Inhuman Heritage Read Free

almost as if you’re a different girl from the one I met in that dark room.” I had met, no, saved Aribella last September from having her soul and blood stolen to be sold as black market ticket items. She was no more grateful to me for the rescue now than she had been then.
    “Nice to see you again as well, Aribella.”
    “Why did you not start dressing her sooner?” she asked addressing Aram. I stepped in front of him before he could speak and regained her attention.
    “Because he’s usually trying to get me out of my clothes.”
    I waited till Aribella, still the proper Victorian lady, turned away blushing so that I could roll my eyes at Aram. We took our seats to find that I was sat between the two brothers. One hot and one cool. I giggled a little to myself.
    I’ve always liked the theatre but more the classics, Shakespeare and the like, a lot of modern plays were dry and dull or completely off their nut, much like the writers. The play was decidedly mediocre, with flaws in both the plot and the acting but it wasn’t the most unpleasant experience in my life. It was the milling about in the theatre before the after party that bothered me. The vampires had shut their club to host it so Aram had a stream of people to smile at and shake hands with. I floated out into the lobby hovering by the door. The press had gone to camp outside the club no doubt.
    The Swan is small and I knew if fate was unkind, and it usually was, that now I was alone I would bump into Magnus. As fate would have it he appeared right then, right when I was alone and he saw me through the crowd. His hair was still the long blond mess it had always been but he was in a dark navy suit that fit his body so well and he was still so handsome. I swallowed hard trying not to let him know I’d seen him, but I couldn’t help but look his way again. He smiled at me. I felt cornered as he began to walk towards me. My pulse sped as I began to panic. What would I say to him? What would he say to me? We hadn’t parted on the best of terms. I told him that I never wanted to see him again, I’d refused his calls and Aram had refused him entrance to my apartment when he’d attempted to bring me flowers. I felt him grow closer and I took a step back watching as the candle on a stand ignited next to me. He smirked. Magnus remembered that as a sign of attraction but it could also be a sign of fear. Magnus’s smirk enlarged as he grew ever closer to me, the flame rose with each step because despite myself it was the stilted attraction between us that had my attention. I shook, because despite the fact that he was still as handsome as he had ever been, he had hurt me so very badly. I didn’t want him closer, I didn’t want him to touch me, his touch might make me scream.
    Cool flesh pressed around me as Aram appeared. He coiled his arm around me like a shield, holding me tight and drawing me into his body. Magnus stopped dead just a couple of feet away. Aram lifted my chin and smoothly planted a kiss on my lips. I closed my eyes, the caress of his mouth melted everything away. The noise of the crowd, my fear, the whole world became silent. This was the way kissing Aram had become, a perfect silent world.
    That was until the candle exploded. I pulled back from Aram to look at the mess behind us and to catch Magnus’s back as he stormed away. I caught his faint grumble for someone to clean up the candle. This time it was Aram I caught smirking.
    “You are so sweet pet,” he said licking his lips. “Wait here, I will see if Lance has returned with the transportation.” I smiled at him begrudgingly letting go of his hand as he turned to walk away from me. I stood there alone again and a girl in a red polo shirt that had Swan Theatre embroidered over the left breast bent down to my side to sweep up the candle pieces. I turned to look at her and offer my help. She glared at me for all she was worth. I was taken aback, what had I done to this girl to earn a