Chapter 23
It is the nature of the Therianthrope to hunt the Haematophage.
An instinct that dates back to the origins of their species.
Two sides of a coin, spawned by gods at war to act as champions, they were created to annihilate each other.
The gods are long gone, but the primal instinct to destroy remains…
THE EVOLUTION OF THE SUPERNAL
The Devil Fish stood two stories high, but the lower story had no windows, just a set of double doors open for admission.
Several students lingered outside, plumes of purple smoke curling from their lips.
The sweet, distinct aroma of pularia teased my nose.
The herb was a mild aphrodisiac, mimicking the buzz that came from connecting with the Weave.
It was safe in its natural form, but some bright spark had found a way to amplify its effects to create a substance called Pulse—a recreational drug for most supernals, but highly addictive to the Arcanus.
The group spotted me, nudged each other, then quickly headed inside. I was already on edge from the creepy encounter with the vanishing woman and her shack—something that the Unwoven couldn’t explain. Now my stomach fluttered, reminding me that bravado didn’t always lead to success.
“You okay?” Clary asked.
“If anyone asks me that again, I’m going to scream.”
She held up her hands. “Noted.”
I led the way into the building, shoulders pushed back to inject confidence into my stride, despite the knots forming in my stomach.
The inside of the building was open-plan, with two floors separated by a wide balcony area.
Ambient music filled the chamber and stark bulb lighting lit up the space, hung from the beams that crisscrossed overhead.
There was a bar to our left, barely visible due to the crush of people surrounding it, and plenty of mismatched seating currently occupied by students.
“Let’s grab drinks,” Dori said, already headed toward the bar.
Our group followed but I faltered, my attention drawn to the sound of deep rumbling laughter across the room.
The raucous sound came from a large, blue-haired male sprawled in an armchair, head tipped back as he let out another belly-rumbling laugh.
His chest was bare and covered in ink, bronze skin gleaming as if dusted with gold.
Several women stood around him, clutching their drinks and smiling coquettishly.
He dropped his chin, and our eyes locked across the room. His laughter stopped abruptly, and in the next moment, he was out of his seat, ambling toward me, leaving the simpering females behind.
O-kay…
He tilted his head, his smile returning as he came to stand in front of me. He was tall with a swimmer’s build and carried the scent of the ocean.
“You look so much like her, it’s uncanny,” he said.
“I’m sorry?”
“Dharma. You have her eyes. You must be Anamaya Onyx.”
He’d known my great-great-grandaunt? “I’m at a bit of a disadvantage, because I have no idea who you are.”
“My name is Arnav. I heard you were fighting tonight. I came to watch.”
“You’re not the only one.” I indicated the packed room. “But you didn’t really answer my question.”
He frowned slightly. “You weren’t told of the Onyx connection to the seafolk?”
Dammit, I should have done my reading. Wait…seafolk? “You’ll have to enlighten me.”
He sighed, a flash of annoyance coloring his features. “Well, I can’t say I’m surprised. The Coterie probably think it’s redundant information.”
I had no idea what he meant. “You’re going to have to spell it out for me, Arnav.”
He blinked sharply. “You have her blunt tongue too, I see.” His gaze dropped to my mouth, lingering for a moment before flicking back up to meet my gaze. “Dharma and I were betrothed.”
“Ana, we should go.” Dori appeared beside me, tugging on my arm.
“Wait a second, I—"
“Now!” Dori dragged me back a step.
“Go,” Arnav said, his gaze lingering. “We’ll talk later.”
He melted into the crowd, leaving me seething with questions—and more than a little annoyance with Dori.
I pulled my arm free. “What was that for?”
“He’s dangerous.”
“He was also once engaged to Dharma Onyx.” He’d known her. Actually fucking known her. He might have vital information about what happened to her. Information that he might not even realize was important.
Dori’s brows shot up. “Really?”
“Who’s engaged to who?” Benedict asked, joining us.
“Arnav said he was engaged to Dharma Onyx,” Dori said.
“The Land-Sea Pact…” Clary covered her mouth. “Oh…wow…”
I threw up my hands. “Will someone please tell me what that is?”
“You should read up on it,” Clary said. “But in short, part of the agreement states that the land folk provide men and women to the seafolk for procreation.”
“And how does that work?”
Benedict made a circle with his index finger and thumb of his left hand and poked his right index finger through it.
I rolled my eyes. “I mean, land and sea don’t mix.”
“There are ways,” Dori replied.
“And Dharma was meant to procreate…with him?”
“It sounds like it, but it obviously never happened, and from the way Arnav was looking at you just now, I get the impression he wants a redo. With you.”
Whoa. “Not happening.”
“Arnav is a bit of a manwhore,” Benedict explained. “He can get anyone he wants, and he takes advantage of the fact.”
“You could get anyone you wanted too,” Clary said.
Benedict snorted. “I have no interest in the stuck-up Arcanus females that go here.”
Twin spots of color bloomed high on Clary’s cheeks.
Was he really that clueless? “Clary and Dori aren’t stuck-up.”
“Dark skies, of course they’re not. But they’re like my sisters.” He put an arm around each of them and hugged them to his sides. “I love these gals.”
The devastation that washed over Clary’s face was so obvious to me. How did he not see it?
“Just…steer clear,” Dori warned. “Royal seafolk tend to be single-minded when they want something or…someone. But all you’ll get is a broken heart.”
Royal, eh? “Yeah, well, I’m no pushover, and when I say I’m not interested, I’m pretty single-minded about it too. If that’s what you meant by dangerous, then trust me, I’m good.”
Dori didn’t look too convinced, but then, she didn’t know me that well. No one did. I wasn’t one to wear my heart on my sleeve, had never been in love, and had no plans to start now.
“Come on, this way.” Dori wove through the masses, forging a path for us.
We went past the bar which was still heaving with people. The clink of glasses and the rise and fall of conversation melded to create a buzz in the air.
I could have done with a shot of something strong. “I guess we’re not getting drinks then.”
“It’s too busy,” Benedict said.
“I guess I’ll grab a victory drink later.”
I spotted several people with bright hair—pink, green, purple—but no blue. “Hey, is there a significance to the hair color? I assume they’re all seafolk right?”
“Not sure about all the colors,” Dori called over her shoulder, “but blue is the color of royal seafolk. This part of the sea is Arnav’s domain. The Ocean Guard answers to him. They have done so for decades.”
We passed shadowy booths draped in fabric, and the sounds coming from within made it obvious what was going on inside.
I was no prude but, seriously? “Can’t they do that in their towers?”
“It’s not what you think,” Dori said.
I arched a brow. “They’re not having sex?”
“The ones in the booth are because the feeding has escalated, but look over there.” She gestured toward a candle-lit, incense-heavy area beyond the booths, where a woman knelt between a man’s thighs, her mouth latched onto his wrist as she fed.
The man watched her with a small, satisfied smile, stroking her hair with his free hand.
This was nothing new. “A dhampir feeding on a human? So?”
“Nope,” Dori said. “That is a human feeding on a dhampir.”
“What the fuck?”
“Little-known fact,” Benedict said. “Vampire blood is intoxicating to humans and can, in some cases, give them temporary supernal abilities. Dhampir blood has a similar effect—except dhampir blood is addictive to humans. So, some dhampirs use that to coerce humans into becoming free veins and playthings, since the addicted human will do anything for a fix.”
“They call them blood whores,” Dori said, her tone flat.
I knew about veins—humans employed by pureblood vampire houses to act as walking blood bags. They were kept in the lap of luxury and well taken care of, but they were still food. Expensive food. I guess trapping someone in addiction was the cheaper way to get what you wanted.
It was sick and twisted. It took everything I had to stop myself from marching across the room and wiping that shit-eating grin off that smarmy fucker’s face. But I’d learned to pick my battles, and this was not one of them.
I gritted my teeth, turning away from the scene. “You guys actually enjoy coming here?”
“It’s the only place we can go to let off steam,” Dori said. “It’s not all bad. The market is cool, and Cockle’s Shack does the best seafood chowder. We’ll go next time.”
Static crackled, and the room fell silent as a voice blared across the building. “First fight of the night, people. Tyler Damascus versus Corrine Moon for control of two House Moon veins.”
The arena loomed ahead, the wire mesh walls reaching for the ceiling, but that was all I could see beyond the gathered crowd.
“Come on,” Benedict said. “Let’s get up on the balcony.”
We wove through the throng and up the stairs, which were already packed. It seemed everyone had the same idea to get to higher ground and a better view.
The seafolk stood out among the land folk with their vibrant hair, and it was easy to find Arnav among them. He stood a head above most everyone else.
He must have sensed me watching, because he glanced up the stairs and found me easily. His smile held emotions that seemed tied to memories of Dharma, not me.
“Excuse me. Out of the way.” Benedict nudged and elbowed a path through for us.