Chapter 8

Lucy's POV The antiquarian bookstore should have been closed at this hour, but vampire-owned businesses kept different schedules. I traced my fingers along leather-bound spines, searching for the grimoire Rico had sent me to find. After three months as a vampire, I was still learning about our hidden world, and apparently, ancient spell books were very much real. The shop smelled of old paper, dust, and something else – something electric. My body tensed before my mind caught up. "Hello, Lucy." I didn't turn around. "Felix." He materialized beside me, picking up a book I'd just set down. "The Cursed Bloodlines of Europe?" His silver eyes sparkled with amusement. "Light reading?" "Research." I tried to step around him, but he blocked my path with casual grace. "Rico, have you been chasing fairy tales now? These books are mostly fiction, you know. Written by humans who caught glimpses of our world and filled in the gaps with imagination." "And what would you recommend instead?"