The scent of cooking and the sound of jazz wafted through the open windows of the living room, a reminder that it was Saturday.
She rapped on the door three times.
“Hold on!” came the shout from inside. Tara couldn’t help but smile, shaking her head in amusement.
The door swung open, revealing a pair of blue eyes, brimming with tears.
Tara’s smile faded into a frown. “What’s wrong?”
“Damn onions!” Sorana swiped at her eyes with her hands, then cursed. “Shit!” She dashed back into the kitchen.
Tara stepped inside, closing the door behind her. She noticed that Sorana’s fingers were still slick with onion juice, which she had just rubbed into her eyes.
As Sorana dried her eyes on a kitchen towel, now more of a red and brown than white, Tara poured herself a glass of wine and took in her surroundings.
The table was a mess of chopped onions and peppers, chunks of beef, various sauces, and scattered pinches of salt. Flour was caked in one corner, milk splattered in another.
She took a large sip of her wine, suddenly regretting her decision to come over today.
“Please tell me you’re not making what I think you’re making.”
Sorana drained her wine glass in one go. She picked up a wooden spoon and pointed it at Tara. “I’ll get it right this time.”
“I hope you have a backup plan in that fridge of yours in case it doesn’t.”
“Bitch,” Sorana retorted, a wicked grin spreading across her face. “No backup this time. You’re eating this.”
The smoke from the frying pan made Tara cough.
Sorana had managed to set everything ablaze again, and the once cozy house was now filled with a thick, grey smoke and the smell of burning onions.
The house had been a gift from the Demon Queen. Sorana had told her that it used to belong to Daphne, the Demon Queen, before she became immortal.
With the Demon King’s blessing, Sorana had moved in.
Sorana didn’t see the point in living in the demon realm after losing all her powers. All she had left was her immortality.
“Bianca and Gordon are coming over tonight,” she announced, dumping flour and milk into the meat. Tara couldn’t even begin to imagine how that would taste.
“I heard Bianca has a new boyfriend. Reeona said she’s really excited.” Tara moved to the fireplace, arranging the logs in the crackling fire.
Winter had arrived in the mortal realm.
“And Gordon has a girlfriend now,” Sorana called from the kitchen.
After Tara had returned to the Court of Fears, she had been reunited with Reeona and Bianca, who had decided to return to the mortal world.
Bianca wanted nothing to do with the Court after witnessing firsthand the disdain the pure ones had for her and her mother, a traitor who had conceived a child with a mortal who wasn’t even her mate.
Tara wasn’t treated any differently. She knew that behind the polite smiles and civil conversation, there was just as much contempt.
But no one dared to insult the blood of the Lord of the Court of Fears, especially not a half-breed who was somewhat favored by the King of the Unseelie. At least, that’s what the fae believed.
“They’re bringing their dates?” Tara returned to the kitchen, refilling her and Sorana’s wine glasses.
“Yeah, why do you think I’m making so much food?” Sorana raised an eyebrow.
“Are you trying to welcome them or scare them away forever?” Tara teased, her nose wrinkling at the smell wafting from the pan.
“Haha, very funny.” Sorana held out a spoon to her.
Tara looked from Sorana to the spoon, laden with a white sauce streaked with brown. “Are you serious?”
“I need a second opinion.” Sorana shrugged.
“I can give you one without tasting it.” Tara took a gulp of wine, bracing her taste buds for whatever Sorana had cooked up.
Sorana shoved the spoon into her mouth, the sauce spilling onto her tongue. Her skin prickled, her tongue crying out for water, or wine, or anything to wash away the awful taste.
The combination of milk, an excessive amount of salt, vinegar, flour, black pepper, and meat juice was one of the worst things she had ever tasted.
“Mmmm,” Tara lied. “It’s delicious.”
“Really?” Sorana’s eyes lit up with hope.
“Have you tried it?”
“Yeah, I like it, but I’m not sure if the others will.”
“Trust me, they’ll love it,” Tara fibbed. She couldn’t fathom how her taste buds were so out of sync with the demoness’s.
Perhaps there was something off with her. It seemed impossible that she couldn’t distinguish between a well-seasoned dish and her own.
Sorana, striding confidently into the kitchen, gave her a once-over. She seemed to notice Tara’s outfit for the first time. “Been hunting?”
“Yeah,” Tara admitted with a sigh.
“And you lost again?” Sorana’s gaze landed on a bloodstain on Tara’s clothing, marking where an arrow had pierced her. “Go clean up and change into something more... human.”
Over time, Sorana had become a close friend. She was the only confidante Tara had left, and she knew their friendship meant the world to Sorana.
They had been each other’s rock during the dark days when Tara was still reeling from Roderick’s departure and Sorana was dealing with the aftermath of the abuse and deceit she’d suffered.
At least Sorana hadn’t lost hope of finding her soulmate.
The shower’s hot water cascaded over her, relaxing her tense shoulders. She rested her forehead against the cool white tiles and closed her eyes.
Tara had tried countless times to make sense of why Roderick had chosen her as his Bride, only to abandon her later. Surely, the vampire couldn’t be immune to their bond.
He must have felt the pain of their separation too. That night had changed everything for her. While her body gained immortality, her heart shattered into pieces.
She knew that his mark had made her immortal. That’s what Airdan had explained to her before she stopped listening to him.
The twin puncture wounds on her neck had made her stronger.
Even though she had come to terms with everything that had happened, she was resolute about one thing: she would never trust him again if he ever decided to show up.
Her heart couldn’t handle it if he appeared again, only to leave without a word. She would definitely never seek him out again.
After all, two years had passed and he hadn’t come looking for her.
Voices in the other room signaled the arrival of Bianca and Gordon. Tara quickly got out of the shower, pulled on a pair of light blue jeans and a short-sleeved pullover, and let her hair down.
She made sure to hide the mark on her neck. Only Sorana, Airdan, Kieran, and the Unseelie King knew she had been marked by a vampire.
“Come on in, Nigel.” Bianca’s smile was the kind you wear in the early stages of a relationship.
The kind that comes with the constant longing to see the other person and the butterflies that never seem to stop fluttering in your stomach.
“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Miss Tara. Bianca has told me so much about you.” Bianca’s boyfriend, Nigel, extended his hand to her.
His blue eyes were deep-set, his short auburn hair slicked back, framing a taut face. Nigel was tall, his lean muscles giving him a somewhat frail appearance.
There was something unsettling about him, something she couldn’t quite put her finger on yet, but it made people turn to look at him.
“The pleasure is all mine. I hope my dear little sister has only been saying good things about me.” Tara returned his smile.
Nigel pulled Bianca into a hug. It was a possessive gesture that only Bianca would find comforting. “Absolutely,” he confirmed.
“Tara, Sorana, this is Yrsa Tarr,” Gordon introduced his girlfriend. “My girlfriend.” The werewolf half-breed introduced his girlfriend, another she-wolf, as the three exchanged smiles.
“Your girlfriend is very pretty, Gordon,” Sorana teased him with a wink.
Tara looked into Gordon’s eyes. They were a light brown, the innocent eyes of a young boy who had grown up without a father.
Gordon acted as if the events of two years ago had never happened. He seemed oblivious to Tara’s trials and Bianca’s abduction.
Whatever Roderick had done, he had made the curly-haired, thick-lipped half-breed forget everything.
And by the order of the Lord of the Court of Fears himself, Bianca and Reeona were forbidden from speaking of the Unseelie Kingdom.
Bianca didn’t even know that although Tara was a member of the Court of Fears, she answered only to Cian, the Unseelie King. This made Tara somewhat influential.
“Please, have a seat,” Sorana invited. “Tara, are you coming to help me?”
The others took their seats at the dinner table.
“What do you think?” Sorana whispered as she placed slices of bread in a basket.
“He’s quite handsome. I can see why Bianca is smitten with him.”
“Yeah, and Gordon’s girl too. Maybe I’ll chop off my hair and go blonde like her,” Sorana admitted.
“You’re stunning, Sorana. You don’t need to change a thing.”
“I’m well aware of my beauty,” Sorana sighed.
“And modest too,” Tara quipped, her eyebrow arched in sarcasm.
“But I adore her short blonde hair,” Sorana said, gathering plates of food and heading to the table.
Yrsa Tarr was a delicate beauty. Her blue eyes and slender figure were complemented by a soft voice, one that belonged to a woman who would never dream of raising her voice.
Despite her elegance, Tara noticed a look of endurance in her eyes. As if her soul was concealing past fears and tears that had etched themselves onto her face.
“Bianca, would you do the honors?” Tara suggested with a smirk.
“You got takeout?” Bianca asked Sorana.
“No, I made it all myself,” the demoness replied with excitement.
Bianca gulped. She was all too familiar with the demoness’s cooking skills. “Tara, please, you do the honor.”
“Nope. It’s your turn. You and Gordon should serve your dates first,” Tara said, trying to keep a straight face.
Soon enough, Gordon and Bianca were busy serving Nigel and Yrsa.
“Mmm, smells delicious,” Yrsa commented. Tara started to pour her a glass of red wine. “That’s plenty,” Yrsa stopped her, watching as her glass nearly overflowed.
“You’re going to need it,” Tara smiled at her and proceeded to fill Nigel’s glass.
The clinking of silverware and glasses filled the room. “You’re only having bread?” Sorana frowned at Tara, who was sipping wine and nibbling on buttered slices of bread.
“I’m not really hungry,” Tara shrugged.
But Sorana hadn’t noticed yet how the others were struggling to swallow the food. Or how Gordon was spitting his out onto his plate. Or how Yrsa was frantically downing her wine, nearly emptying her glass.
“Do you like it?” Sorana asked, taking her first bite. As she watched Bianca and Gordon spit their food onto their plates, she turned to Tara.
“You bitch. You said it was good.”
Tara burst into laughter, watching as the demoness grabbed the wine bottle and drank straight from it.
“Can we have some real food now?” Bianca reached for her water glass and drank quickly.
Sorana headed to the kitchen to retrieve the stash of frozen, pre-made lasagna she had bought as a backup in case her cooking experiment failed.
“So, Nigel, what do you do for a living?” Tara asked, feeling a need to know more about her sister’s new beau. With Phillip gone, she felt an increased responsibility to look out for her.
“Tara, that’s rude,” Bianca chided her.
“It’s not rude, sis. I just want to know more about your boyfriend.”
“Don’t worry, princess,” Nigel smiled at Bianca. “It’s only natural that your sister would want to know more about the man you’re dating.”
Tara’s lips, previously curved in a polite smile, threatened to flatten into a frown.
“I work for—”
Nigel was cut off by shouts coming from outside the window.
They all rushed to the door, pouring out into the street.
Along with them, the rest of the residents of Crossbreed land, where the half-breeds and those who chose to live outside the kingdoms resided, were making their way down the main street of the small town.
Confusion reigned.
Questions about who had seen what were flying around. No one knew anything, but everyone was looking. Violence was a rarity in this town.
Fear stirred a vague image in Tara’s mind, something she couldn’t quite make out. And that could only mean one thing.
Whoever had caused those screams had made sure to conceal their identity.
The Fear was gone. And that person was likely dead by now.
Tara paused at the entrance to a narrow, cobblestone street. Ensuring they were alone, she began to walk.
“Why are we going this way?” Sorana whispered beside her.
Tara made sure they were alone first. She needed to ensure the others were far away. No one knew the extent of her power. Or where it came from. “I think the scream came from here.”
They both walked slowly, scrutinizing the shadows cast by every door, corner, and window.
Suddenly, Sorana’s hand clamped onto her arm. It halted her in her tracks. She swiveled around to face her. “Who on earth could have committed such an act?”
