Blood's Fury (Deadly Beauties 1)

He smirks as he places me on his bed, and then he tugs his mask off to reveal the face I'm getting far too used to seeing. I take a moment to drink in my surroundings. It's a neutral colored scheme. Given the fact he's a dark user, I was expecting something a little more... gothic?

There's nothing dark at all about his room. In fact, it's actually a light, cozy sort of atmosphere. The taupe walls mingle with the splashes of red art. No personal pictures adorn the space, but there are plenty of wild, enthralling sculptures and paintings.

He takes interest in my bemused facial expression just before he rips my sleeve off my shoulder to reveal the severity of the wound I refuse to look at. He flinches, and guilt shades his eyes as he pulls out medical supplies.

"Let me guess, you were expecting dark crosses, voodoo dolls, pentagrams... that sort of thing," he says in a forced mocking tone, his attention more focused on my shoulder.

The living room had been simple, nice, even elegant, but I thought that was just for the sake of appearances.

"Maybe a skull and cross sort of theme."

He lets a laugh out as he smears something over my shoulder. His perfectly crisp blue eyes find mine as I take a deep breath. The concern I see is genuine, which makes me genuinely confused.

"Be glad Isolis doesn't come from a strong sire. His venom is weak," he says to break the awkward silence.

His eyes fall back down to my wound, and I flinch as he starts pressing harder against the open bites I still refuse to view.

"He sure as hell felt pretty strong to me."

He laughs at my candor, and then shakes his head as he eases off the bed. His soft, satin bedspread is almost slippery. The vibrant red goes well with the trickle of blood still falling off me. It's a good thing he has magic, otherwise getting the blood stains out would be a bitch.

"He is strong. I guess I should elaborate. Just because his venom is weak, that doesn't mean he's weak. It means he comes from a lesser bloodline. The stronger bloodlines have much more painful venom. Once, I spent days on my back screaming in agony."

I shiver as my mind falls back to the second, almost fatal bite I received. I too spent days on my back, screaming out my torture.

"What did he mean by something big is coming? And what rituals were you talking about?"

He shrugs, as if he's not dwelling on the fanged beast's spewed threat.

"They always say something big is coming. As for the rituals, we don't know what they were for. That's kind of why I asked him."

His playfully poking tone makes me roll my eyes, and then he kneels before me to start bandaging my newest set of bite marks.

"How am I going to explain this to Kane?" I huff out.

"It'll heal within twenty minutes. That medicine is some of my aunt's best work."

It's obvious he's a little closer to his aunt than his mother. Should I pry?

"So, you and your aunt are close?"

He smiles, and then he pulls off his shirt, as if he's trying to make me blush and squirm.

"Very. She should have been my mother. Life sure as hell would have been simpler. Now, let's get back to you. How did you control the energy orbs?"

He turns to me as he pulls out another, clean, blood-free shirt and pulls it over his head. His bottom lip folds between his teeth - the metal ring included - as he waits for me to answer the question I never usually do.

"Do you remember that trust conversation we had?" I ask curiously.

"I think it's time you start trusting me so I can start helping you. That's a lot of power, and Isolis just saw you use it. He got away tonight. Though he'll surely flee town now that he's lost his mignons, he'll be back. You need to be ready. Now trust me."

Hearing a dark user tell a light user to trust them is almost comical, but I really don't have a choice. He can't allow his friends to tell his council what I'm already capable of.

"It's my father's magic. I can control energy just as he does, but it's already strong enough to do some serious damage. If your guys tell-"

"They won't. They don't even know your name or your face so it wouldn't do them any good to tell. You seemed so in-control over it, but I could tell you were holding back. Why?"

Because it makes me a psychopathic freak to use it at full strength.