Lillian walks into the foyer, skin-tight, black leather pants hugging her thin legs, a long jacket hiding her white button up shirt.
“The new playground equipment was installed this afternoon at the elementary school,” Lillian says as she stands there, proper and tall. In many ways, she reminds me of Rath. “The donation plaque was also set up. The school sent this for you.”
Lillian hands over an envelope with my name written on it in shaky handwriting.
The card is simple, cardstock folded in half. A picture of five stick children holding hands under a sun decorates the front. Inside are the words THANK YOU and the names of dozens of children all around it.
“Thank you for arranging that,” I say. My stomach rumbles and I start making my way to the kitchen. Lillian and Anna both follow me. “Is anyone else starving? I’m starving.”
“If you’re making cinnamon rolls again, I’m certainly starving,” Anna says with a smile.
And I realize, for the first time in a very long time, I have girl friends.
“You got it,” I tell her with a wink.
Katina has gone for the day since it’s eight o’clock, so I have the run of her kitchen to myself. Things are going to have to change soon. She’s still working a regular day schedule, but everyone in this house is now on a graveyard one.
I’ve just finished pulling all the ingredients I need out when the cell phone in my back pocket dings with a text message. I pull it out to find it’s from Ian.
Sorry I haven’t called back. Family needs me.
And that’s all he offers.
“Ian?” Lillian guesses.
I look up at her and realize how much my expression has fallen. “Yeah,” I confirm as I set the phone on the counter for them to both read.
“It is respectable that he’s stepped up and taken care of his family like he has,” Anna says as she slides it back. I just look at it laying there. “It’s a big undertaking.”
“Doesn’t mean it’s easy to have him gone,” Lillian observes. I realize she’s been watching my face this whole time.
I nod, biting the inside of my lip. I understand, I text back. I tuck my phone back into my pocket and set to measuring out my ingredients.
“What’s on your mind, Alivia?” Lillian asks gently. “I can tell you’re upset.”
I don’t answer her right away. I’m not sure exactly how I’m feeling or anything right now.
“I know he has a family to take care of,” I say without looking up from my work. “I know that. They were always his biggest priority before he died. He was supporting them both and I’m stupid to have forgotten that. He spent every waking moment worrying if they were protected enough or not.”
I mix my dry ingredients together, using too much force and sending a cloud of powder up into the air.
“And I know he never wanted to be a vampire,” I continue without looking up at either Anna or Lillian. I just pretend I’m talking to myself. “And I’ve known for a long while that I was going to be one someday. And we knew we had an expiration. But now…everything is different now. And I feel like all our problems should be solved. But things are just… They’re not how they should be.”
I push my hair out of my face and set to cracking eggs into a bowl. “Everything is different now.”
And with every word I speak, I feel a rock sinking heavier and heavier in my stomach.
Because it’s true.
I’ve felt Ian change, and not just in the way of turning into a vampire. He’s not his cocky, self-assured self any more. He’s holding something back, and it’s a big part.
I’m different too. I feel myself changing every day.
And I fear we’re changing in different directions.
These women, who I was once afraid of, who were allies with the enemy I hid from for weeks, they’re here for me. Lillian leans across the counter and grabs my wrist gently in support.
“Most men are complete idiots,” Anna offers. “No surprise Ian is no different.”
And a laugh is exactly what I needed. Even if it’s a shallow one. “Yeah, I guess I kind of forgot that,” I chuckle. I sniff, getting my emotions back under control. Time for a shift in the topic or I’ll drive myself crazy. “Get this: Ian is a virgin.”
“Are you serious?” Lillian says with more shock than I expect.
I nod. “Yeah,” I chuckle. “He’s twenty-four and he’s never slept with anyone.”
“Oh hell,” Anna breathes. “You’re doomed then. Don’t kick me out for saying it, but Ian is hot, and knowing that…well. That makes him kind of irresistible.”
“Hey, back off,” I threaten her, brandishing my spatula in her direction. “We may have problems, but he’s still mine.”
Anna laughs and holds her hands up in surrender. “He’s all yours. I’ve had enough of my own man problems.”
And I’m about to ask her what the deal is with her and the Kask brothers when one of them walks into the kitchen.
“What is this, girls night?” Samuel asks with that cocky smile of his.
In behind him walks a tall, thin man. He seems unsure, but not exactly nervous. His hair is not quite red, not quite blond, his eyebrows the same color. His skin is pale, and it’s easy to tell this is a man who’s never tanned and always burned in the sun. He almost looks like he could be albino.
But it’s his incredibly light blue eyes that are completely captivating.
I can’t say he’s a beautiful man, but he is intriguing to look at.
“Hi,” I greet the stranger, ignoring Samuel’s comment.
“Hello,” he says with a little nod. His accent is British.
“Everyone, this is Dr. Nial Jarvis,” Samuel says as he leans on the counter. “He’s a doctor from Montgomery who’s suddenly become very interested in a position at Hipsbro County Hospital when he learned about a House full of other Born. I found an old contact of mine, asked if he’d join. He had no interest, but he’d heard of a doctor in Montgomery that only ever worked night shifts.”
Nial looks around at all of us, studying. There’s hesitance in his eyes, but also the slightest bit of wonder. “She’s not one of us,” he says, indicating me.
“Not yet,” I answer. “But it won’t be long.”
He nods and I can almost see the gears turning in his head. He seems a bit overwhelmed. “But you two are?”
“We’re both Born, yes,” Lillian says. Anna studies him closely, and I know I couldn’t have chosen a better woman to be my General.
“Can you tell us about yourself?” I ask. I gesture toward the dining table off the side of the kitchen, the cinnamon rolls momentarily forgotten. Our entire group shifts to it, taking seats. “By the way, I’m Alivia, this is Lillian, Anna, and you’ve already met Samuel.”
“Yes,” he says with a nod. He folds his hands on the table. All of his movements are very controlled and almost pained looking. “I, um…” he takes a hard swallow. “Thank you for having me in your home.”
I didn’t tell him the House was mine, but he knows.
“I’m happy to have you here,” I say with a small smile.
Nial nods. “Right. About myself. I came from England, Cornwall, about seven years ago as I finished medical school. I was offered a position in Richmond. I’m an emergency medical physician.” His voice shakes just slightly. And he can’t seem to keep from staring at us all. “About two years ago, when there was that freak ice storm, I ran out to help bring in a stretcher, when I slipped on the ice. I fell back. Hit the base of my head, top of my spine, on a ledge. Snapped my neck, severed everything, immediately.”
Such a simple little mistake. A trip. A fall.
And then dead.
“I woke up four days later in a morgue,” he says. His voice cracks just slightly. “It was freezing and dark. It was terrifying.”
I reach across the table and take his hand in mine.
He clears his throat. “I uh…I got my way out. But the examiner, she was there.
And I was so…so very thirsty.”
“It’s okay,” Lillian says. “We all did it.”
Nial bites the inside of his lip and nods. “I couldn’t stop, didn’t really even realize what I was doing. But when I came to my senses, I bolted. I was sure my death would be on file, recorded already, so I didn’t dare try going back to England. I ended up in Montgomery. Got a job. And then Samuel here tells me I’m not the only one.”
“You thought you were the only one of your kind?” I ask him gently.
Nial nods. “You hear the stories, but I never imagined they were true. I thought I was a zombie. I just kept waiting to crave human brain tissue.”
He suddenly breaks out with an awkward sounding chuckle, and soon we are all laughing along with him. “You’re not the only one,” Lillian offers. “That was my thought too.”
“You didn’t know what you were either?” Nial asks her with a smile.
“No,” she shakes her head. “Woke up, just like you, in a morgue.”
Nial leans back in his chair with a relieved sigh. He shakes his head. “I have to say, it’s such a relief, after two years, to know I’m not alone.”
“You’re not,” I say, giving him a smile. “You are among friends here. Family. And I hope you will stay with us. We all live here, and you’re invited to as well.”
“Really?” he asks in surprise. He looks around at all the others. They nod in confirmation. “That’s very generous of you. I…it feels like too much.”
“Really,” I assure him. “It’s not. There’s plenty of space. And in reality, each of us is a bit of an orphan. We are all each other have. Please, stay with us.”
Emotion swims in his eyes, and I didn’t know a vampire could cry until I see it there. “Thank you,” he says in a breathy voice. “After so long in solitude, I am just so grateful and relieved.”
“Come,” I say as I stand. Everyone else does as well. When they all start to follow us out of the kitchen, I discreetly hold up a hand to tell them to stay.
“Your home is very beautiful,” Nial says as he looks at the splendor of it all. “May I ask how one so young came to have so much?”
“I inherited it from my father,” I say. “You have a lot to learn, but I think you should get settled in first?”
“Of course,” he says with a nod.
We walk to the bedroom on the far end of the hall, the one I once fed Samuel in. I open the door, showing him the bedroom. This one is in all blue and grays. Like the rest of the house, it is extreme classic and modern. “This bedroom is yours, if you want it. For as long as you like.”
Nial looks around. He’s a doctor and I assume has plenty of his own money. But the look on his face is childlike. As if this is Christmas and the greatest gift he could have been given was someone to accept him.
He turns back to face me, his eyes dancing. “Thank you. I’d like to live here with you all. Very much.”
“You are very welcome,” I say with a smile. I can’t help but reciprocate his joy. “Welcome to the House of Conrath.”
“IT REALLY IS NOT RECOMMENDED to withdraw this much blood,” Nial says as he caps off the tube of my blood leading into the bag. “It will leave you weak for a day or two. And that’s on top of what we took yesterday, and the day before.” He looks up at me with those beautiful eyes.
“I understand the risks,” I say. I do feel slightly lightheaded. “But I appreciate you helping me.”
“Samuel tells me your…boyfriend is an paramedic,” Nial says as he begins cleaning up our equipment. “He’s done this for you before?”
I nod as I press my thumb into the bandage he applies to my forearm.
“But he does not live in the House?”
He’s learning. Quickly. Lillian has taken it upon herself to educate him. I think she appreciates having someone her own age in the House.
“It’s complicated,” I respond, not particularly desirous to talk about it. I grab the bag of blood and cross to the fridge in the office. I take the three other bags and put them in an insulated bag with the new one. “Thank you for your help, again. How did your interview at Hipsbro General go?”
“Well,” he responds as he removes his gloves and disposes of them. “Arranging the interview in the middle of the night was not quite as difficult as I expected. They already called this afternoon. They offered me the position.”
Nial will only be on call, plus two guaranteed shifts, but they’re all graveyard.
“You don’t have to ask it,” he says. He’s been watching my face. “I will be able to get blood for the House members. You can’t keep letting them feed on you. Eventually it will kill you, and then what will you do?”
We stand there, face to face. Only having known each other a few days, but already trusted allies. “Thank you. It means a great deal to me.”
“Loyalty and family are things I haven’t had in a very long time,” he says. “When I’ve found it, it’s not something I take lightly.”
“I promise it will go both ways.”
We turn and walk out the doors and down the stairs. And as we round into the foyer, I find Rath standing just under the chandelier, hands folded in front of him, waiting.
“Alivia, may I speak with you for a moment?” he asks.
I nod, and the two of us walk into the library. Rath closes the door behind us.
“A delivery was made this afternoon and I am greatly concerned about it.”
He doesn’t beat around the bush.
“It’s only fair,” I say with stiffness.
“Fair is a concept that is only justifiable to children, Alivia,” Rath nearly spits out. “You are an adult. You are a leader. And you are in a position to set an example. To bring about real change.”
“Do you not remember that it was my mother she dug up and dropped on my front door step?” I bellow. I take a step toward him. The acid in my veins becomes more deadly by the moment. “How do you think you would have reacted if it was my father they had dug up and left for you to discover, just to mess with your head, Rath? Would you simply turn the other cheek?”
The stunned look on his face says he hadn’t thought of it like that.
Rath’s loyalty and love for my father—whom he called a brother—is deep and pure.
“I didn’t think so,” I say, my voice lowering. The back of my eyes sting. So instead of staying and fighting, instead of justifying myself like I feel I have to do, I leave the library.
I find Anna standing in the entryway of the ballroom. “You okay?” she asks.
“Fine,” I growl as I motion for her to follow me. “Let’s go.”
We walk to the garage and climb in the Jeep, the back of it heavily weighted down. I set the insulated bag in my lap and Anna drives. She wears a set of sunglasses that are more like goggles. Because it’s only five-thirty and the sun shines behind the gray cloud cover.
Anna doesn’t question me. She doesn’t tell me that this is either unwise or too much, or to prepare for retaliation.
She doesn’t say anything at all. And for that I am thankful.
The vegetation around the road grows thicker as we turn off from town and head south. The road becomes rough and uneven. And finally, we turn off into the swamps that lead to the False House.
Curses. Jasmine began to tell me about them once, but I don’t know much about them. At one time, this land was a thriving plantation. Now it’s muck. The Hanging Tree in town is completely dead, but before my Uncle and his House members were hung in it, it was beautiful and full.
Who controls these curses? Individuals with terrifying power? The universe? Karma?
I wish I understood it.
I vow to ask the King when he arrives.
I can only hope that the daylight will protect Anna and I as we park in front of the House. We both climb out and I open the back hatch for Anna. From it, she hefts a huge headstone made from the finest marble. With no strain at all, she carries it to the edge of the circular driveway and s
ets it where it will be in full view from the front porch.
The positioning mirrors what they did with my mother.
I retrieve another box from the car and walk back to the porch. From it, I pull an intricate mobile. Like the kind you’d hang above an infant’s crib. But mine is far more sinister.
At the very top, just below the string I attach to the roof of the porch with a nail, is a crown, one—alone. It’s a replica of the family crown Rath presented me with after Ian was killed. The raven stands out, bold and strong, brilliant gold.
Beneath it hang five other crowns, one representing each Ian, Samuel, Lillian, Anna, and Nial.
The next tier holds four more crowns, and dangling in the center of each of them is a single blood bag. Gifts for Markov, Christian, Cameron, and Trinity.
And hanging at the very bottom, lonely and beneath all the others, is the last crown. It’s painted flat black, to match Jasmine Veltora’s black, obviously dead, heart. Suspended just inside the circle of the crown, is another tiny black crown for Micah.
I step back to the stairs, admiring my work.
It’s a beautiful, complicated sight.
But the true crown is the one I turn around to face. The headstone Anna placed in plain view.
In Memory of Alexander Veltora.
Samuel has many connections. Samuel is old. Samuel knows many stories.
I did not expect him to be so valuable when he walked into my home. I expected nothing more than a man who would make perverted comments and try to catch a view down my shirt.
I did not expect such a weapon.
I did not expect his valuable information.
Something dark and strange has begun taking over my insides ever since Jasmine left my mother on my front drive. Something strong and aggressive.
And I don’t have the desire to fight it, I’ve found.
Anna makes a motion with her hand that it’s time to leave. We walk back to the car, having not said a single word this entire time.