Fae of the South (Court of Crown and Compass Book 3) by E. Hall (libby ebook reader .txt) 📕

standing on top of the city. I’m above it all, immortal like Ivan said. I spread my arms like wings and whoop into the air.

“Okay, jump,” Ivan says.

I make the mistake of glancing down. The ground is very far below. Fifty floors at least. The world spins for a minute and I straighten.

“Go ahead. Jump, Tyrren. You’re immortal. You can do anything.” A sly edge enters his voice. I’d never want to be on his bad side.

I waver, overthinking things as usual.

“Jump, Tyrren. Do it. Just this once. Go on.” He whispers in my ear. “Do it for Lea.”

I think about my feelings for her. They’re stronger than my thirst and vampire nature. They came from before when I was just Tyrren—book nerd, blacksmith’s apprentice, and best friend. But it’s more than that. I’ve loved her since the second to last day of our eighth-grade year.

We were passing between periods and on our way to Algebra—both of us were in accelerated classes. She’d suggested we ditch and go get ice cream sandwiches. A kid was getting picked on in the hallway. She set the bully straight and then stuck by the kid who was being picked on for the rest of the day—forgoing the ice cream. Not just for protection and not out of pity. It turned out there was a movie that they both loved and couldn’t stop talking about it.

A lot of people have a hero. But she was my heroine then just as she is now. I’m more in love than ever. Lea always does the right thing—well, except when it comes to borrowing cars. That’s another story.

I think of the people below, the passersby on the sidewalk, and how horrifying it would be for them to see a man land and then potentially get up and walk away.

Ivan hisses in my ear. “Tyrren, I told you to jump. Now.”

I step off the ledge and back onto the roof. I meet Ivan’s dark eyes. “No. I won’t do it.”

The corners of his lips lift. I prepare myself for shouting, fighting. For him to tell me I failed the initiation. That I’ll never be part of the Brooklyn Vampire Club.

“Good job, son.” He claps me on the back and leads me to the door.

I stop midstride. “What?”

“You passed the test.”

“How?”

The initiation is to demonstrate what it might be like to be ruled by your thirst for blood. You’d do anything to obtain it. You’d listen to the voices telling you to go ahead, do it. But you didn’t. You listened to another voice. Reason. Maybe you tapped into something even deeper.”

“Yeah, I did.”

“Good. Don’t forget it. Now, we’re going to go have a drink, celebrate your success, and I’ll connect you with dispensaries in the area.”

“What if we go to the Southlands?” I ask.

“You always have the option to feed off animals. Some vampires do that. But I prefer willing donations. There is also an alternative. I’m no scientist or mage, but I’ve been working on concentrated blood pellets.” Ivan holds up a pill. “Human blood is comprised of approximately ninety-two percent water. You dissolve one of these pellets in water and you’re good. Great for traveling. The TSA has never been too keen on me toting bags of blood on flights.”

I raise my eyebrows.

Ivan laughs.

We spend the next hour chatting and drinking—blood. Then reunite with the others in the penthouse. They’re sitting around the kitchen island with about ten different packages of Oreo cookies.

“Okay, okay, fine Double Stuf is the best,” Val says.

“There’s also Mega Stuf,” Kiki says, wagging a cookie in front of her face.

Val claps her stomach. “I’m stuffed.”

“I like the mint,” Soren says.

“I think I’m a peanut butter guy, although the lemon is good too.” Callen helps himself to another.

“That’s so like you to have to be extravagant about it,” Val says.

“Hey, that’s what you like about me,” he replies.

She pecks him on the lips. “You got that right.”

I go directly to Lea’s side, relieved I passed the test and that she’s okay. Gray but okay.

“Ordinarily, she loves Oreos,” I explain the uneaten stack of regular Oreos sitting in front of her along with a full glass of milk. “Must be the shadow.”

Her sisters go to her side and pull her in for a group hug.

“What about these Golden Oreos?” Callen asks.

She shakes her head slowly.

“More for me. There’s a whole world of sickly sweet food options here in Terra.”

“We should probably get going,” Kiki says.

I’d be happy to chill a little longer...kiss Lea again...but this curse isn’t going to break itself.

Once we’re on the street, we walk a few blocks and stop in front of a shop. Our reflection in the glass is a motley crew of outsiders—a few fae, a couple of shifters, and a vampire. Last year, if someone suggested this would be my life, I’d have laughed in their face.

Yet, with Lea beside me, even as quiet and sullen as she currently is, it feels right. I nuzzle my face into her hair and breathe deep. Technically, I don’t breathe. I do whatever vampires do to catch a scent. I should’ve asked Ivan about these finer points.

“Where are we headed again?” Val asks.

“We have to go meet Heather. She has about two dozen Elsies for us to call, text, write, ambush, whatever it takes to find our other sister,” Kiki says.

“Let’s get tattoos,” Soren says as we pass a tattoo parlor.

“What?” Val asks.

Her sister explains what a tattoo is.

Soren opens the door.

“Do we really have time for this?” Kiki asks.

“If you get Oreos, I get a tattoo,” he replies.

“You do know that tattoos are permanent, right?” Kiki says.

Soren leans down and kisses her on the forehead. “So is