Page 72 of Thicker than Blood

“What does that mean?” I ask.

Elias only smiles at me, but I notice the glare he shoots his friend.

“Elias isn’t a permanent companion kind of vampire,” Jagger says. “At least, he hasn’t been in nearly a thousand years.”

“Is that how old you are?” Enyo asks, chewing his food. “What big event was happening when you were turned?”

“Nothing of note,” Elias answers. “Or I don’t remember. Hard to say. My history is a long one. Many things have happened along the way.”

“What year was it?” Enyo asks.

Elias waves his hand in the air, gesturing vaguely. “Sometime around ten-thirty or so. The details are murky.”

I stare at the man before me, in awe of all he must have seen and experienced in his long life.

“Is it true you were French nobility?” I ask.

He blinks as his eyes temporarily cloud over. “Yes, but also no. The man who fathered me was part of the royal family, but my mother, bless her tired soul, was but a maid. He took her innocence when she was barely fourteen, resulting in my birth. I was raised in the palace, but in the servant’s quarters.” He kisses my palm again, rubbing his lips against my skin. “Hated by my peers for receiving special attention from the prince, resented by the royal family for my mere bastard existence.”

He delivers the somber words with detached nonchalance. I guess it’s been long enough that it no longer hurts.

“Obviously, I prefer the French nobility lore,” he continues. “Adds to my mystique, no?”

“Yes. How many people know the truth?”

Elias glances around the table. “Two mortals now. My closest friends and my faithful companion, Benicio.”

I stop chewing. “Me and Enyo are the only mortals who know?”

He nods. “No one has asked in centuries, and those who asked before that were met with an aggressive response.”

“Did ya kill them?” Enyo asks, grinning.

Elias grins right back. “Indeed.”

“Those were the days,” Jagger says. “Killing indiscriminately for fun and food. Now we have so many rules thanks to those assholes who let themselves be caught on film.”

“You like killing?” Enyo asks.

Jagger’s face lights up in the most unhinged way. “There’s nothing like it. Feeling the pulse dwindle as the light in their eyes dims…” He shakes his head. “It’s better than sex.”

Elias chuckles but doesn’t add to the conversation.

“Do you feel the same way, Elias?” Enyo asks.

“About killing?” He seems to ponder the question for a moment. “I do enjoy it, but it’s not better than sex. Nothing is better than that.”

I tear my gaze away to focus on my spinach. I swear there’s garlic in it. The thought of a vampire cooking with garlic makes me laugh inside. I know it’s just a myth that it bothers them, but most people don’t.

“What’s funny?” Elias asks, rubbing my hand against his cheek. “I can sense your amusement.”

“Nothing. Do you always feed when you fuck?”

His smile turns instantly sultry as his eyes heat. “Whenever possible, yes. It’s nearly impossible to quell the bloodlust otherwise.”

“I’m not truly sated until my teeth are buried in someone’s flesh,” Jagger adds. “If I can bury my cock as well…” He waggles his eyebrows at Enyo, who winks back.

“I agree with the sentiment,” Elias says. “But know that you are so much more than flesh and blood to me.”