Page 104 of Thorn Evermore
“This is amazing,” Kyson gushes, perched on my lap. “Why didn’t we do this sooner?”
“I was being selfish, sweetheart. I didn’t want the other vampires to see you.”
“Silly. I only have eyes for you.”
“I know, but I’d have to murder anyone who touched you, and killing other vampires is frowned upon.”
He laughs, wiggling his gorgeous bottom on my lap. “What’s the holiday again?”
“It’s the start of Festa del Sangue,” Bowie says, sitting on Syn’s lap. “The blood festival. Thirty nights of debauchery. I’m surprised it’s not your favorite holiday, Thorn.”
“Every night is debauchery for Thorn,” Syn snorts.
“Different kind these days,” I reply, winking at Kyson and drawing a sweet giggle from his lips.
“Yeah, we know,” Raphael says. “You think we can’t hear all that?”
Haven smacks his lover’s chest playfully. “Be nice. We make plenty of noise too.”
Tru laughs, draped around Midnight. I love the effect he’s had on my brother, soothing a dark soul into a pool of goop who only has eyes for his mate. He hasn’t lost his edge at work though. The man is still beautifully brutal.
Eros doesn’t seem to be paying attention as he plays with Justice’s hair, but he surprises me, chiming in with, “I love it. It’s the sound of happiness.”
Yves, who until now has been sitting back with some lovely demon twink on his lap, smiles. “I agree with Eros. It’s music to my ears.”
Syn and I both zero in on our maker, checking for his true emotions. When Syn makes eye contact with me, I nod. Yves is content. Maybe not happy, but content is okay for now.
“So what do we do during the blood festival?” Kyson asks, taking in the chaos of the club.
“We hunt,” Syn says.
“And feed,” Midnight adds.
“And fuck a lot,” Eros says, laughing.
“We already do that,” Justice says.
“We celebrate what we are,” Raphael says. “We shouldn’t exist, any of us, yet we do. Right under the noses of polite and not so polite society. Here we are our truest selves.”
“Yes,” Yves says. “In times past, mortals were not safe during the Sangue.”
“They aren’t that safe now,” I reply. “We’re just more careful.”
“What will we do?” Kyson asks.
“We lift the veil,” Syn answers, “revealing Lair to the public and allowing foolish mortals access.”
“Oh.” Kyson shivers. “Do… do we kill them?”
“No,” Yves answers. “It’s forbidden during Sangue for liability reasons. Every mortal is provided a drink to forgettheir evening before being sent on their way, slightly drained and thoroughly debauched, but alive and well.”
“Sounds fun,” Kyson says, rubbing his hand on my chest. “You’ll show me how to do it right?”
“Of course. We’re going to have a lot of fun.”
I’m about to take Kyson to the dancefloor when a young man approaches the table carefully. Hale is by his side, clearly on alert. The visitor is most definitely a vampire, but not one I’ve seen before.
“Yves Orpheus?” he asks, glancing at all of us.