Rhiannon Frater - Pretty When She Destroys

Staring into the face of the woman she loved with all her heart, Cassandra’s heart skipped a beat and she found it a little hard to breathe. Aimee was not only beautiful, she was pure power. Her inner strength was undeniable and sometimes a little scary.

“We’re ahead in the game, right? The ring is safe.”

“The ring is safe, Cass. The Summoner has no idea where it is. We’re going to do everything in our power to keep him from succeeding. We’re going to win.”

Cassandra rested her hands on Aimee’s, caressing the slim fingers adorned with layers of rings. She could feel the power pulsing inside the stone amulets. “We just can’t lose. I think of what my mom went through when she lived with the vampires and what it did to her. I don’t want that to happen to everyone in the world.”

Galina, Cassandra’s mother, struggled to retain memories, often slipping into the past when not grounded in the present. She kept a notebook full of tidbits she needed to remember, which included information about her own daughter. Cassandra had to place updated photos of herself alongside the recent entries so her mother would remember her daughter was now an adult. There was only one thing that Galina seemed to be able to remember without her notebook: Aimee. From the moment Galina had met Cassandra’s true love, her mother had full recall on her interactions with Aimee. At first it had hurt Cassandra’s feelings, but then she realized it was Aimee’s inner light that anchored Galina’s mind. Maybe it would slowly heal her until Cassandra’s mother wouldn’t need a notebook to remember that she no longer lived in Austin with a vampire cabal that used her for sex and blood. Maybe at last Galina would stop pining for Cian and waiting for him to come for her.

“A world ruled by The Summoner, vampires, and demons is not one I want to live in either,” Aimee said.

“Cian’s going to ask about the blood bond. What are you going to say?”

“I’m going to ask for Amaliya’s blood. Then I’ll see what I can figure out.”

“But he can find out about the myth about my blood. You found out.”

“There are a lot of myths about dhamphirs, including that you’re boneless.”

“Well, I can do that creepy compression trick,” Cassandra reminded her. It unnerved her, but Cassandra could fit through very small openings. Her body just folded up at her will, allowing her to squeeze through the tightest of spots.

“My point is that there are a lot of rumors about your kind, but not much is absolute fact. Cian’s aware of that. Hell, you aren’t consumed with the unyielding desire to kill him, are you?”

“Well...”

Aimee’s eyes narrowed.

“I’m joking! No. No. And I don’t have the unhealthy desire to drink my mother’s blood.” Cassandra made a face. “I see what you’re saying though. He doesn’t know any more than the rest of them when it comes to what I can and can’t do.”

Her girlfriend gave her a brief nod. “We control the information when it comes to what you can or can’t do.”

“I feel like I’m lying.”

“Well, you sorta are,” Aimee said. “We have to take care of ourselves. They don’t know everything that I’m capable of. Heck, I don’t know everything that I’m capable of. And, if you want to be perfectly honest, most of the people in this makeshift cabal don’t either. Amaliya is still growing into her power. So is Samantha. Out of all of us Cian is probably the only one who has a handle on his nature.”

“And then we have the mortals.” Cassandra sighed.

“It’s good that Sergio is going home.”

“Maybe Benchley and Alexia should stay out of this, too.”

Aimee shook her head. “They’ve been a part of this for too long. They know what’s up.”

Cassandra drew Aimee closer, her hands resting on her waist. Peering up at her, Cassandra said, “If you want to go, we can get my mom and try to go find a place to hide.”

Setting her slim fingers against Cassandra’s neck, Aimee leaned her forehead against Cassandra’s. Her bronze-colored hair fell around them like a fragrant veil. “We can’t hide from this.”

With a heavy exhalation of surrender, Cassandra acknowledged this truth. “Yeah.”

“Just let me do the talking about the blood issue and trust me to deal with it. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“And don’t freak out.” Aimee kissed Cassandra’s lips tenderly.

“Keep doing that and the last thing on my mind will be freaking out,” Cassandra whispered, then returned the kiss.

“So what do you think they’re doing in there?” Benchley asked, spearing the office door with an annoyed look.

“Making out,” Eduardo decided.

“Yeah,” Alexia said wistfully. She rocked back and forth on her heels, coming across a tad forlorn.

Jeff gave her a little side hug, striving to comfort her. Alexia’s latest boyfriend had turned out to be a bit of a jerk and the break up was fresh. With a little sigh, the tomboy gave him one of her scarily strong, tight squeezes. She was small, but tough. For the last year she’d been taking krav maga, the Israeli martial arts, and he could feel it in her grip. Letting go of him, Alexia hopped away and sat on the edge of the table.

Jeff glanced over his shoulder to check on Samantha. She was still talking to Rachoń and seemed not to be intimidated at all. The female vampire’s imposing demeanor and keen intelligence made Jeff uneasy. Although Cian had accepted Rachoń’s offer of support of their endeavors, she was still a notorious vampire with a long history of not so pleasant exploits. Perhaps she was good to her family, but she was ruthless where all others were concerned. Jeff couldn’t help but worry about her playing them all for fools and plotting behind their backs. Stupid vampires were easy to deal with. Smart ones were terrifying.

Benchley must have noted his interest in the conversation across the room, because he said, “What do you think they’re they talking about?”

“Rachoń wants to know if Samantha saw Prosper’s ghost in the graveyard,” Eduardo answered, yawning dramatically and flashing his sharp canines.

“Oh.” Benchley obviously hadn’t considered that Rachoń might be interested in such a thing. “I guess that makes sense.”

“I’m sure Amaliya has asked Samantha about Innocente.” Alexia sighed and plunged her hands into the pockets of her hoodie. “Hell, I was tempted to ask about Mom and Dad.”

The siblings’ parents had died in a car accident and only the two kids in the back seat had survived. Their parents’ death was the main reason Alexia and Benchley had come into Jeff’s bookstore seeking answers about the afterlife and how he’d ended up befriending them.

“Well, I don’t like her talking to Sam. We should go over there.” Benchley folded his arms over his chest, set his feet apart, and glowered at the vampire.

“We’re in the same room, Bench.” Jeff was uncomfortable, too, but Samantha looked calm and interested in whatever Rachoń was saying.

“And she’s a phasmagus,” Alexia added.

“And I’m here,” Eduardo said, pretending to stretch so he could flex his impressive arms.

Alexia feigned gagging.

Eduardo grinned.

“Still...” Benchley frowned, ignoring the moment of lightheartedness.

Jeff’s best friend tended to be overly protective of Samantha due to his still unresolved crush on her. Jeff didn’t mind it. Benchley had a terrible track record when it came to dating and tended to be infatuated with unattainable women. Jeff wasn’t too surprised that Benchley mooned over Samantha, but he was hoping he’d be over it soon.

Sergio emerged from the nearby restroom and strode over. Amaliya’s cousin was tall, muscular, and a little imposing until he smiled. He was loyal and good-natured, but tonight he was scowling almost as much as Benchley.