Novels by Tori Tuez

Failure always tastes bitter. This time, I choke on it under what feels like a mocking stare.I don't have self-preservation? Rich words coming from a vamp.The moment my feet touch solid ground, I wrench my wrist free from his grip and shove him away with everything I have left. The bastard barely moves, but it matters little to me. The second I break contact, the pain returns with such blinding violence that the edges of my vision blur. I grit my teeth and straighten before he can notice the way my knees threaten to give.“I didn't ask you to catch me.” He studies me for a few seconds more than necessary before answering. “I'm aware.”I bite back a curse. I refuse to waste another second on him. I refuse to let him watch me struggle, either.Bracing my weight, I side-step his broad frame, slipping back through the glass doors leading off the balcony and into the sitting room I'd come through to find another way out of this gilded cage.I manage exactly two steps.Then it hits me a

I wake up gasping.My hand flies to my throat, then my chest, where my heart is pounding so hard it hurts. For one disorienting moment, my body doesn't feel like mine. It feels wrong, changed somehow.*Just what did he do*—The memories crash back. The prison. The vampires. *Him.*I shoot upright—Instead of the dank, freezing stones of the Guild's dungeons, I’m lying in a heavy four-poster bed draped in dark velvet.I blink once. Where am I?My eyes sweep the room, searching first for threats.No vampires. Instead, I find a room so lavish it feels unreal, a stark contrast to the utilitarian stone walls of the Guild.The room makes no sense. Am I in the Capital?I throw the blankets aside and swing my legs over the edge of the bed. The moment my feet touch the floor, a wave of dizziness hits me. I lean quickly against one of the thick bedposts, gripping the dark velvet drapes until the room steadies again.My fingers immediately search for the familiar weight of my dagger.Empty.

KAINE’S POV It takes fifty seconds for my protection mark to appear. And it's only by thirty-nine, she finally stops resisting. *Great Hel. She’s too stubb—*The sudden, sharp pressure of her teeth sinking into my lip cuts my thoughts short. She actually drew blood.I lean back a little. Most prey would freeze when cornered. They would not bide their time, waiting for an opening to retaliate. They would not try to fight back. “How dare you? Let go of me, you beast!” she spits, her blue eyes blazing at me. I should do as she demands. I need her to be compliant if my plans are to succeed. Besides that, the process is complete. My gaze drops to her lips, and I lower my mouth to hers again, prolonging the contact. I make it softer this time. Why, I'm not entirely certain. To wear down her rigid posture, perhaps? The moment she starts to relax, I strike, nicking her lips in return.Her tiny gasp warms my skin as I draw her closer, catching the bead of blood. The taste is…unusual. I p

The flashes begin the same time pain consumes me and my scream is all my body knows. I hear nothing over the roaring until finally the pain begins to douse and sweet bliss starts to warm me everywhere. Flowers brush against my legs as I run. I'm laughing. No. Not me. Her ruby dress glitters under the sun, blowing because of the wind distracting me. She's laughing. I love it when she does. I'm gaining on her. Just a little further and—A knife thrusts into our stomach and I double over in agony, the pain is burning even hotter. When we look up, fire surrounds me instead and my senses drag between the two lives as smoke fills my lungs. I'm running after her again. Blood is everywhere. We have to get to her. Fear. She's singing. Darkness. She's screaming at me. Hunger. I'm a monster. She's dead.Grief. **Pain!****Pain!!****Pain!!!**“Aaaaaaaargh!!!”A scream jolts me back into the present. The dank, dark corridor comes back into my vision. I blink. What—“No! Don't go! Come back Lu

Not all vampires die in the execution square. At least not the ones chosen by the Order to bleed dry.We're told it's necessary. We're told that without their blood, hunters wouldn't exist. We need it to fight. We need it to grow strong, to survive the beasts outside the walls, which is why the Order always keeps the ones they wish to harvest in the prison cells.Obviously, they can't have a sound mind in case they get the funny idea to try and escape, so they’re always in a sedated state, between awareness and collapse. Disoriented or hallucinating. It is the exact state I expect to see now, the state I’ve watched most of them be in for the past three months. Except for now. Except for the one standing before me, like he has no problem doing so. “Why are you late?”And he speaks well as well. My grip tightens around my dagger as he starts to draw near.“Stay back!”He stops at once, studying me with the same unnerving focus from the execution square.Hel's gate. What is going on? W

Something is wrong with this vampire. And no one seems to notice. A roar of bloodthirsty excitement rises and falls through the execution square as the guards drag the vampire into the center. “How much blood do you think they'll make this one spill?” Rinna’s amused question drifts into my ears, but l don't answer. From the high edge of the watchtower, I study the vampire instead. Jet-black hair falls unevenly over his face, hiding most of it. He is large as well, enough so that even with the silver chains burning his wrists and guards at his sides, he still towers over them all. With a body like that, it shouldn't have been possible for Team A to get their hands on him. Especially not without two or three hunters dead. My grip tightens around the rail. Something is completely wrong. I can feel it in my bones. I lean forward slightly. “Where did they say—” The vampire stops moving. Then, with unnatural speed, he whips his head toward our tower. “—they found it agai