. I owned plenty more. “I’m not kicking you out just because Cyn threw a tantrum.”
“You’re a target now,” Ezra said.
“I’ve always been a target.”
His lips flattened. “You said yourself they’ve not attacked you, or tried to make physical contact until our appearance, correct?”
“Well, yeah.”
Ash approached me, taking my hand in his. “Something about our presence is making you a target. We need to look out for you.”
“This is more than us getting home now,” Zeke said.
I looked at each of them. “But if you go home, won’t it stop?”
“Someone wanted you to have that book,” Ezra said. “Anyone could have summoned us to Earth with the book, but they chose you. The question is why? If we go back, will whoever is behind this continue to come after you? I can’t say.”
I met his icy stare. “Why do you care?”
“I don’t.”
I couldn’t hide my flinch from Ash, not with him holding onto my hand.
He grimaced.
“I want to go home. That’s what I care about.” Ezra tucked his hands into his pockets. “That said, you have been kind enough to allow us to stay in your home, and I don’t like leaving debts unpaid. So until we find a way home, we will protect you. After that, you’re on your own.”
His indifference wasn’t unexpected, but it still stung.
After experiencing the bitter disdain of my aunt and uncle, I thought I’d have thicker skin. But the four of them barreled through every barrier and left me feeling raw whenever they tapped into places I felt insecure about.
Zeke came over and stood in front of me, taking my free hand. “We’re not going to let them hurt you.”
Glancing from Zeke’s hand in mine to Ash’s face, I realized lesser infernals weren’t what I needed to worry about hurting me anymore.