Chapter 31
Thirty-One
Ru
On the front porch, where it all started, Sully and I huddle together on the rickety wooden swing and touch each other as though we’re making sure this moment is real.
Sully clings to my waist. I hold him tight about the shoulders. We’re twisted toward each other like two vines sharing the same trellis.
Twenty-Four ignores us both from his spot curled up in Sully’s lap, passed out as though he’s the one who had an impossibly hard night and not us.
There are a lot of vampires in my house.
Sully looks quite sheepish about this. “Sorry. I didn’t know where else to send them.”
I’m…surprisingly okay with it. And none of them seem to want to murder me, even Hayworth, so that’s a win.
He continues, “And I thought you’d still be up in Vermont. Or even farther away, on a train.”
I tuck a lock of crispy hair behind his ear. “I hate you thought I wouldn’t help you, but I don’t blame you for it. I had blinders on.”
“I should have talked to you.”
“Yes, you should have. But I should have taken you more seriously to begin with. We both fucked up.”
He ducks his head. “I fucked up more. I’m sorry.”
I gather him tighter in my arms, into the spot he fits so perfectly, and kiss his smoke-scented crown. “We’ll figure it out.”
We’re stealing this time to ourselves away from the crowd inside my house.
Zoe left earlier at my urging. As much as I want to help the other hybrids, I don’t know them well enough to trust them. Not yet. And Zoe has risked enough for us already. It’s best she return home while we figure it all out.
“I want to stay here,” says Sully. “If you want to stay, that is. I mean, we could still go to Montana if you think we should, but I want to stay here. I like your house. I like your parents’ books.”
My chest warms. “Yeah, me too. I want to stay here.” I never really wanted to leave. I just thought I had to. First to keep myself safe. But then, more importantly, to keep Sully safe.
“Good. That’s good.”
A moth circles the porch light as I collect my thoughts. I have so many questions, but one burns its way to the forefront. “Hayworth is your brother?”
His cheeks flush. “That was my other secret.”
“Other secret?”
“I had two, remember? But you only asked for one.”
Right. Truth or Dare. Two secrets. “How?”
“We’re not brothers by blood. At least, I don’t think we are. As you know, they weren’t exactly forthcoming about the details of how we were made.”
That much is true. I certainly never learned the secret. “Assholes.”
“Yeah.” He leans his shoulder into mine. “But when you have no family of your own, you get to choose.”
I smile, teasing. “And you chose… Hayworth?”
He chuckles. “We chose each other. Well, he chose me first. Then I chose him back.”
I wait. It feels like there’s more, and he’s deciding how to say it. I don’t mind letting him take his time. It’s a nice night. Calm. Chilly. In the distance, an owl calls out, the sound drifting over the frozen yard.
Sully plays with a bit of loose yarn from the sleeve of his torn sweater.
"When I was younger I used to be afraid a lot. Nightmares. I’d cry.
Hayworth always tried to help. Made up stories for me.
Kept my mind off things. He started calling me little brother, and it made me feel better.
So I started calling him big brother. We had to keep it a secret.
If anyone from II Tech knew, they’d use it against us. ”
Oh, wow. That’s sweet. And also sad. Like, so sad. And it totally changes how I think of Hayworth. “So he’s actually, like, a nice guy?”
Sully snorts. “Oh no. He’s a jerk. But that jerk is my brother and I love him.”
“Then he’s welcome here. Of course. For as long as he wants to stay.”
“Thank you. I was thinking maybe he could take my room and I could…”
“You can share mine.” I was hoping things would go this way. The two of us together. A couple.
“Yes. Because you’re my more person.”
“More person?”
“Boyfriend doesn’t seem like enough, does it? You’re more than that to me. My more person.”
I smile and cup his nape. “I like the sound of that. I like it a lot. Sully, my more person.”
He tilts his head up. “All yours.”
I lean in. He meets me halfway. Our mouths touch in a gentle kiss. His lips are soft under mine. Welcoming. His fingers curl into the fabric of my shirt and hold me in place, exactly where I want to be.
The kiss deepens. He’s warm and breathless. A whimper escapes between us—him or me, I don’t know. I can’t get enough of him, here with me, safe in my arms, offering his mouth to be explored. My more person.
Someone clears their throat. I pull away, but Sully doesn’t allow any space between us.
“It’s just Voijin,” he says against my lips. “He can wait.”
Voijin lets out a disgruntled sigh. “Impertinent, but I deserve no less. My apologies for interfering, but there are things we should discuss.”
“I’m busy,” says Sully.
Voijin drags the other chair over, loudly, and takes a seat in front of us. He crosses one leg over the other and leans back. “I’ll wait.”
I laugh under my breath.
Sully groans. “Fine. What do you want?”
Voijin levels his intense stare directly at me. “What are your intentions with my fledgling?”
I arch my brows, and Sully answers before I can get a word out. “He’s going to fuck me through our mattress, and then we’re going to lick cream cheese frosting off each other all night.”
My face heats, but I’m not opposed to his plan. Not one bit.
Voijin pinches the bridge of his nose. “You’re impossible.”
The front door opens, and Samira joins our little tête-à-tête. “Serves you right after this atrocity you’ve pulled.” She grabs the last chair and hauls it over.
Great. Just what I wanted. Two creepy old vampires on my porch.
“It could have worked,” says Voijin. “And it’s not as if I acted alone. There are others who wish to improve the species if we can. Make our fledglings better and stronger than ourselves.”
Samira huffs. “And yet, you are my responsibility and I never should have let you take it so far between visits. You require oversight, my prodigal son.” She drops casual fingers into Voijin’s neat hair and musses it.
Voijin frowns and jerks his head away. “I’m perfectly capable of handling it from here, thank you.”
“And dragging my sweet grandfledgling through the mire with you?” She tuts and turns a soft gaze toward Sully. “A crime. I should have been paying a lot more attention. Don’t worry, I won’t make that mistake again.”
“What?” Sully and I chorus as one.
“That won’t be necessary,” says Voijin.
“Wait.” Sully straightens. “Samira is your sire? You speak about her as if you’re afraid of her.”
Samira’s twinkling laughter rings out between us. “Oh, he is both, I assure you: my fledgling and afraid of me. As he should be. But not because I’ll hurt him, never that. Because I might scold him like the child he is, even as I clean up his messes.”
If my eyes get any bigger they’re going to pop out of my head.
Sully leans back against me. “Huh. So this is all just a little mess to you? The whole II Tech debacle? My entire life?”
Her lips curve to a smile, but it doesn’t soften her in the slightest. “You’re as dramatic as he is, aren't you, little one? When you’ve lived as long as I have, you’ll see things differently.”
“My name is Sully.”
They glare at each other. A staring contest. It’s tense until she backs down, blinking slowly. She tips her head. “Sully.”
“Thank you. I have questions.”
“You may ask them,” she says.
“At the end, Oliver ordered Hayworth to kill me. He said Hayworth had drunk his blood and thus had to obey his orders. Voijin insisted I drink from him. Does that mean he can control me now?”
I tighten my grip on him. “What?”
“In my cell,” Sully explains. “After Oliver had drained me. Voijin fed me from his vein. I wasn’t in a position to refuse.”
Unease curls in my stomach. That’s… concerning.
Samira answers, “While it’s true Voijin could likely place a light compulsion on you at the moment, it doesn’t quite work like that. You’d have to drink from him as your only source for quite some time before he could fully control your mind and actions.”
“I was only trying to help,” says Voijin.
“Truly. I have no desire to control you, though I admit I’d prefer not to be separated so soon after…
everything. With my blood in your veins, you’ll be easier for me to track for some time.
A few weeks perhaps. If there were an ulterior motive, it was that. ”
Sully rolls his eyes. “If you’d be normal for like a hot minute you wouldn’t have to track me. I’ll tell you where I am.”
Voijin bows his head, suitably chastised.
“And if I drink only from Ru?” asks Sully. “Will he be able to control me?”
“No, though I see why’d you’d ask given your experience with Kalinov and Hayworth.
But Hayworth was regularly drained to the point of starvation, left in that state for many nights, then brought back with an influx of Kalinov’s banked blood.
This practice, repeated over and over, and with the aid of a mage I might add, is what allowed him to control Hayworth so thoroughly. ”
My relief is palpable.
The last thing I want is to control Sully after the life he’s had. But I find I do like the idea of him drinking only from me. I like that a lot.
An amused expression dances across Samira’s face, as though she’s reading my mind. Shit. I hope she can’t do that.
“Anything else?” she asks.
There is something else I’m worried about. “Who else do we have to fear now? What other vampires have fledglings among the specimens that may show up and be angry we stopped their cruel experiments?”
Voijin answers, “The others lost interest long ago. I should have stopped it myself much earlier. That’s my burden to bear. You have nothing and no one to fear. I give you my word.”
Sully pipes up. “What’s the plan for all the other refugees?”
Samira glances at Voijin and lifts her brows.