Page 104 of Infernal Secrets

I hated that I liked the taste.

I hated how something deep inside me flared to life as the blood spilled over my lips and down my chin. I hated even more that my lips clamped around his wrist. Worse, I hated myself when I sucked at the wound.

Cyn panted, his forehead dropping onto my shoulder.

My eyes closed as I succumbed to the addictive taste.

Before I knew it, someone tore his wrist away, and I slid down the wall, breathless.

“What the fuck?” Cyn rounded on Ash. But before he could throw a punch, Zeke grabbed him from behind, restraining him.

“You were about to bite her,” Ash snarled.

“No, I wasn’t!”

“Were you so far gone you didn’t realize you turned and opened your mouth to strike?”

Cyn stopped thrashing against Zeke and looked at me in horror on the floor. “What? No, I…” He pulled out of Zeke’s hold. “I didn’t mean to—I wouldn’t…”

Ezra rounded the counter and crossed the kitchen to stand in front of me.

I looked up at his figure looming over me, feeling more than a little drunk.

“I take it his blood also tasted sweet?”

My speech sounded slurred to my own ears when I asked, “What happened to me?”

Ezra studied me, his expression tight. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen this before.” He glanced at Cyn. “To have a reaction to all three of us makes little sense.”

Ash crossed his arms, watching us.

“If it were only Ash and me…” Ezra shook his head. “No. You’re human. Perhaps Shyrlivi blood affects humans differently. This isn’t something I’ve read before, but I don’t believe we’ve ever encountered a time where a human has fed on a Shyrlivi, or any other infernal, for that matter.”

“I told her I wouldn’t hurt her,” Cyn mumbled to Zeke, turning and dropping his forehead onto Zeke’s shoulder. “I wasn’t going to bite her.”

“You didn’t hurt her,” Zeke said, hand cupping the back of Cyn’s head.

I pushed off the floor on shaky legs. “I’m fine,” I mumbled when Ash came to me. “Make sure he’s okay.”

“Zeke’s got him.”

“But his wrist.” I looked at the blood spatter on the floor. Between what I’d taken—which I refused to address—and what he spilled, I worried about his well-being. “I can’t do stitches, but he’s lost too much blood.”

Ash put a hand on my shoulder, stealing my attention away from Zeke’s back, where he blocked Cyn from sight. “He’ll be fine. Mid-level injuries heal if we transform.”

“What?”

“He bit himself while transformed. He should be okay soon.”

I pressed my tongue to my cheek.

“See.” Ash held up his hand, unraveling the bandage. Only a faint scratch remained. “Superficial injuries like this heal even faster. It’d be completely gone had I transformed. But without transforming, it still heals from the magic in our blood. It’s a royal thing. Not all Shyrlivi can do this.”

For a moment, I entertained what Ash’s infernal form looked like. Would he have the same type of horns as Cyn or Ezra? Something different? How would his big body look with sharper infernal features? I shook the mental image that didn’t disturb me like it should.

Peering up at Ezra, I said, “No more experiments. I don’t care if you guys taste like candy, cake, ice cream, or any other dessert. I don’t drink blood. You don’t have to worry about it.” I crossed to the sink and wet another washcloth, cleaning my face.

I’d have to change shirts and soak this one in bleach or something to get rid of the bloodstains. I thought Grandma used club soda once—or was it peroxide? I’d need to Google it.