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

with long dark hair and in high heels, frame her on either side. Vampires.

My mind tells me I should be experiencing a sickening sensation and flee, but my body registers my kind with a thrill.

“I was just saying what a shame it was that I don’t have a date tonight. I was really hoping to dance.” The vampire in the green dress brushes her fingers over my lips. “But you must be hungry. I know what that’s like,” she purrs. “There’s nothing like feeding for the first time.” She bats her eyelashes coyly.

I jerk my head away. I could take her down, but a simmering inside sizzles all of a sudden. My body becomes fixated with her. Vampires have the ability to lure others into desire, lust.

A chuckle snaps me back.

A male appears from the shadows. “New vampires can hardly control their cravings. You can give in, Tyrren. It’s okay.”

The female licks her lips.

“He told us to make sure to bring him to the nearest dispensary,” says one of the other females.

I recall someone once talking about blood dispensaries. I strain to push through the fog in my head. A tall man, always dressed in suits, strides into my thoughts. The perfect picture of style and power. Ivan...Surely, he didn’t authorize this attack.

“Where’s the fun in sending him to the dispensary? I’ve never seen a new vamp have their first taste. But of who?” The female’s question is like a dare as she scans the nearby pedestrians. “They say, when hunting, always target the weakest in the pack.” She shakes her head. “I prefer to take down the strongest to prove that I can.” She locks on a man wearing a hoodie and smirking at her from across the road.

After trailing her finger down my chest, she says, “Watch and learn.” She marches into traffic, causing cars and cabs to veer and honk.

My thoughts are a blur of resistance and longing. I’m hungry, thirsty, and ravenous in a way I’ve never known. It’s as though my consciousness and physical body are two separate entities. One with the vestiges of the mortal I was and the other...the abomination that I’ve become. I feel torn in two.

I focus on the comment about the blood dispensary for vampires. Only vampires know where it is. I have to find Ivan. I shove past the girls.

At my back, the male clicks his tongue and says, “Don’t worry. We’ll let him off the chain for now. He’ll be useful soon enough.”

I ignore what it could mean.

As I rush along the sidewalk, the whiff of warm human blood tugs at something deep and primal inside of me. It’s worse than hunger pangs. It’s like an unquenchable thirst. It’s an ache that I’d do anything, and I do mean anything, to stop.

Ahead, a crowd gathers on the corner, watching a street performer. I start to push through them and then slow down, drawn by the presence of so much blood I’m almost dizzy. I stand there dumbly as a man juggles random objects. Another vague memory appears. Juggling. Juggling knives. I try to harness it, but behind my closed lids, all I see are a pair of dark, menacing eyes.

A woman knocks into me and I grip her arms to steady her. Her gaze flashes to mine, eyes wide with fear and then her expression melts into something else. Her lashes flutter. Her lips pooch. She softens under my grip.

I lick my lips, desperate to taste her blood. “You look delicious.” My voice hardly sounds like my own. It has a musical, lullaby quality to it.

Then someone else bumps us, shaking me from the trance, the single-pointed focus of pursuing prey. I lower my hands, but she leans into me. I must’ve used the same vampire ability to transfix someone as the female did to me. I have a moment of awareness. This is not who I am. I won’t hurt anyone.

I rush away from the corner, away from the people. I have to find Ivan and the blood dispensary. I need to feed.

I pass a diner, open twenty-four hours. A pie display spins slowly in the window. That won’t satisfy my hunger. There’s something else I need. Or someone. The desire is a faint recollection of strength and bravery. Sass and beauty. Mischief and mayhem.

Lea. The image of her pulls from the recesses of my mind.

Her citrus spice scent wafts in the air as I approach a bookstore. It glows from inside and I experience another push and pull—a war between mind and body. But the citrus spice smell is distinct here. I go inside, following the trace of her, seeking her out. The amusing thought that I’m like a bloodhound breaks into my concentration. So does the skinny guy standing behind the counter.

“You’re not Lea,” I growl.

His brow wrinkles with concern. “She hasn’t been here in days. The boss said they’re going to fire her.”

I slam my hands on the counter and my shoulders inch up to my ears.

He startles and skitters backward.

“I have to find Lea.” She’ll know how to find Ivan. They’ll be able to help me. Stop me. She’s not a vampire even though she grew up among them. However, she is different than other girls and has an otherworldly quality.

The guy behind the counter discretely reaches for an old landline phone. I storm out of the bookstore. The trail runs cold.

The tang of fear and flight mix fill the air. I march across the street, bulling my way through traffic.

My thoughts and my thirst for blood powers me. My quest for Lea fuels me.

I pass a sports bar and the television inside blares with a news show, reporting rampant outbreaks of crime all over the city, robberies, vandalism, assaults, and arson along with numerous people dead. The X-Crew.

I pass