Page 88 of Craving Venom
I open my mouth, trying to think of something, but my brain stalls.
Tria doesn’t wait. She gets closer, scanning me, taking in the blood, the mess of my dress, my bare feet.
Her expression softens in an instant. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“The fuck you are.”
I roll my eyes, praying she doesn’t notice how fucking off I sound. “Tria, I swear to God, if you start mothering me—”
“Don’t even try it,” she cuts me off, stepping even closer. Her voice softens, but not in a way that lets me breathe. It makes it worse. “What happened?”
I huff, like this whole thing is annoying instead of terrifying. “I ran into some assholes who got too handsy. I handled it.”
Her brows pinch. “You’re covered in blood.”
“It’s Halloween, Tria. Fake blood.” I flick my fingers against my arm like I’m brushing off dust. “Some dumbass thought it’d be funny to throw it on me.”
“Fake blood?”
“Yeah. Some overenthusiastic assholes, you know how it is.” I let out an exaggerated sigh. “People have no fucking boundaries.”
Tria studies me, and for a second, I think she’s about to call me out. But then she shakes her head, muttering, “Fucking weirdos.”
“So, what’s with the search party?”
Her expression shifts so fast it almost gives me whiplash. Her annoyance disappears, replaced with wide-eyed excitement.
“Bitch. The Shadow Room was fucking lit tonight.”
“Oh?” I say, keeping my tone light, but the blood drains from my face.
Tria doesn’t notice. She grabs my wrist, squeezing as she practically bounces on her heels. “After all these years of the same old boring devil-tries-to-murder-innocent routine, tonight was different. It was like... a scary, erotic display.” She shivers dramatically. “Damn, it got me hot just watching it.”
I feel like I’m about to be sick.
“Did you… did you see it?”
“Of course, dumbo! Why do you think I was looking for you?” She grins, her eyes are practically glowing.
My stomach plummets.
Fuck. Fuck.
I shake my head quickly, stepping back. “Tria, it’s not what you think.”
But she’s already talking over me. “You should have seen it. The way the shadows moved? Holy fuck. The control. The way he held her.” She lets out a low whistle. “I swear to God, at onepoint, I thought he was going to devour her. The way he had her against the window, the way she struggled but just let him.”
I stare at her.
She didn’t see us.
She saw the shadows.
“Yeah,” I mumble. “Sounds… intense.”
“So fucking intense,” she agrees, oblivious to the way my hands are shaking. “I swear, that guy—whoever he was? He wasn’t just playing with her.” She leans in conspiratorially, lowering her voice. “He was claiming her. You could feel it. Like he wanted to ruin her for anyone else. God, it was so fucked up but so hot.”
