Vicious (Villains, #1)

by V.E. Schwab

“We could be dead,” said Eli. “That’s a risk everyone takes by living.”

Eli, who believed in God and had a monster inside just like Victor, but knew how to hide it better.

Victor was the first to speak, and when he did, it was with an eloquence and composure perfectly befitting the situation. “Holy shit.”

question. If Eli really was a hero, and Victor meant to stop him, did that make him a villain? He took a long sip of his drink, tipped his head back against the couch, and decided he could live with that.

Victor Vale was not a fucking sidekick.

“No one is going to hurt you. Do you know why?” She shook her head, and Victor smiled. “Because I’ll hurt them first.”

“Aren’t all those records classified?” asked Sydney. Mitch beamed and flicked open his laptop, settling in at the counter. “Mitchell,” said Victor. “Tell Sydney what you were in prison for.” “Hacking,” he said cheerfully.

The first was that, because of his easily identifiable appearance, he couldn’t actually go into the bank. Even if he disabled the security cameras, the people inside would pick him out of a hundred-person lineup (with his luck, even if he wasn’t in it).

Someone could call themselves a hero and still walk around killing dozens. Someone else could be labeled a villain for trying to stop them. Plenty of humans were monstrous, and plenty of monsters knew how to play at being human.

Mitch had been right. Victor Vale was a wolf among sheep. And it took a lot to make 463 hardened criminals look the part of prey.

“And Ulysses stopped up his ears against the siren’s song,” recited Victor, pulling the plugs from his own ears as Serena collapsed to the dirt lot, “for it was death.”

Holy shit. HOLY SHIT Y'ALL