Chapter 20
“Callum.” Tess’s breath caught in her throat. “You’re—I mean, you look…”
He looked good, was how he looked. Healthy and strong, his color returned—well, what little of it he had to begin with—wearing faded jeans and a soft flannel shirt, the sleeves rolled up over his forearms. It wasn’t just that he looked miraculously recovered…there was something else too. Maybe it was that, for the first time since Tess had met him, he looked genuinely happy.
“All better? That poultice was just the ticket.” He grinned again, then leaned close to murmur in Tess’s ear; his cool breath made the hairs on her neck prickle. “Thanks again for saving me.”
“Oh.” Tess’s heart raced; she was suddenly very aware that she’d spent the last twenty minutes rushing through the compound carrying three heavy books. She cleared her throat. “Good. I’m glad.”
“I want you to know…” He kept his voice low, so only she could hear it. “All the things you’ve told me over the past few days, I’ve been listening. So there’s something we need to do, all right?”
He looked at her meaningfully, then took her by the arm—her stomach instantly tightened.
“What?” she asked. “Where are we…”
“Trust me,” he assured her. But then she saw they were heading straight toward Tristan.
“Absolutely not,” Tess hissed. “I don’t want to talk to him.”
“You don’t need to talk,” he replied. “Just listen.”
“Well, well,” Tristan sneered when he saw them approaching. “Look who’s made it out of Callum’s bedroom. Tell me, Tess, is he as good as it says in the book?”
He waved his copy of Blood Feud and gave them a sickening grin.
“Tess and I have been talking. A lot.” Callum’s eyes glinted dangerously. “As a matter of fact, she’s told me some pretty interesting things about you.”
Tristan glared at Tess, his expression dark. “I don’t know what this human said—”
“Save it.” Callum put his hands on Tristan’s shoulders—a friendly gesture with a menacing effect. “She has no reason to lie, and I have no reason to disbelieve her. So what do you say you and I make a deal?”
“What deal?” Tristan growled.
“It’s simple.” Callum leaned closer to Tristan, bearing down on him. “You stay away from Tess, you get to live. But if anything happens to her—and I mean if anyone drinks one drop of blood, if she gets one cut, one bruise, at someone else’s hand—then I give you the most painful death I can imagine. And I have a very, very good imagination. So not only are you not going to touch her, and I mean ever— you’d better hope no one else does either. Because even if I see another vamp attack her with my own eyes, I’m still going to hold you accountable. We clear?”
Tristan glowered at Callum with seething hatred, but Tess knew he didn’t dare argue.
“Crystal,” he agreed, his voice oily and calm.
“Good.” Callum relaxed into an easy posture and released his grip on Tristan, affably clapping him on the shoulders. “Glad we got that sorted. Tess, you want something to eat?”
Tess nodded, feeling stunned, as she followed Callum toward the banquet table.
“You shouldn’t have done that.” She shook her head. “What if he comes after you? What if he comes after me?”
“Like to see him try,” Callum scoffed. “Little twat can’t fight worth a damn.”
“But, Callum—”
“Listen to me.” Callum whirled around to face Tess. “I can’t control what happens outside this compound. And I know how afraid you must be, with the bridge gone and all—if you want to leave this compound and hide somewhere, even from me, I’ll understand. But if you choose to stay here, I’ll do everything I can to protect you, okay? I promise.”
Tess felt a lump in her throat, a tightness in her chest—goddamn it, she was dangerously close to tears.
“What is it?” He looked worried. “What’s wrong?”
She reached for his hand—but then thought better of it, that would be a stupid thing to do in front of half the clan. So she let her fingers brush his, and even though it was just for the briefest moment, it made every part of her body feel warm.
“I really am hungry.” She smiled.
He grinned back at her, his expression tender and joyful—like he was proud to stand by her side. Tess’s emotions flared; she felt exactly the same way.
The banquet table was piled with all kinds of food glamoured by different vampires to suit their own tastes: platters of Chinese lacquered pork, tender braised lamb shanks, steaming pots of Indian stews, bowls of fluffy whipped potatoes, and gorgeous leafy salads with bright lemon dressing. Tess grinned as she filled her plate; this had to be the best—and weirdest—book club pot luck dinner in history.
“Are we ready to begin?” Nantale clinked her glass as the vampires took their seats. There were a few smaller tables set up so the vampires could eat while they talked; Callum and Tess sat at a table with Sylvie and Hamish.
“Did you try some brisket?” Sylvie nudged Tess. “I glamoured that.”
“It’s so good!” Tess raved. Her own parents had never bothered to celebrate Jewish holidays or cook traditional Jewish foods; Sylvie was starting to feel like the bubbe she’d never had.
“Okay, in the first place,” Angelique was addressing the group, “I don’t know how we’re supposed to form an opinion with just one book. What do they say about us in the sequels?!”
“Ask the human.” Antoinette pointed at Tess. “She’s obsessed with them, right? Isn’t that her whole thing? She’s like our fangirl.”
“It’s not my whole thing,” Tess muttered.
“Tess, tell me the truth.” Hamish reached across the table and put his hand gently on hers. “Do I have a bigger role in the sequels? How would you characterize my dramatic arc?”
“Um…” Tess bit her lip. “You’re kind of a side character?”
Hamish’s expression turned dark. “What did you just say?”
“If we can all please focus for a moment.” Nantale closed her eyes. “I think we can agree that the most pressing matter is to discover August Lirio’s true identity.”
“Yeah, so I can kill them.” Hamish sniffed.
“No,” Nantale said coolly. “Because that person clearly knows intimate details of events that transpire on the Isle—which means it’s possible they live here. And if someone on this island has a way to communicate with people back in our world, that’s something we should know about.”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Sylvie cut herself another piece of brisket. “August Lirio is Felix Hawthorn.”
A stunned silence fell over the room—Tess turned to Sylvie.
“Why do you think that?”
“Because he made himself the hero,” she said, as if any kindergartner should have reached this conclusion. “You all hate how you were portrayed in the book, right? You think it’s unfair? None of it was true? Ask yourselves who thinks of you that way—and who thinks Felix is a hero. Felix does.”
Tess gazed at Sylvie with wonder. She had to admit, it was a pretty solid theory—it definitely made more sense than any vague ideas Tess had considered.
“Hold on.” Callum rubbed his temples. “If Felix had a way to communicate with people back home, wouldn’t we know about it? Be hard to keep a secret that big on an island this small.”
“Oh,” Tess blurted out. “Actually—Felix did tell me he had a secret, something only his clan was allowed to know about.”
“You’re talking to Felix too?” Hamish’s eyes went wide. “You are messy. ”
Callum turned to Tess, a tamped-down fury building behind his eyes. “Did you think it might be a good idea to tell me about this?”
“I’m sorry, it was in the orchard,” Tess said quickly. “And then you and I fought and then you almost died and then Sylvie cured you and here we are and I’m telling you now, okay?”
Callum looked like he wanted to say more, but Nantale interrupted.
“Tess, what did Felix say?”
“Um, nothing specific.” Every vampire in the room was staringat Tess; her skin was crawling. “He just mentioned that at his castle—he said they were working on a way off the Isle. And I wonder—I mean, if he’d figured out a way to communicate with people back home, that would be a big step, right?”
“This is it.” Callum looked at Tess with a burning intensity. “This could be our way home.”
“No, it couldn’t.” Nantale sighed.
“What?” Callum whipped around to look at her. “Why not?”
“Because how are we going to find out what’s happening in Felix’s castle?”
“We could send spies, or we could bloody torch the place, fight our way in with brute force—”
“Or I could just ask him,” Tess interjected.
“No,” Callum snapped.
“Callum—”
“It’s out of the question.”
“But Felix likes me!” Tess insisted. “We can find the safest possible way for me to see him, but this is too big a lead not to pursue it.”
“I agree,” Callum said. “I just think there are much less stupid ways to pursue it than putting your mortal life in danger.”
“Mortals’ lives are always in danger.” Angelique rolled her eyes. “That’s the literal definition of mortality.”
“Yeah, she could just as easily fall off a horse and snap her neck, and what good would that do us?” Antoinette sniffed.
“If she snapped her neck, at least we could drink her blood,” Tristan sulked.
“Wait.” Nantale held out her hands, and the room fell silent. “Callum, what if the girl drinks your blood?”
Tess’s throat suddenly felt dry, her breath was like sandpaper scraping against it.
Callum looked at Nantale for a long moment, then nodded slowly.
“Why?” Tess couldn’t think of the right words; she felt woozy. “Why would I—what would that do?”
“It’d make you a lot faster and stronger, for one.” Callum was leaning toward her now, excitement building. “Make it a lot easier for you to escape if something went wrong.”
“But…” Tess couldn’t breathe. She could explain if she could just breathe. “Your blood, the poison.”
“Oh, hmm,” Callum considered. “I think it should be all right, now that I’m better? Sylvie, what do you think?”
Callum turned to Sylvie, but she clocked Tess’s discomfort and shrugged noncommittally.
“But listen,” Callum went on, “if you want to wait we can wait, certainly I’m in no rush for you to talk to Felix. This would just be a safeguard—”
“We don’t have to talk about it now.” Tess stood abruptly, her chair screeching against the marble floor. Everyone in the room looked at her like she was losing her mind—and maybe she was, she felt like she was, but if she didn’t get out of this room right now, she was going to pass out.
“Tess—” Callum reached for her arm, but she jerked it back.
“It’s fine,” she squeaked, her voice high and ragged. “You’re having your book club, I’ve already read the books, I should go, it’s time for me to go.”
And before he could respond, before any of the vampires could say a single thing, she grabbed her books and rushed out of the room. The images were already coming—the snowfall, the whiskey, the pile of clothes. It didn’t matter what dimension you were in, you couldn’t let your guard down for a single second. Tess wasn’t going to drink Callum Yoo’s blood. And she was a fucking idiot to believe him when he said she could ever be safe, on this island or anywhere else.