Placations must be made. For now at least. If her and Serena’s plan worked out, the vampires might be working for them in the near future. A den of vampires at their side couldn’t hurt their chances against Sawyer.
Kuvon caught the vial out of the air. He opened his hand and looked over the vial.
“Blood,” Serena offered. “The coloration–”
“What is this insult? Do you wish for death or are you merely an idiot?”
The vampires around the room, including the guards at the door, all readied themselves. The ones seated swung their legs over to one side, preparing to stand. The bartender ceased his obsessive cleaning of his glass.
Nel’s head whipped around to stare at all of them as she shrunk in closer to Eva. Eva didn’t move. She didn’t need to in order to see. And she wasn’t worried.
They had expected that.
“I’m sorry?” Serena said. “You’re going to have to elaborate on your meaning.”
“Cold blood? You stole directly from my watcher’s veins. This–”
“Perhaps, my Lord Kuvon, you might unseal the vial before making your decision. This blood is far from ordinary and its source is not readily available.”
Kuvon gave her the evil eye before turning his gaze to the vial in his hands once again. With slow yet deliberate movements, he flicked the top off with his thumb.
The reaction was almost instant. Every vampire in the room took a deep breath at the same time. They all leaned forwards, trying to get closer to the source.
Eva had to fight to keep her smile off her face. Instead, she continued to face forward with the same neutral expression that she had worn for the entire meeting.
Kuvon’s tongue traced across his lips. His eye contact with the vial remained unbroken. “I thought that I had smelled something sweet.” His eyes flicked up to meet with Eva’s blindfold before they dropped back to the vial. “So it was this.”
That was something of a relief. They had been hoping that the vampire wouldn’t assume the blood to be her blood. If they did make the connection, Serena had been worried that they might fight in an attempt to capture her as some kind of blood doll.
So long as they didn’t believe her to be the source, Serena had a cover story ready. Any scent of the blood on Eva would just be assumed to be from contact with the vials.
Without even asking if it was poisoned, he put the edge of the vial to his lips and tilted the entire thing back. Eva used her control over the blood to ensure that every last drop made it into his mouth. Anything left over could potentially be used against her. Something that Eva was not willing to allow.
He pulled the vial away from his lips with a long sigh. “Where did you come across such a treat?”
“I’m originally from Michigan. We have a dragon preserve near my home.”
“This is not dragon blood.”
“No. It is the blood of a crossbreed. Difficult and dangerous to get. Normally. Thankfully, I struck up something of a friendship with one particular crossbreed. Whenever I’m in the area, I pick up a few vials.”
“You have more?” he asked as he flipped the vial over between his fingers. His eyes were switching between Serena, Eva, and the vial with every flip.
Serena turned back towards Eva. Eva gave her a curt nod.
“Enough for you to have another and a single vial to all of your vampires. Your permission willing, of course.”
All the vampires perked up at being included in the deal. All except for Lord Kuvon, of course. He likely wanted the vials all to himself. With the offer made to his den, he couldn’t deny it without breeding resentment among the vampires.
His narrowed eyes flicked to the bartender before sweeping across the room.
After a moment, he smiled. He spread his arms wide and let out a few quick laughs. “A most generous offer,” he said. “I believe it will serve as a suitable restitution for your offense.”
Again, Serena turned and nodded in Eva’s direction.
Eva pulled six vials out of her jacket. Technically, they had enough for nine vampires. Plus all the demon blood she had, though none of them would want that according to Serena. Eva tossed the vials around the room, hitting each vampire with perfect accuracy.
Some uncapped it the moment it was in their hands and immediately downed it. Others were more wary. The bartender examined it. Holding the vial in his hands, sniffing it, tasting just a drop at first. The man farthest from Kuvon seemed to savor it, swishing a small portion around in his mouth before finally swallowing it.
Kuvon himself placed the vial inside a pocket of his jacket. “I think I’ll savor this one on my own at a later time,” he said, patting the pocket.
Eva wanted to protest. The longer he went without drinking it, the higher chance it would fall into someone’s hands that she did not want to have it.
Not that she wanted
Of course, maybe that wouldn’t even stop anyone. She could still see the blood resting in the vampires’ stomachs. It was plain to see, separate and distinct from the unmoving, nonliving blood that made up the rest of the vampires’ bodies.
