Chapter Fifteen – Lucian
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
LUCIAN
“How much of that stuff did you give her?” I ask, staring down at Evelynn, still fast asleep in bed nine hours later.
Hex shrugs. “Enough. I wasn’t expecting her to drink so much of the whiskey. I thought she would take a sip, not glug half the bottle.”
“She’s fine, just in a deep sleep, is all.” Clutch shrugs beside me.
“So, when are you going to turn her, or kill her?” Silas asks sharply beside me.
My gaze snaps to his. Every muscle in my body locks tight at the thought of causing her harm. Even turning her is excruciatingly painful.
“I’m not,” I state firmly. I feel the eyes of all of them searing me, waiting for an explanation. “Not here,” I breathe. Turning on my heel, I head to court, standing at the head of the table, waiting for all of them to take their seats.
“The laws, Lucian,” Silas seethes beside me.
“I’m well aware of the fucking laws!” I growl, my temper rising. My fists grip the wood on the back of my chair so tight, I feel it begin to splinter beneath me. I pause, trying to calm my anger, this ball of raging emotions that is currently swarming me.
“Do not ask me to kill her. Do not ask me to change her,” I start.
“Don’t ask me why, because I don’t know, but the thought of harming her in any way brings me physical pain.
In my chest, like I have a beating human heart,” I confess.
“From the moment I saw her, I felt this pull, and I shut it down. I tried to shut it down. Until I came back and saw her near death. I swear I’ve never felt rage like that.
I wanted to rip your heads from your bodies,” I confess.
“The nun,” Silas states coldly. “She was protected for you. Maybe you are the only one who can protect her?” he suggests. “It’s why you feel different towards her?” Silas suggests.
“It’s not a bad suggestion,” Cain nods in agreement.
I look to Hex and Viktor. “Anything?” I ask, hoping they’ve found an answer to Anathema, to all of it.
Viktor shakes his head. “The book the nun gave me has pages of markings and words written in gibberish.”
“Old tongue?” Cain suggests.
“No, it’s something else. I just need to figure it out,” Viktor sighs with exasperation.
We continue to think of possibilities and try to plan, but it’s impossible to plan for the unknown. Hours pass, and my patience with this matter fades.
“I need to feed,” I cut in. “I need to hunt, or I will lose my fucking mind,” I snarl.
“I need to feed, too. I will join you,” Cain states, standing.
We leave immediately. I don’t give any orders while I’m gone, knowing they won’t harm her. Running through the forest that surrounds the compound, Cain laughs.
“Have you forgotten how to run?” he asks.
“I’m fucking running, asshole,” I snap.
“Yeah, you’re running like an old lady running for a bus.” He laughs louder as he picks up speed, leaving me in his wake.
I bear down and push myself to catch him up. As I set him in my sights, I pass him, flipping him off as I go, unable to fight the grin on my face.
I needed this.
I come to an abrupt halt, tilting my head back, scenting the air. Cain comes to a stop beside me, sniffing. I grin.
“Dinner is served.” I run, following the scent, and come to a stop behind some trees. I look down the verge, seeing a man sitting alone, bottles of beer at his side. He sings, slurring his words.
“Belton Beer. Man, I haven’t had a taste of that in forever,” Cain moans, licking his lips.
“Well, what are you waiting for? Tuck in,” I offer.
Cain launches himself, colliding with the man, pinning him to the ground. Cain moves swiftly, the man too inebriated to react. Cain sinks his fangs into the flesh of his neck before the man can even call for help.
The sweet smell of blood and beer fills the night air. The moon glistens off the blood coating Cain’s chin as he looks up at me, smiling like the dangerous monster he is.
“If you are waiting for an invitation to join me, then you’ll be waiting a fucking long time,” he pants, licking the blood from his lips.
A snarl plays on my lips, and I leap into the air, landing beside them, my feet skidding in the mud.
Salivating, I lift the man’s arm and plunge my fangs into his flesh.
The warm, sweet nectar coats my tongue as I feast, draining as much as my body can handle, as Cain continues to feed from his neck.
Euphoria fills my body, that desire, that drive to hunt, to feed, now sated. I break away and lean back, closing my eyes as I tilt my head up to the moonlit sky, letting it caress my face.
I hear Cain shift beside me, a sigh of satisfaction leaving his lips. “It’s how I imagine a drug addict feels when they take their hit,” Cain breathes.
I grunt in agreement as I sit there, bathing in the silence of the night.
“We should head back,” Cain suggests. “Don’t want to be out here longer than we need to.”
I nod in agreement.
“Let’s clear up our mess first. I don’t want people finding him out here. Too close to the compound,” I state as I bend down, lifting the guy over my shoulder.
“The river?” Cain suggests, pointing south.
“Good idea. Grab his things. We’ll throw it all in there.” I gesture to his beers.
We move at speed to the river, the only sound the crunching of the leaves and sticks beneath our feet. We come to a stop, the sound of the river flowing by, the reflection of the moonlight flickering across it.
I throw his body. It lands in the water with a splash. Cain throws the remainder of his things with him. We stand there for a moment longer, just watching his lifeless body float away.
“Ever been a time you felt guilty for feeding?” Cain asks.
“At first, maybe. Now? It’s just a transaction. A need for survival.” I shrug. Any feelings and emotions are long dead from taking a mortal life to feed.
Once back at the compound, I waste no time in going to her, and I’m pleased to see a door has been replaced on my room.
As I enter, I find her sitting up on the bed, books splayed around her, her face scrunched up in concentration as she reads.
Her dark hair is drawn over one shoulder, exposing her delicate neckline.
“Petal…” I call her, my voice rough with desire as I gaze upon her.
She snaps her head up and her lips part in surprise. The sound of her breath hitching in her throat will forever be one of my favourite sounds.
“I’m reading,” she states.
My lips twitch. “I can see that,” I say as I move behind her, lightly placing my lips on her bare neck.
“That’s going to have to take some getting used to,” she breathes.
I lightly graze my fangs along the soft skin of her neck, causing her to shudder.
“What are you reading?” I ask.
She clears her throat and shifts slightly forward, moving her neck and forcing me to pull back. “The history of vampires. Er, Viktor, is it?”
I nod, assuring her she’s correct.
“He gave me some books to read. To learn about you. He said what I think I know from movies is mostly untrue,” she says, turning her head to the side to look at me. I don’t miss the way her eyes flicker to my mouth. It pleases me that she is as affected by me as I am by her.
“You can ask me anything too, you know,” I offer, lifting her and placing her in my lap.
“Okay,” she says, trying to hide her surprise at me moving her. “Do you all have individual powers?”
I shake my head. “Some are stronger than others, faster than others. No different to the mortals.” I shrug.
“Could you survive on animal blood?” she asks.
“No. Although Shade uses something extra in his, but I’ve never asked him about it.” I shrug.
“Do you kill everyone you feed from?” she asks, her voice breaking slightly.
“Yes,” I state coldly. “It is no different than mortals eating animals. It’s just your kind is my food source,” I point out.
Her dark eyes assess my every word. “Are there no windows because of the sun?”
“No,” I answer.
“Are we in some castle? Or a big gothic manor?” she continues.
I smile. “No, we are underground.”
Her eyes widen. “No shit?” she blurts out, looking around.
I can’t help the bubble of laughter that escapes my chest.
“But the large stone, the lights. It feels very castle-like.”
“We built it a long time ago. The cell where you were is the only window,” I say. I can hear her heart beating a little too fast. She’s nervous.
“Why?” she asks, her brow furrowing. “Why have one window at all?”
I think about hiding the truth from her, but I decide against it. “For prisoners. If we have one of our kind in there, the sun beams directly through that window. If they don’t cooperate, we place them in front of the window.” I shrug casually.
Her mouth drops open. She quickly swallows, her heart rate picking up a little. She’s handling it well.
“It was covered when I was in there,” she says after a pause. “Dirty, no chance of any sun getting through that.” She chances a quick look into my eyes before looking away again.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve held one of our kind in there,” I admit.
Her gaze quickly snaps back to mine. “You keep human prisoners?” she asks, her eyes searching mine like she’ll be able to see if I am lying.
“Yes, but not in the way you’re thinking.”
“Then what way?” she presses, her voice sounding stronger, more assertive, like the day we took her.
“When they steal from us, try to kill one of us, or harm innocent people.” I pause, my fingers tracing along her hairline, tucking a wayward strand behind her ear. “And when we believe someone is working for our enemy and we need information.”
Her mouth forms a stern line. “Did you kill Suzie?” she asks, her voice breaking slightly as she says her friend’s name.
I shake my head. “I’ve already told you that wasn’t us. That was the Crawleys. We do not harm innocent women and children. It’s the law. Our law. One that I set out—that we, as a club, as a coven—set out hundreds of years ago.”
She stares at me for a beat, then gives me a small nod that tells me she believes me.
“One last question. And it’s a big one.” She swallows, then begins to nibble on her bottom lip. The sound of her heart racing indicates she’s scared to ask the question.
I take hold of her chin, my thumb nudging her lip free. “Ask me,” I demand.
She inhales a deep breath before exhaling. “What do you want with me? Are you going to turn me into, um, you? Do you have sex? Do you want to have sex with me? Why have you kept me here? Am I a sacrifice?” she finishes, almost completely out of breath.
“I will answer what I know,” I begin. “I just want you.” I pause, avoiding her next question. “Yes, and yes. And I have kept you here because I want to. No, you are not a sacrifice.”
“Why can’t you answer the question about turning me?” she asks softly.
“Because I don’t know the answer to that yet, but when I do, I will be sure to let you know,” I say playfully.
Her eyes narrow. “Where are you from? Because your accent and how you speak isn’t from around here.”
“I thought we had already had the last question,” I sigh.
She sits there on my lap, her heart rate now steady, no longer afraid of me, and looks at me expectantly, waiting for my answer.
“Fine. I was born in France, in the fourteenth century.”
“Holy shit!” she gasps, her face stunned.
I can’t help but laugh at her reaction.
“Yes, I’m old. I have moved around a lot; different countries, cities, and towns over the past seven hundred-plus years. So my accent, the way I speak, is, I guess, unique.” I smile.
“You sound a little like you’re British, but European, but not really, and American,” she says, squinting at me. “But mainly, you speak like a gentleman. Well spoken. Although I have heard you drop a few fucks here and there.” She smirks.
She’s smiling, relaxing more and more. Then her smile fades.
“What about my life?” she asks, looking down at her hands.
“There are things that I can’t explain. Things that have shifted my life and yours. I can’t say you will get that life back,” I tell her truthfully.
She nods in understanding, or if not, she appears content not to press further. She sits in silence for a moment.
“Are you okay?” I press.
Her dark eyes hold mine for a long moment. “I’ve been kidnapped by bikers, locked underground, seen a guy die at your hands, and now—” she quips, sarcasm lacing her tone, “surprise, you’re all vampires. Honestly, it felt like the natural escalation.”