She reaches over and pats my leg. “You’re a brave girl, Alivia. This is a terrible fate, for anyone. It isn’t fair you’re being forced into it before your time.”
And the haunted tone of her voice, I wonder again. “How long have you been a vampire?”
Lillian sighs and looks out the window. “It’s been twelve years,” she says. “I grew up in Matal, just about an hour north of here. Terrible, little run-down town. I was into fashion and couldn’t wait to get out of there. So I moved to New York as soon as I turned eighteen. I started making a name for myself. My designs were starting to catch fire. And then one day I was mugged. I was stupid, tried to fight back. The man shot me.”
It’s so easy to imagine, just like you see on those crime TV shows every night. Except the detectives didn’t get the chance to solve her murder. I imagine her waking in a morgue and walking out of the building in complete confusion.
“I was older than you,” she continues. “Forty-one and it still feels like my life was cut short.”
“You didn’t know you were a Born, did you?” I finally ask the question I’ve been suspecting for a while.
Lillian shakes her head. “I never knew my father. My mom said my dad died when I was little and I didn’t ask too many questions.”
“Vampires sure do like to sleep around, don’t they?” I ask.
Lillian actually chuckles. “Well, when you’ve got eternity, you tend to get bored easily.”
I shake my head. It’s ridiculous.
But our light mood doesn’t last long. We turn for the drive of the House and into the swamps. I remember Jasmine saying the land was cursed after Elijah’s attack. I think I’d like to learn more about these curses. Maybe in four days.
The light begins to fade, but clings to the sky. I don’t have much time until the sun goes down and Micah tries to take off to kill Ian. I very much doubt that he won’t go ahead and do it now.
I park the Jeep right in front of the doors, as I did last time. The gravel squishes more than crunches when I get out. The ground is soggy and littered with moss and grass.
I would have knocked, but Lillian just opens the door and walks inside. This is her home, after all.
It’s quiet inside. I wonder how many of the House members are still sleeping. How many hours of the day do they sleep when their preferred hours are so few? And do most of them sleep right as it gets light, or wake just as it gets dark?
We walk into the great room at the back of the house. It is laid out similarly to my own house, but this room is certainly not a ballroom. Instead, there’s a giant, empty fireplace. Large enough that I could stand inside it and not bump my head. There’s a TV stand set up in front of it, though. And several broken down couches surround it. Sitting on one, munching on a bowl of popcorn, is Cameron.
“Hey, princess,” he says to me with a smile when he sees me. He stuffs another handful of popcorn into his mouth. “And I’m glad to see you, everyone’s been worried about you.” He indicates Lillian.
“Is Jasmine still sleeping?” Lillian asks. She doesn’t use the same annoyance with Cameron that most everyone else in the House does. She’s patient and grants actual respect to him. As if he really isn’t the waste of space the rest of them treat him as.
“I don’t think so,” Cameron says, his eyes still on the TV. “Not with the racket going on in her bedroom. I think her and Micah have been busy, if you know what I mean.”
Gross.
Someone bumps into me from behind, nearly sending me to the ground. Trinity walks past me and flops down onto the couch next to Cameron.
“Excuse you,” I blurt in annoyance.
“Watch where you’re standing.” She glares at me with malice, even as she reaches for a handful of popcorn and starts in on it.
“Have some respect,” Lillian chides Trinity. “You’ll do well to remember that Alivia is royalty.”
“She’s also a human.” But there’s conflict in her voice when Trinity says this. Disgust, yes, but also a hint of longing. In their own ways, I suspect everyone here misses their human lives. Except probably Markov.
“Not for long.”
Speak of the devil.
I turn to see Markov standing in the doorway. He wears trousers, his hands in his pockets, and a light blue button up shirt. He may be psychotic, but he’s a well-dressed psycho.
“I need to speak to the House,” I say to him. Because he feels the next highest ranked beside Jasmine, and I guess Micah. I also get the impression that he’s one of the oldest vampires in the house and not just because he looks to be in his seventies. “I’m ready.”
“Oh, my dear,” he says with that scary smile of his. “No one is ever ready for this life.”
“Probably not,” I say. I try to subtly wipe the sweat of my palms on my pants. “But I’m tired of anticipating this. I want to get it over with.”
My eyes flick behind Markov to see Jasmine walk down the stairs wearing a silk robe. Her hair is a wild mess that somehow still manages to look incredible. Micah follows behind her, wearing only a pair of boxers. The second he sees me, his eyes are filled with disdain.
“But there’s still nearly three weeks until your birthday,” Jasmine says. She steps into the room and I swear Cameron and Trinity both sit up straighter. “We agreed to not call the King until then.”
I swallow hard. “I’m not talking about just calling the King. I’m talking about resurrecting. I want you to turn me. Tonight.”
The countdown thunders inside my chest. The race to the finish.
The wheels are turning inside Jasmine’s head. Once again, I’ve taken control of the situation from her hands. I’m turning the tables once more.
“I’m glad to see you are alright, Lillian,” Jasmine says, changing the topic. “We began to fear the worst after you went missing for so long.”
“I went for a walk to clear my head,” she says. Not quite the truth, but I suppose it isn’t a complete lie. “I was attacked. Thankfully, I wasn’t far from Alivia’s house and luck was with me I suppose because she found me. And killed my assailant.”
“Another rogue Bitten?” Jasmine asks, tensing up.
I nod. “I didn’t recognize him. I don’t think it was anyone from town. But they had the same toxin as before and the brand on the back of his hand.”
Jasmine mulls this over. This entire war from the dark has everyone reeling and not knowing what to do. “Thank you for taking care of one of our House members. That won’t be forgotten.”
As Markov told me once, proving loyalty in this House means far more than blood.
“Back to the reason I’m here,” I say with a deep breath. “I want to do this. Now. And I am tired of anticipating this King coming and seeing if I am his queen, which I know I’m not. But I want him called here as soon as I’ve resurrected.”
“Why are you in such a rush?” Jasmine asks, cocking her head to the side just a little.
“Because,” I begin. I’ve been practicing the lie in my head since I made the decision to drug Ian. “Everything has been out of my control since I got here. I’m tired of it. This is me facing my fate and dealing with it.”
For some reason, my eyes drift to Markov. He’s wearing that terrible smile of his. But there’s respect in his eyes and that surprises me.
“I think we should make it a grand affair,” Lillian says. She embellishes my lie. “A ball at the House. Even though Alivia has said she does not wish to rule over us, we will be a part of each other’s lives for many, many years to come, and we all hardly know each other. A House party, if you will. We could invite…guests.”
And by this, she means people to feed on.
My stomach turns, knowing that very soon, this will appeal to me. I’ll crave it. I’ll enjoy it.
“When the time comes,” I say, vocalizing the most terrifying part of my entire plan. But one I’ve very carefully thought out. “I want the entire House to take me. All nine of you. I want you all to feed on
me until I’m dry and dead. It seems only fitting.”
I feel the collective intake of breath and the anticipation that builds with it. For a moment, I’m afraid of what I’ve just suggested. Maybe it’s offensive, or too extreme, even for a House of vampires.
“It’s called a Bloodletting,” Jasmine says. And when I look at her, she has a smile on her face. “It is the most honorable way to transition into a House. The ultimate act of acceptance, surrounding yourself to your House members. By letting them take from you. It is a legend among vampires and not often practiced because of the rarity of the situation that calls for it. I myself was transitioned this way.”
The way she says it, like she’s trying to undermine me, it makes my stomach boil.
I swallow hard once again and nod. Apparently, my morbid plotting isn’t original. “That’s the way I want it done.”
A conflicted smile grows on Jasmine’s face. “Very well. House members! We must get to work. We have a party to throw in an hour and a big finale just before dawn!”
MY EYES FLICK TO THE clock once again. Three in the morning. I have three more hours until Ian starts to wake up. Until Rath will have to give him another dose. I have no doubts that Rath will give it to him, but Ian is Ian and his will is stronger than those around him most of the time.
There’s the constant feeling on my shoulders that something could go wrong, so it will.
Voices collect downstairs. Laughter, talking, music. Even in the dead of night, a House of vampires are somehow able to concoct a party out of thin air.
I am the honored guest, here to die, and everyone else present to celebrate it.
“You look lovely,” Lillian says as she puts the final touches on my hair.
I look in the full-length mirror in her room where we’ve been getting ready. A red dress, like blood, with spilling ruffles hugs my body. A corset top makes me look like a woman in all the right ways. It’s floor length. My hair is done up in an elegant twist and two white flowers are pinned into it.
I look like the princess everyone says I am.
“Thank you for all your help,” I say quietly as my hands fidget.
“You are very welcome,” Lillian says as she adjusts something with my hair. “And this doesn’t leave this room, but I do wish you were fully claiming the House. You would make a fantastic ruler. You’re smart, and crafty, and kind. And that’s an uncommon combination.”
I shake my head. “I hate politics. I know nothing about being a leader. I don’t want it.”
“Yet you’ve backed Jasmine into a corner, ripped the rug out from under her feet. You’ve gained my trust, made Markov doubt who should be in charge. Are you sure this isn’t the life for you?” Lillian looks over my shoulder at me in the mirror.
“I want something I can’t have.” The words slip from my lips before I can think about them.
And the look in Lillian’s eyes tells me that she knows exactly what I am talking about.
The door to Lillian’s room opens and in steps Anna. “It’s time. They’re ready for you.”
I turn and try to calm the fear that’s threatening to claw its way up my throat.
Anna is severe-looking with her sharp cheekbones, intense eyes. Her hair is pulled back in a slick twist. A black leather corset top gives way to black tulle that falls to her knees.
She’s fierce and beautiful at the same time.
The three of us walk out to the top of the stairs. Down below, the rest of the House members wait for us, accompanied by a dozen humans.
“Tonight we honor Alivia Ryan,” Jasmine says, holding up a glass of red liquid, too thick to be wine. “With her sacrifice, our House will be restored to honor, which it has not had for far too long. We thank you for your sacrifice.”
“Here, here,” they all say as they too hold up glasses. Cameron in a t-shirt mock-print tux. Trinity with a sneer. Micah with death in his eyes. The Kask brothers—Christian and Samuel—with hunger and lust. Markov with that curious look of anticipation. And Jasmine. It’s difficult to read her.
I don’t quite know what to do, so I take a little curtsey. And together, Anna, Lillian, and I, descend the stairs.
Samuel hands me a glass of wine as soon as I reach the bottom. “It helps if you’re not stone cold sober when they do it,” he says in a low voice. “Drink up.”
I look up at him, surprised at his statement. I take the glass from him and down half of it. “Did you have a Bloodletting?” I ask.
Samuel shakes his head. “Our father used to rule the house before Jasmine. He was a friend of Elijah Conrath’s, had been for a long time. So when Elijah was killed, my father took over. He wanted to grow the House, so he slept around, a lot. Christian and I were the only ones to take. But he always planned to kill us when we reached our prime. We knew it was coming.”
“That’s awful,” I say, shaking my head. And I down the rest of my drink.
“Dying’s not so bad,” he says with a flirtatious smile. “It’s the resurrecting part that’s a bitch.”
I want to demand he explain what he means by that, but he walks off. The party is making its way throughout the House.
“He’s right,” someone whispers into my ear. I turn to see Christian leaning in close. “The resurrection isn’t all that pleasant, but it’s a small second in the grand scheme of an immortal life.”
I swallow hard. As if I wasn’t nervous enough before. “How long have you been a vampire?” I ask instead of looking scared and weak.
“I’m about to hit my sixty-seventh anniversary,” he says with a smile. “Forever twenty-six. My brother forever twenty-four.”
“How did your father die?” I ask. I try not to look at Trinity biting into the neck of a teenage boy in the corner of the room. Or the blood that drips to the floor. Or the glazed-over look in his eyes.
“There’s a reason everyone is afraid of the King,” Christian says as his voice grows darker. “Cyrus came for a visit fifteen years ago. I think he was investigating why we no longer had a Royal. I guess in his multiple millennia lifespan, two hundred years wasn’t so long to get around to it. He’d gone to see Henry, who acted very Henry. Cyrus was mildly annoyed. And so he called a game. If my father could defend himself against two dozen humans—armed humans—the King would instate my father as a fully fledged Royal.”
“He didn’t survive,” I fill in when Christian falters in his story.
He shakes his head. “The King shamed my brother and I. Said our family’s blood had grown weak. That we didn’t deserve leadership of the House. Jasmine took over a week later.”
This House should be mine, but in a way, it should also be Christian or Samuel’s. But there are deep politics in this world, and the demented King controls all.
No wonder everyone is so afraid of him coming here.
“This world is messed up,” I say as a human pours me more wine.
And I mentally slap myself for the thought. I’m already separating myself from my own species. She’s just a person. I’m a human, too.
For the next hour.
A woman walks up to Christian, her hands all over him. She leans in seductively, whispering in his ear. A coy smile forms on his lips. “You’ll have to excuse me. Bianca here has needs I must attend to.”
“You’re disgusting.” Anna walks up and Christian smiles at her as Bianca leads them away.
“They’re both man whores,” Anna says with a shake of her head. “Don’t let their charms fool you.” And the way she says it, I suspect there’s history between her and one of the brothers, maybe even both.
“Samuel has already tried and failed,” I say, remembering the Summer Ball. “Trust me, neither of them holds any attraction to me.”
“Good,” she says with disgust in her voice.
“Can you explain something to me?” I ask as I watch Christian disappear through a door. Cameron is watching Trinity, even as he sinks his fangs into a woman’s neck.
“Of course,” Anna responds
.
“These people are here willingly,” I say. “They even seem to be enjoying what’s going on. The House appears to have a constant rotation of Bitten. There’s a connection there, isn’t there?”
Anna nods. “Jasmine has the entire house recruit ‘feeders.’ People who are willing to be fed upon at any time they’re called. We only recruit a few people from Silent Bend, otherwise we cause too much of a stir. Some are from surrounding towns, one or two are even from across the river. But they let us feed on them in exchange for the promise that one day we will turn them.”
“They want to become a Bitten?” I ask in disbelief.
“Humans have long had a fascination with the supernatural,” she continues to explain. “Anything beyond what is their mundane lives. Each of these people here are willing to trade possibly years of servitude in exchange for what little benefits being a Bitten gives them.”
“I’ve heard about the Debt,” I say as I watch one of the very Bitten we speak of pour Lillian a glass of red liquid.
“Jasmine enforces it with every ounce of strength she possesses.” Anna takes a sip of blood from her glass. “Let us feed on you for however long we deem necessary. We drain you of enough blood to turn you. Serve your term with the Debt. And go free as a Bitten into the world.”
I shake my head. “I don’t understand the Bitten. They just accept their servitude.”
“I understand civil war,” Anna says. And I don’t doubt what she says. “There will come a day when the vampires will have their own.”
“How long have you been part of the House?” I ask. I watch Jasmine and Micah dance, spinning in carefree circles. He dips her, kissing between her breasts as her head falls back, and she laughs.
“Only five years,” she responds. She crosses her arms over her chest and settles her weight onto one foot. It’s strange, she’s incredibly beautiful, maybe the most beautiful woman in the House, but she’s sharp, tough, and has a piss-off attitude that’s far more mature than Trinity’s. “I used to be a rogue. A wanderer without any ties. But it’s a lonely life.”