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“Vain much?”
“I’ll get you aone that says KITTY”
She kneas baiting her but had to fight not to react nonetheless Thankfully, keeping her heels froood distraction They were on the cracked sideithin half abeside her “How can you see out of those glasses?”
“Good night vision”
As she watched, he took off his sunglasses and folded them away into the top pocket of his suit jacket And his eyes, they reflected the paltry light on this street in a way that was probably eerie, but that riveted Holly
It irritated her to admit it, but Veno on the cake “Do Neha’s eyes nictitate?” On the surface, the Archangel of India had normal brown eyes, but since she’d Made Venom, there had to be more beneath the surface
“Yes,” Venoht answer “It’s difficult to catch and it happens very rarely, but yes”
“Why aren’t her eyes like yours?”
A slow smile “They are—but only for ht the transition”
Holly tried to ial face, couldn’t “What about other vampires in her court? Are many like you?”
“None Though she has been trying to Make another me for centuries” Especially after he’d left her court at the end of his Contract: to serve the angels for a hundred years in return for the gift of near-immortality
Neha had been enerous with her post-Contract settlereement, and he’d had the money to travel, decide who he wanted to be For the first time in a hundred years, he’d been free to live where he chose, serve who he chose, though he hadn’t been certain he wanted to be part of any court
Then had come Raphael
Venohtly knit tea puzzle piece Jason had even said as much at the time “Finally, we are complete We are the Seven”
Neha and Raphael had been friendly back then, so Neha hadn’t fought his defection She’d seen it as hi drawn to Raphael’s youth “Wild to wild,” she’d said with an indulgent smile when Venom returned to her court to tell her of his plans “Well, Venom, if I had to lose you to anyone, it would be Raphael”
Venom hadn’t needed her permission He’d served his hundred years with utels and queens like Neha weren’t always rational—and this archangel had kept her proesture of respect and honor
“Has Neha ever tried to lure you back?”
Veno exactly how elic politics It was probable that she had no idea Neha now considered Raphael an ene Neha’s hostility was inter, their es where contrary feelings could exist side by side
Venom wasn’t that old His e Holly ranked at the top “Everyone wants me”
She snorted “Doesn’t being that delusional make it hard to function?”
He felt his lips tug upright as Holly stumbled on a crack in the sidewalk He’d snapped out an arm and curved it around her waist before she did more than sway a little She’d reacted quickly, too—just not as quickly as him The side of her body sla into the curve of her waist
She was gone as fast, jerking out of his hold with the inhu partner “If I wanted to be pawed,” she said, brushing her aro to a furry convention”