Page 44 of Caressed By Sin
“He bit me a lot, so much that one day I woke up with fangs that dripped with this clear liquid. I thought I’d become a vampire.” She sighed. “But I didn’t burn in the sun like him. Plus, I could go to holy, sacred spaces. I could even see myself in the mirror.”
“Any blood hunger?”
“None.”
My mind spun with so much confusion. “Utterly fascinating.”
“I must admit that we had fun for a while, except for the times when I watched him feed. I didn’t like the way he easily took human lives.”
“He doesn’t have to kill them to feed.”
She swallowed. “But he. . .liked to watch them die.”
Rage blazed through me.
“Months later, I discovered I was pregnant from the appearance of these marks.” She touched the lines on her legs. “They come when we are with child.”
“Why?”
“It’s added protection. Marks of power. A mother needs the ability to jump higher, run faster, and kick so hard that the being’s spine splits apart.”
“What did your vampire think when he realized you were pregnant?”
“He had no idea that he could birth children.”
“Few can. It takes a specific lineage of vampire to breed. They’re usually a direct line to Lilith or Lucifer—the mother and father of darkness.”
“I don’t think he truly believed it was his child.” She rolled her eyes. “He’d said as much throughout the pregnancy. But then. . .”
I tilted forward, totally captivated. “Then?”
“I had Jade months later. It was a rough birth. And she had those same green eyes as his. And that nose. And those lips. And even. . .his fangs, but they dripped with my venom.”
“Fascinating.”
“He didn’t think so. He sniffed her and jumped back. Never did he want to carry or hold her.” Sadness filled her eyes. “Then, one day. . .he just wasn’t there.”
I frowned.
“And somehow we survived.”
“Due to your will and strength.”
“And then. . .I lost her too. . .right when she turned one year old.”
“Due to him and his debt to Adae?”
“Yes.”
I’m going to kill this vampire. I just need his scent.
Fatou's voice went weak. “She’s going to turn four soon. I’ve already missed out on so much.”
Every barrier I had put in place to protect myself from further heartache in this life seemed to be crumbling away the more she told me about her story. I’d planned to not open myself to anymore beings, tired of seeing them die, exhausted with burying family and friends.
And slowly, she was breaking down all my walls, and there was nothing I could do about it.
Looking up at me, those beautiful eyes watered. “I can’t lose her too, Azar.”
