Made in Malice (Corrupt Credence Book 1)

NOVA

I’m the first one out the door and down the stairs, but before I can head for the door, Nox calls, “This way, Nova,” causing me to look over my shoulder and see both of them coming downstairs in tandem. Nox is leading. He’s wearing a pair of green shorts that hit mid-thigh and are slung low on his hips, and a black shirt I didn’t get a chance to see when I escaped the room.

When they reach the bottom, Nox heads in the opposite direction, waving his hand for me to follow.

“Where are we going?” I shuffle forward a few steps but give Lucian ample time to get ahead of me.

“To the beach, but we need provisions.”

I trail behind them through the house, making quick examinations of the rooms we pass as I do. There’s so much more black, it’s hard to believe the entire place isn’t drab or flat. It’s quite like the occupants—beautiful and hard to ignore.

Soft music filters down the hall as we enter a kitchen that looks like a cross between a witch’s apothecary and a gothic church, but everything is black and gold. There are brass kettles and pots hung from the high ceiling by jute ropes over an island large enough to be a sacrificial altar, but the elegant black stone top only holds a golden sink basin and faucet, along with some crystal vases filled with floating flowers and fresh bouquets.

The large, arched windows highlight the massive stove that is the same color as the aged brass pots, while the fluted cabinet above is black and glass, showing off little bottles of what I’m assuming are herbs and spices and not eye of newt or lizard tails.

“Gertrude,” Nox calls, and an aged woman with coarse white hair enters the room from the side. Her face is lined like a piece of wrinkled parchment, but her skin looks soft and supple.

“There’s a cake,” she begins, but her words die as her watery blue eyes land on me. She blinks hard several times, giving me the impression she’s trying to make sure she’s really seeing what’s in front of her, then wipes her hands down an apron hanging over her sunny yellow dress that kisses the floor. “And whom might this be?” Her accent is thick, but her words are clear.

“Nova. We’re here for snacks.” Nox hauls open a door that I would have assumed was more cabinets, but a light comes from within, proving it’s a fridge.

“The Umbra,” the woman hisses, scandalized. “You let her in the house?” She continues speaking in a foreign language I don’t attempt to label, but I don’t need to know what she’s saying to know it isn’t good.

Lucian actually laughs, which is even more confirmation.

“Gertrude!” Nox scolds, but the old woman doesn’t slow her diatribe.

“Okay, okay, that’s enough,” Lucian finally says, and the woman gives him the evil eye but shuts her mouth. I’m embarrassed for no reason, and it grates on my nerves that I allowed her to make me feel small and unworthy.

“You’d think someone your age would know not to judge someone because of a name,” I chastise, and her eyes pop wide.

Nox starts sniggering, and Lucian looks down at me. “Do you speak Russian?”

“No, but I’m not an idiot either,” I snap back. The old lady lifts her hooked nose in the air and pivots, making her dress flare out around her legs, revealing old brown boots.

“Always surprising me,” Lucian says under his breath, but Gertrude must have heard him, because her head turns in our direction to watch us.

“That wasn’t very nice, Gertie. We like Nova,” Nox censures softly.

“An Umbra?” she whispers harshly with a click of her tongue.

“Кто не рискует, тот не пьет шампанского,” Lucian states, and something willowy and soft inside me makes my stomach do a summersault, which pisses me off.

“Watch out for cyanide,” Gertrude replies. It’s pretty clear she’s talking about me poisoning him, but I have no clue what Lucian said to her. I’m sure it’s something equally insulting. It’s my own fault for even being here.

I chuckle, but it’s bitter and angry. “I am so sick of people and your judgments. You’d think I’d get used to it since it’s been going on my entire life, but nope, the sheer audacity shocks me every time. I’m too poor, too sick, too dumb, never good enough, and now, I’m too much of an Umbra. It must be nice up in that tower you live in.” The room falls so silent, the ticking of the clock sounds like thunder in my ears, or maybe that’s my heart pounding away in my head.

“I like her.” The old woman sucks in air around some missing teeth, making a hissing sound, then shoos Nox away from the fridge and says, “I’ll pack you something. Get away, get away,” as if nothing happened.

“We like her too,” Nox agrees, moving over to stand near enough that I can feel the heat of his arm brushing mine.

I’m still breathing a little heavily. I expected more of a fight, or for Lucian to start in on me, but he’s just looking at me with a strange expression on his face.

“What?” I finally ask, but it’s slightly hostile.

“We’ll talk about it later,” he tells me like I’m a naughty child who’s in trouble with my dad and he doesn’t want to say anything in front of the other grownups. I blow out a breath that sounds a lot like a raspberry, but neither of us say anything else.

LUCIAN

My fingers twitch with the desire to wrap them around her throat so I can feel the flutter of her pulse kiss my fingertips. I want to lay my lips over hers and claim her mouth, bite her lips while she struggles and moans against me.

Thank fuck Gertie is in the room, or I may have actually acted on those urges. I just don’t know if my lamb would have tried to stop me or rip my shorts off first. Her blue stare is hot, like she was ready for a fight and doesn’t like the fact that it was taken away from her when the closest person to Nox and me did an about-face and admitted to liking her. I’m pretty fucking shocked myself. Gertie doesn’t like anyone. Hell, she barely tolerates me most days, but she’s family. Not by blood, but by loyalty.

“You can just bring it outside when it’s ready. I’ll run back and grab it,” Nox says over his shoulder while hauling our disgruntled house guest out of the room with him. Gertie sends out a blistering line of curses to his back and slams something against the stove.

“Well, go get him and be smart about it. I said I like her, but that doesn’t mean I want her filling his soft head with ideas.” I’m used to her insulting us while caring for us at the same time, so I do as she asks instead of arguing with her like I usually would just to have the upper hand. It would waste time that I don’t have to spare.

I hear her before I see her. “Wait, where are we going?” My lamb is suspicious, and it’s deserved. Nox told her he would take her to the best beach in South Carolina, but I’m sure he failed to mention that it’s off the coast of the island and just so happens to be in our backyard.

“Right through here.” He ushers her toward the wall of glass that shows off the pool we only swim in during the winter and the pool house. Beyond that is the shoreline of Cadieux, with acres of our own private sandy beach. We’ve never brought anyone here. This was our spot away from everyone, but I don’t mind that he wanted to bring her here. I actually quite like knowing she’s essentially at our mercy.

Off in the distance, I can see the cottage where we held our parties and the colorful furniture—that never really felt right but was what everyone expected—sitting unused and forgotten. We haven’t had a party since the night my parents died.

I remember Gertrude banging on the bedroom door early in the morning, tears streaming down her wrinkled face, and I knew something was terribly wrong. I’d never seen that woman cry, I wasn’t even sure she was capable of it, but the night before while I was drinking and getting my dick sucked by no less than three girls—at the same time—in an audition for whom I would fuck later, my parents suffocated to death, and I had no clue.

“Lucian?” Nox calls, a hint of worry in his voice as I turn away from the memories, making sure I’m wearing the same apathy that has gotten me through the last eighteen months while my brother grieves.

NOVA

My head is on a swivel as we pass a pool that has a waterfall and a slide with an attached hot tub, past what looks like a guest house, and farther still until all I see is sand and clear blue water.

I can see the mainland opposite the shore, but it’s far enough away that we wouldn’t have to worry about skinny dipping. I cram that thought down because there is no way I would skinny dip with Lucian anywhere around. He doesn’t need that kind of fuel to hurt me.

I glance over at Nox as he pulls his shirt off over his head and drops it in the sand. A tingle of regret settles in my chest. I think we could have been friends in another life, but I know I shouldn’t be here, and the reason why I agreed is all blurred. I told myself I would allow him to come so I could get answers, but I haven’t even thought about my questions since I got back in the car with him after stopping to get my suit.

“Do you need to change?” Nox asks, running his eyes over me.

“Nah, it’s a bit chilly.” It’s true, but it’s also not the real reason I’m not swimming. He tricked me, just like I warned him not to do. If he would have told me the beach was his, I never would have agreed to go, plus the hulking shadow behind us means I’m keeping every bit of clothing I have on. Lucian would probably take pictures of me and send them out to the school in a mass text just to try to embarrass me. No thanks, I’m not that dumb.

“Come on, we can jump in the hot tub after a dip,” he pleads sweetly, or maybe he has me fooled. Nox might be as big of a jerk as his brother and just playing a role. I hate that I have to question everything and everyone.

Life was a lot less confusing while I was struggling to make ends meet and riding the bus. I didn’t owe anyone anything, least of all loyalty.

“Go ahead.” I smile, playing along, pretending I’m not in the middle of an identity crisis and wondering how I allowed myself to get here again.

“I thought you northern girls had thicker blood,” Nox challenges.

“Ha, you wouldn’t make it a single winter in Michigan,” I retort without much effort.

Nox tilts his head as if he’s picked up on my mood shift. “She didn’t mean anything bad, Nova, she’s just looking out for us.” He assumes I’m still upset about Gertrude, but there’s a whole slew of reasons my disposition has darkened.

“I get it,” I tell him. “Let me see if you really have the guts to get in the water.” I wave him on with my hands.

Nox doesn’t hide his disappointment, but he doesn’t seem to dwell on it too much either. Instead, he takes off running toward the water and hops into the surf. He lets out a growl of a sound made of heavy breathing and a shiver before diving in and swimming under the softly lapping waves.

When he pops up, he shakes out his dark hair and screams, “Fuck!” but he’s grinning.

I walk a little closer to the water so my toes sink into the heavy wet sand, then plop my rump down where I’m out of the tide. The sun is warm enough to make me think that getting in might not be too bad, but Nox’s lips are a little blue while he bobs around in the water, only keeping his head out.

“Come on, Lu.” He waves at his brother, who surprises me by streaking right past me and running straight for his brother. They tumble in the water, both coming up spluttering and spitting water out of their mouths. It’s the very first time I have to work to tell them apart. Nox hops up and plants his hand on his brother’s head, dunking him, but Lucian is quick to retaliate by scooping Nox up and throwing him back into the water.

I start to smile, then I wonder if this is more manipulation, and my smile flattens. I turn my eyes to the left, spying a cheery blue house with a bunch of sun loungers. I grapple with the colorful scene, wondering if I’m seeing someone else’s property, but then I realize it’s far too close to belong to one of the other families. It doesn’t seem to fit with the Morningstars’ aesthetic, but I can’t deny it’s there.

“Change your mind?” Nox huffs over me, dripping icy water on my sun warmed legs.

“No.” I shield my eyes so I can see him.

“Time for the hot tub then.” He leans down as if he might try to pick me up, and I scramble back out of self-preservation, getting to my feet. Not only is he soaking wet and freezing by the looks of his purple lips, but who knows what he would do to me if he was actually able to lift me, which I’m not convinced of anyway. I’m solid.

“I wouldn’t hurt you, Nova,” Nox says, sounding bewildered and maybe even a little hurt. I still need to salvage this visit and hopefully get some answers, so I placate him.

“I know your game—you’re just trying to get me all wet.”

“I bet you already are from watching us,” Lucian goads.

I grit my teeth, trying not to rise to his bait, but I lose the battle when I say, “Jealous the waves do a better job lapping at me than you ever could to get me wet?”

“Is that what you were sitting up here thinking about, lamb? Me lapping at you?” Lucian’s hand snaps in my direction, but I’m not fast enough to get away from him before he grabs the back of my neck tightly and pulls me closer to his face. My head is tilted up slightly from the tight grip he has on my hair. “It would never happen, because I don’t lap at pussy, I eat it—tongue, teeth, and mouth—but you can keep dreaming.” He shoves me away, and I stumble in the uneven sand, falling on my butt as I reach my hands out behind me to brace for the landing.

“What the fuck, Lucian?” Nox shoves his brother’s shoulder—who manages to keep his footing—then kneels down in the sand in front of me. “Are you okay?” He’s searching my face with what seems like genuine concern.

“I’m fine,” I say too quickly when the truth is my wrist hurts like hell from the way I landed, but there’s no way I would let either of them see that.

Using only my good hand, I pick myself up out of the sand again and brush my butt off. Nox rises with me and apologizes. “I’m sorry.” He sounds ashamed, but I’m not going to absolve him. He knew exactly what he was doing when he invited his brother.

“I think I’ve had enough of the beach. I’ll see myself out.” I’m proud that my voice doesn’t crack, even though I’m so mad at myself and them that I could cry.

“Let me walk you,” Nox offers.

I put up a hand and back away. “No thanks.”

Something in his expression shifts, and he almost looks sad, but I don’t know him well enough to discern if that’s true. “Okay, yeah,” he agrees as he’s racked with a shiver.

I spin then, walking as fast as I can over the sand until I reach the manicured grass and walkway, never once looking backward.