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Misha slowly gets to his feet, being careful not to slip in the pool of his own blood. His face is pale, and there are three gaping wounds in his throat—holes from Tristan’s thumb and first two fingers. My eyes lock onto the gory sight, and I swallow hard, trying to keep from chucking up my dinner.

“I believe I’ll take my leave now,” he says, almost mockingly. “I’m in need of a snack after all this exertion.”

For some reason I don’t have the brainpower to work out, that makes Tristan growl, but he doesn’t move from where he’s shielding me. Misha’s eyes meet mine, and while he doesn’t say anything to me, it’s a statement in and of itself.

And then he turns and leaves.

Paul gestures, and two humans, presumably staff, hurry over and start cleaning up the blood on the floor. The volume of the soft background music rises slightly, and gradually, conversations resume.

My heartbeat finally slows to something close to normal. Is this what all vampire parties are like, or did I just get lucky with my first one?

Tristan turns around and looks me up and down.

“I’m fine,” I volunteer, keeping my voice as low as I can manage. “Uh, maybe you should…” I nod toward his hands, which are covered in blood. His shirt’s pretty much a loss, and maybe his suit too, though it’s black and the blood doesn’t show. It just looks like a big wet patch. For some reason, that makes me want to gag.

Selene appears at his side. “Let me show you where you can wash up.”

“Bring me a towel,” Tristan counters. “I won’t leave my feeder unguarded.”

Selene’s expression reflects how insulted she is by that, but she persists. “Nobody would dare touch him. It will only take a few moments.”

He hesitates. I know my super fastidious vampire wants to wash his hands, but with Geoffrey still in the room, I’m glad he doesn’t want to leave me alone. Still…

“I’ll be fine,” I declare, fucking bravely if you ask me. “I’ll just…” I glance around and catch my cousin’s eye. He and his vampire are coming toward us. “Adrian will keep me company.”

To his credit, Adrian doesn’t blink, just slings an arm around my shoulders. “Absolutely.”

“Are you being tiresomely overprotective?” Helen asks Tristan in a bored tone. “I do wish you’d outgrow that. Go and wash.” She flicks her hand in a shooing motion. “Pierce and I will watch over your human.”

Tristan gives her a narrow-eyed glare, then turns it on me. “Do not leave this room,” he warns, and I nod. “Shout if anybody comes near you,” he adds, and I have to consciously stop myself from rolling my eyes.

Finally, he turns and stalks away, Selene hurrying at his side while Paul gestures for more drinks to be served. Pierce looks at me.

“Okay?” he whispers, and I nod. “Since Anna hasn’t come bursting through the door, I assume you didn’t text her?”

I shrug and try to sound nonchalant. “Tristan had everything under control.”

That gets me a smile from Pierce and an approving nod from Helen. “Barale blood always tells,” she comments.

“My mother is a Stewart.” I don’t know what else to say, but it just seems to notch me higher in Helen’s esteem.

“Adam and I are going to catch up,” Adrian interjects before I can say any other stupid things. “We’ll be right over there.” He gestures toward the wall about four metres away. For some reason, it’s an area clear of other people. Helen glances over, then nods.

“Stay within sight.”

Adrian doesn’t bother to reply, just steers me away.

Chapter 25

We stop beside one of the speakers set up to play music, and he lets me go and turns to face me.

“If we keep our voices down and stay right beside the speaker, nobody will be able to hear us,” he murmurs. “Ambient noise plays havoc with vampire hearing.”

“Thanks for the tip.” I file that away for future reference. Adrian might already be beating Cat in the most useful cousin contest.

“Are you okay?” he asks.

“Yeah. I mean, I think I sweated through my deodorant, but I didn’t shit myself, so it’s all good.”