A nurse checks the patient’s blood pressure, notes his heart rate. Generally fusses over his state. It feels like it takes forever before she finally leaves, closing the door behind her.
I let out a big breath, stepping out from the corner.
“I just think…” I say, my mind reeling as I go over every implication of this situation. “I just think we should talk to Liv and Ian first. We’ve got to come up with some kind of solution first before we have to resort to involving Cyrus.”
“Yeah,” he says, offering me a little smile. “I don’t want to bring him over either. Let’s head home and give them a call.”
It can’t really be that easy to convince him to try my way. If this were Ian, it would be a huge fight that would dramatically last over several days, with him being angry and annoyed the entire time.
But as the two of us sneak out of the hospital room, I kind of think it really is this easy.
We walk toward the subway out in front of the hospital and just before we walk down into the tunnel, I look up at the gray skies above us that threaten snow.
Stormy skies freak me out.
Curses. People dying. Threats to my family.
I can’t even imagine what a normal life would be like.
All because several thousand years ago, a man became obsessed with his own immortality.
Cyrus was as much of a scientist as there ever had been, long, long ago. He created a serum, which made him immortal and gave him insane strength and speed. The ultimate hunter.
He had a wife, whom he loved more than anything in the world, and he wanted her to join him in immortality. The stories say she refused, she was terrified of what her husband had become.
In the end, Cyrus forced it upon her.
Little did he know she was pregnant with their child.
Sevan gained immortality too, all the same strengths and speed. A few months later she gave birth to a son.
In the beginning he seemed perfectly human. Normal. For years he grew and aged. He ate food just like any other human, unlike his cursed parents who now craved the blood of what they once were.
The child however, died when he was eighteen years old.
Cyrus and Sevan buried him. Mourned him.
But four days later, he clawed his way out of that grave, Resurrected. His thirst was immense, and his eyes matched his parents. He just had to taste death first.
A few years later, a woman the son had laid with conceived and gave birth to a baby boy. When at a grown age, the son killed Cyrus’ grandson to see if he had been granted the same curse. He Resurrected as well.
Over the next few decades, the son created more children, killing each of them when they reached adulthood. The ideas of power and domination they could inflict dominated the son’s thoughts.
But Cyrus valued secrecy over all else. He knew the dangers of taking on more than they could handle.
A war broke out. The son, with five of his seven sons, against Cyrus, and two of his grandsons.
Cyrus won. He eliminated his son, and killed or banished the five who rebelled. And he gave everything to his two grandsons who remained loyal to him. Money, power, charge over the world. They and their descendants were Royals, and to this day, it is they and their posterity who rule the Houses.
Dorian and Malachi, the third and seventh son.
I met both of them when Cyrus kidnapped me and took me to Roter Himmel, where the King lives in Austria, to serve as judge for Alivia’s trial. Alivia is a direct descendent of Dorian.
The rest of the Born are descendants of one of the other five sons. As physically strong and capable as the Royals, but with no esteem or grace in the King’s eyes. No rights to leadership or rule. No claim to any of the King’s immense wealth.
Like Lexington.
Like Ian.
The Royals are a big deal.
Alivia was an even bigger deal, because when she was discovered, it rocked a very big boat.
My sister-in-law was once a normal girl, born to a single mother in Colorado. Her mother was from Mississippi, where she met Henry Conrath, a Royal who walked away from King Cyrus’ political system after his brother had been killed for something he didn’t do. Alivia’s mother moved to Colorado, having no idea what Henry was, where she raised Alivia on her own, not telling Henry about the child until Alivia was grown.
She had no idea who her father was, until she received a will in the mail, stating Henry had just died and left her everything, including his massive estate in Mississippi.
By this point Alivia’s mother had been killed in an accident, and with nothing stopping her, she moved to Mississippi, having no idea what she’d find there, or even what she truly was.
Cue a lot of secrets, chaos, lots of dramatics. After nearly killing her, my brother fell in love with her, before he knew he himself was a Born, that our mother had an affair. Him falling in love with Alivia got him killed by one of her enemies who wanted her throne. Four days later my brother woke up in a grave, craving blood.
In the end, Alivia found her rightful place, fighting against a lot of people who didn’t want her on the throne. She and my brother got over themselves and just decided to love each other, and now they’ve been happily married for six years.
I shake my head as I watch the lights flash by on the subway.
It’s all so insane. So big and fantastical and dark.
How is this my real life?
Lexington and I get off the subway and finish walking the last two blocks to my apartment. On the stairs waits a package, one marked as coming from Arizona. But I know it’s not really from Arizona, and I know it’s from Henry, containing more doses of the Bitten cure.
I pull my coat off when we walk into my living room, and realize there’s blood smeared all over it where the Bitten bit me.
“Whoa,” Lexington says, as his eyes instantly fix on it. And for just a second, red flashes in his eyes.
I have to remember that he is in fact a Born, and he does always crave my blood.
“Sit there,” he says, pulling his own coat off, instantly back in control. “I’ll get something to clean that up.”
I don’t want to sit. I don’t want to look at my own blood. What I want right now is to go up to my garden and pretend that all I need to worry about is the fact that winter is here and nothing more will be growing until spring.
But just a moment later, Lexington returns with a wet washcloth and a first aid kit.
“I’m sorry, again,” he says as he directs me to sit on the couch and he sits on the coffee table. He pulls my hand into his lap and begins cleaning my arm. “I heard his breathing and reacted just a second too late.”
“It’s okay,” I say quietly, not really seeing the blood smear all over my arm.
“Not really,” he says with a sigh. He wipes the last of the blood away, and just stares at my arm for a minute. “I said you were fearless, and I guess I now see why. Any fear has been sucked out of you, little by little.”
He touches his fingers lightly to one set of scars, half circles, and then the other. His touch is gentle, soft, reverent.
Lexington reaches for my other hand, setting it beside the other. He pulls my sleeve up, revealing another set of identical scars. With one addition.
A faint white cross is etched into my skin there.
“Elle, how the hell are you even still alive?” Lexington breathes as he studies the scars there.
I shrug, trying so very hard to gather the numbness I’m so good at hiding in. “I’ve learned to adapt. To just keep surviving.”
Lexington shakes his head, and I look up to see the pain in his expression. “How many times have you been fed off of?”
“Once by Henry,” I say, losing my grip on the numbness. “Twice by Trinity, but don’t tell Liv that.” I hurry to say that when the shock takes over Lexington’s face. “Markov has tried three times, but you know about most of those.”
Lexington himself is the one who removed me f
rom being drained once.
“And today marks the twenty-sixth Bitten who’s sunk their fangs into me,” I finish. The twenty-sixth time I’ve suddenly frozen still, my mind fogging over. I’m helpless when they bite me.
And suddenly I realize just how much of a miracle it truly is that I’m still alive. Or not a Bitten myself.
“And this one?” Lexington asks, tracing his finger down the center of the cross.
I pull my arms away from him suddenly. The familiar feeling of shame begins clawing it’s way up my chest like a startled spider.
“Elle,” Lexington says, his voice breathy. “Who the hell did that to you?”
I can’t seem to meet his eyes. They fix on a framed picture of Ian, Lula, and I that hangs on the wall. “There’s a reason why I haven’t gone back to Silent Bend. Why, once Lula was dead, I finally felt free of that place and the people there.”
I finally look back at Lexington. His eyes are the most serious I’ve ever seen. He leans, slightly inclined toward me. His hands reach back out, and I let him take both of mine in his.
The way he’s looking at me, it opens a little crack in my chest. It causes the breath to hitch in my throat.
Something bites at the back of my eyes.
“Yet you’re not broken, Elle,” he says quietly. He leans forward, and he brings one of his hands up to the back of my neck as he touches his forehead to mine. “You’re a fighter, one of the strongest, bravest people I’ve seen. People might look at you and assume otherwise. But I know what you are, Elle. Fearless.”
I sniff, holding in the tears that threaten to break free.
I don’t cry.
I don’t need to.
But Lexington brings out emotion in me. And I think I need to allow that to happen every now and then.
“Thank you,” I breathe.
He nods, and I take in his scent, fully enveloped in the moment.
Until the laptop in the dining room sounds off with an incoming call.
“I got this,” he says. He backs away.
Instantly, I can breathe again. But instantly, I feel cold.
“Were your ears ringing?” I hear Lexington joke from the dining room. Faintly, I hear Ian and Liv’s voices.
My limbs are somewhat numb as I stand. I pull my sleeves down over my arms and head into the dining room.
“Are you two on one of those freaky sibling wave lengths?” Lexington jokes as I sit in a chair beside him. But it’s forced. I see the look in his eyes, and he’s trying too hard to help me not let them see how affected I am right now.
“What’s wrong?” Ian instantly asks though, his face going serious and stern on the screen. Even Alivia’s brows furrow.
“I’m fine,” I say, instantly feeling like the little girl again under the protection of her big brother.
“No you’re not,” he says, calling me out. My brother has never been one to beat around the bush. “And why the hell are you looking at her like that?”
Lexington leans back away form the computer. “Like what?” he scoffs.
“You keep your damn hands off of my sister, Lex, or I swear—”
“Knock it off, Ian,” I cut him off. “Seriously, you have to stop doing that.”
“You know that’s never going to happen,” he says, still glaring. Lexington looks over at me, his expression just slightly sheepish. “But seriously, what’s wrong?”
Instead of answering him, I slide the laptop back on the table, widening its view, and tilt it upwards. The camera gives them a clear view of the map that hangs on the wall. “Things aren’t going so well up here.”
“Each of those dots represents a blatantly obvious vampire attack,” Lexington jumps in to explain. “This is just in the last seven months.”
“They’re all centered around Charles’ House,” Alivia observes, staring closely at the screen. “What about the last year? The last two years?”
“There haven’t been as many attacks,” I say, looking over at Lexington for confirmation. “They’ve definitely been picking up speed in the recent months.”
“The vamps in this area are starting to realize they no longer have to answer to anyone,” Lexington says, setting his arm across the back of my chair. “Things are starting to get out of hand, and fear is starting to spread.”
“The fact that some of us have fangs isn’t going to stay hidden for long,” Ian concludes. “Have you heard any word of this from anyone at Court?”
Alivia shakes her head. “It’s been a while since I’ve talked to anyone from Roter Himmel though.”
“Has there been any contact with Charles in the last few weeks?” Lexington asks.
Alivia shakes her head. “Not directly through either of us. But Trinity and Christian both received letters with checks for a very large amount as a bribe to join his House.”
“He’s still trying to buy members,” I say. “Did either of them accept?”
“No,” she says, leaning back in her chair and propping one foot up on it. “But if he’s still trying this hard with our House, I can only imagine the pressure he’s putting on the other Houses.”
“Well, at this point I’d say maybe we need to help in the cause,” Lexington says, folding his arms on the table. “He needs some numbers to help get things back under control.”
Ian shakes his head. “I don’t think you realize just what a laughing stock he is to the Houses right now. No one trusts him. No one is willing to take the risk that they’ll be knocked off like his sister was, and all those other House members.”
“But that threat has been eliminated,” I say. It was my own mother who had them all killed. And she’s dead now.
Alivia shrugs. “It takes vampires a long time to get over things and forget.”
Lexington shrugs. “Then why don’t you guys come up here and knock him off the throne? You’ve done a pretty bang up job keeping things under control in the South.”
Alivia laughs. “I’m barely keeping a grasp on everything here. Suddenly expanding the rule of the House of Conrath to half the country? No thanks.”
“You said there were rumors about Cyrus sending hunters and making an enquiry,” I say. “Anything happening with that?”
Alivia shakes her head. “No one has come around here wanting to talk. Yet. But Danny found three dead Bitten in Jackson about two weeks ago.”
“The whole world’s going deadly,” Lexington says.
“I’m not worried about things down here, we’ll handle it,” Ian says. “But things up there are a problem.”
“So, what?” Lexington says. “What are our options? I don’t know what else to do other than flag down Cyrus and tell him he needs to instate a new Royal.”
“And who knows what else will happen when he comes across the ocean,” Ian says as he rolls his eyes. “You obviously haven’t spent enough time around the maniac if you’re suggesting we turn to Cyrus for help.”
“Give us some options here,” I say, jumping in, because when Ian goes back to dark memories, it doesn’t go well for anyone. “We’ve been doing everything we can for the past few weeks, but this is too big for just the two of us to handle.”
Ian’s expression instantly grows darker, if that’s possible. “Do I need to haul you into some deep, dark cave and lock you up? I haven’t been protecting you for the past twenty-three years for you to go gallivanting around, playing vigilante.”
“Your sister’s been doing a damn fine job keeping the Bitten in check,” Lexington pipes up, leaning forward, as if challenging Ian through the computer screen. “You’ve been doing this forever, bro. It’s time to realize your baby sister isn’t a baby anymore.”
Ian lunges toward the screen, his expression full of rage. Alivia’s hands dart out though, pulling him back. He still glares death as he meets Lexington’s eyes. “Knew I should have sent Leigh instead of you.”
“Really, Ian?” Alivia says, annoyance in her voice. “You know he’s right. Elle’s been doing just fine. You
need to give her a little more credit. She’s a college graduate, a successful businesswoman. You need to realize by now she can take care of herself.”
I can’t handle this. The same argument that’s been had over so many years. I get up from the table and head to the living room.
Shada darts down the stairs, rubbing her head over my ankles until I pick her up. Quietly, I hear Ian and Lexington arguing.
I open the front door, walk down the stairs, through the foyer, and step out onto the front porch, sitting on the top stair.
The neighborhood is fairly quiet. Rows of Victorian row homes line the street, each of them costing a pretty penny. If you want to live in Back Bay, you’re going to have to fork out a lot of cash if you don’t inherit a place that’s been passed down for generations.
I watch as a couple jogs down the road, puffs of condensation billowing into the cold air. An old man helps his aged wife up the stairs across the road, walking slowly and careful not to slip.
I feel the temperature drop. The weather said it’s supposed to snow on Monday.
Movement down the road pulls my eyes to the right. A police car rolls down the street, before taking a left, heading in another direction to patrol the streets.
A light goes off in my head. I scramble to my feet, darting back inside. When I walk into the dining room, Lexington and Ian are still going at it, Alivia trying to play referee.
“We need a sheriff, of sorts,” I blurt out, interrupting their annoying quarrel.
“What?” Ian asks, struggling to catch up to the change of direction.
“Or rather, we need…a stand in. You two can’t come up here to get everything under control, not without the threat of starting a war with Charles,” I say as I place my hands on my hips, my mind racing. “And yes, you could beat him if it came to that, but that’s just going to draw more attention, which no one wants. And you can’t really send any more of your people up here without drawing some of that as well.”
“What are you suggesting?” Alivia asks.
“Lexington knows how the Houses work, he’s been around long enough, he knows how things should be done to keep things under control,” I say, looking at him. His expression is unreadable, but open. “But him trying to take charge is going to be seen as an act of war too, considering the House of Allaway gave him up six years ago. What we need is someone to be the face of accountability until Charles gets his crap together. Someone these vampires have to answer to. Someone to be—”