Page 1 of Curiosity Killed The Vampire

CHAPTER 1

CASS

We left Shadow Phantom in a haze of farewells—hugs, handshakes, and the kind of silent looks only warriors traded when they knew it might be the last time. The air outside the fortress was intense and cold, carrying a familiar weight—steel, ash, and the smoky trace of sandalwood from the candles Selima always burned in the entry hall.

A part of me didn’t want to go. Shadow Phantom had always felt like home—endless corridors of stone and iron, the quiet vibration of power in the walls, the low murmur of voices from warriors who’d earned their place by blood and battle. I’d fit here in a way I rarely fit anywhere else.

Con’s hand brushed mine as we crossed the courtyard toward the waiting plane. “You’re quiet,” he said, voice low, rich with that controlled roughness that still made something in me twist.

“Just thinking.”

“Dangerous habit.”

I smirked, but the smile didn’t quite stick. The night before was still too close. The way he’d kissed me, steady and unhurried at first, then deep enough to scrape at all the places I kept guarded. The way my hunger had surged—undeniable, terrifying. I’d wanted him—wanted everything—until instinct sliced through reason and my fangs grazed his skin. He’d pulled away so fast I still felt the echo of it like phantom heat along my teeth.

We climbed aboard the small jet. The leather seats creaked softly as I sat. Once the engines started, a low vibration rolled through the cabin, constant and oddly soothing. Outside, the runway lights blurred into streaks as the craft lifted off, banking into a sky full of frost and ink. Shadow Phantom shrank beneath us, a dark fortress crouched against snow and rock, until it was nothing but a memory pressed against my ribs.

Con sat beside me, long legs stretched out, arms folded loosely across his chest. His yellow eyes caught the muted cabin lights like molten metal. “You’re blaming yourself again.”

“I nearly bit you.”

His lips twitched. “You nearly did a lot of things.”

“That’s not funny.”

“I wasn’t trying to be.”

I turned toward the window, watching clouds fold over one another like layers of smoke. My reflection hovered in the glass—pale skin, dark eyes, worry etched there whether I wanted it or not. “I don’t know what’s happening to me, Con. These emotions, the magic—it’s all tangled together now. I can’t tell where one ends and the other begins.”

He didn’t answer right away. The drone of the engines filled the silence between us.

Then, quietly, “You don’t need to fear what’s between us.”

I let out a brittle laugh. “Easy for you to say. You have control. I⁠—”

His phone buzzed against his thigh. The glow of the screen washed briefly across his face. “Rene.” Whatever softness had been there vanished, replaced by the clean lines of command. “Ursula’s called a conclave meeting. She wants updates on the artifact search.”

“Now?”

“She doesn’t like waiting.”

I groaned and scrubbed a hand through my hair. “Of course she doesn’t. I was hoping for at least one night of pretending we’re normal.”

Con’s mouth curved. “Cass, you’ve never been normal.”

“Neither have you.”

He inclined his head, conceding the point. “Rene says to report once we land. The conclave’s concerned. Enhanced humans. Valerian’s involvement. They’re starting to connect the dots.”

“And we’re the ones holding the pencil,” I murmured.

He leaned back, the subtle tremor of the engine catching the hard line of his jaw. “We’ll handle it.”

But the air between us thickened again, dense with everything unsaid. The ache of what almost happened, and the fear that it might happen again.

I drew in a slow breath, the recycled air tasting of metal and something citrusy from the cleaning solution. “Con… what if this—whatever’s between us—needs more than we can give?”

He turned his head then, eyes catching mine. “You mean a blood bond.”