Free Sinjin by H. P. Mallory

There was definitely hostility inside him, and even though I couldn’t hack into his thoughts, I sensed an undeniable hatred for Sinjin.
    “Hmm,” I mumbled under my breath as the handsome vampire behind me leaned down, placing his face b eside my ear and breathing his cold air into it.
    “Consider yourself blessed that your sister assigned me to you,” he whispered. “I doubt you would fare so well with Varick.”
    “I’m not so sure how well you fare with Varick,” I whispered back smugly. “From what I can tell, the guy can’t stand anything about you.” I smiled more broadly as I turned around to face him but the smile faltered on my lips as soon as I gazed into his ice blue eyes. They were absolutely captivating and I forgot myself for a few seconds.
    “Cannot stand anything about me?” Sinjin repeated with a grin that said he couldn’t care less. “Interesting indeed.”
    “Yes,” I responded quickly, forcing myself to hold his gaze even though I didn’t want to. His eyes were jarring, they disrupted my focus which only made me angry with myself. “Can’t stand anything about you as in … he hates you …” I piped up, the tone of my voice heavy and heated.
    “Hates me?” Sinjin continued, his eyebrows reaching for the ceiling. But somehow I knew he wasn’t really surprised by my announcement. He was just, again, playing a game.
    “Yes,” I answered immediately. “Almost as much as I do.” I cocked my head to the side, and finally feeling like I was in control of myself again, I smiled at him. “Guess Varick and I do have something in common, after all.”
    “ How very thought-provoking,” Sinjin answered with a broad smile that said he was completely unscathed by any of my comments. His gaze traveled down to my bust and paused there. “Hate is a strong word, Beelzebub.”
    “Yes it is, Brutus .”
    I didn’t expect Sinjin to laugh , but when he did, I had to admit, the sound pleased me. It was a deep, rich tone, but even better, it seemed completely spontaneous, unpolished and candid, the way a laugh should be. He quieted again and his eyes settled on Varick. “I am reminded of an old Spanish proverb,” he started, “envy is thin because it bites, but never eats.”
    “Why don’t you recite that proverb to Varick and we’ll see if he’s in an eating sort of mood,” I retorted as Sinjin just chuckled again.
    “And this is Klaasje,” Jolie continued, snatching my attention with her persistent introductions. The very pretty vampire with the blue eyes and black hair stepped forward, offering me a sweet smile. Jolie pronounced her name like “Tasha”, only with a “Kl” at the beginning.
    “Pleased to meet you, Bryn,” Klaasje said in her heavy, Texan accent. Her smile and disposition were so genuine, I had a hard time not smiling back. I didn’t say anything though but just nodded and suddenly felt like an ass for being rude.
    Rude? I scolded myself. Don’t forget you’re surrounded by enemies, stupid! There’s no such thing as rude here!
    “And I am the prophetess,” the woman whose path I’d already had the misfortune of crossing suddenly announced.
    “She, who will not be named,” I responded, finding it irritating that she kept referring to herself as “the prophetess,” as if she didn’t have a real name. I heard Sinjin snickering behind me.
    “My name is Mercedes Berg,” the prophetess announced smugly. She stared me down with a pair of stunningly beautiful green eyes. I sensed a powerful magic behind her glare. Even though I didn’t think this woman was any match for Luce, she was still superbly powerful in her own right. That much was obvious.
    Remind me not to upset that one , I muttered to my sister in thought. It seems someone has an over-inflated sense of self importance.
    Jolie looked back at me in surprise. Maybe it was because I was attempting to make small talk with her or maybe it was because she thought I had balls to say what I just had