Chapter 10 #3
“Not disappointed, but I’m struggling with it. Not just about you but about all vampires in general.”
“Adrian’s brainwashing.”
“Adrian has nothing to do with it. Vampires killed my mother in front of me. They held me down…made me watch as they brutalized her.” A violent shiver moved through her, followed by the immediate stiffening of her posture.
“My feelings about vampires are my own, based on my own truths and experiences.”
Syre reached for her hand and was pleased when she let him take it. “There are minions who lose their sanity with the Change. They’re the most responsible for the spread of vampirism, not the Fallen.”
“We were on a picnic in the park on a cloudless day. They were either Fallen, or the kept pets of one or more, or they couldn’t have tolerated the sunlight.”
He inhaled sharply. “Tell me everything.”
“Why? I’m not Shadoe,” she said again. “Still, I feel…a connection to you. I have memories of you and her together that feel like they’re mine. It’s messing with my head.”
“So is blood loss.” Sinking his fangs into his wrist, he stood and came around her, setting one hand on her head and lifting his bleeding wound to her mouth.
She might have been able to refuse him if he’d expected her to make the punctures herself.
But with the coppery scent of blood filling her nostrils, her instincts kicked in, and she was too much of a fledgling to fight them.
Cupping the back of his wrist with both hands, she drank greedily, her eyes rolling back in her head before she closed them.
He would’ve preferred she ingest more than she did, but somehow she found the fortitude to pull away. He admired her strength of will. Most fledglings that hungry would’ve had to be ripped away for the safety of the donor.
“Better?” he asked.
Nodding, she licked her lips. Already, the unnatural brightness of her eyes was softening, and a healthy flush stained her cheeks. “Thank you.”
“I’m glad you accepted.” He leaned against the desk and crossed his arms. “I would be even more grateful if you’d trust me with what you remember of the attack on your mother.”
He listened as she described a trinity of vampires who sounded remarkably like Vashti, Salem, and Raze. “It wasn’t them,” he said quietly when she finished, having no doubt as to their innocence.
“I know that now. When I bit Vash—”
“Ah, yes. I won’t forget that.” He smiled inwardly, recalling how infuriated Vashti had been at being bested by a fledgling. His second hadn’t fought back, of course, out of deference for his paternal feelings.
Which only made it more concerning that she’d brought Lindsay to heal the Alpha. It seemed Vashti had been focused on the lycan’s health to the exclusion of every other consideration.
“Adrian searched through my mind and he concurs with my description, but says the memory is faulty. Too murky. More of an emotional impression than a photographic one.”
He settled in his chair again. “I’d see for myself if you hadn’t lost enough blood already. I could’ve looked when I drained you for the Change, but I didn’t want to personalize you. I know how cold that sounds.”
“I appreciate the truth.” One side of her mouth lifted. “Hot or cold.”
“But it doesn’t matter whether I see the memory myself or not. I believe you. I’ll investigate and see what turns up.”
“I— Thank you, again. For obvious reasons, I’d love to know who they are.” She took a deep breath, then released it in a rush. She looked away quickly when he caught her gaze, but he’d seen how her eyes were shadowed and haunted.
“What else is troubling you, Lindsay?” he asked softly. “Will you tell me?”
There was a long hesitation before she said, “I lost my father recently. The day before I met you. It’s hard, you know…feeling this way about someone else. Even though I know they’re Shadoe’s feelings—knowing doesn’t change how it affects me.”
Syre nodded grimly. “Yes, it feels somewhat disloyal, doesn’t it?
I’m warring with the same thing. I don’t want a replacement for my daughter; I want her.
But I can’t help the sense of affinity I feel for you.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in all my years on earth, it’s that certain events change our lives for a reason and that certain paths cross because they’re meant to. ”
“That’s lovely.”
“We don’t have to be enemies, Lindsay. Or even allies. Perhaps you and I can just…be ourselves. Perhaps we can just accept that we have a bond. Perhaps we can even come to nurture it, if we decide we want to.”
A knock came to the door a second before it opened, and Vash stepped in. “Syre, I— Oh. Sorry.”
Lindsay’s mouth twisted ruefully.
“It’s all right, Vashti,” he said. “What do you need?”
“I’d like a word. Elijah wants to see you, Lindsay.”
“Okay.” Pushing to her feet, she moved to pass Syre and paused abreast of him.
He glanced up at her and was startled when she bent down and pressed a quick kiss to his forehead. She left without another word.
Syre was glad Vashti had enough to say on her own. It was many moments later before his throat loosened enough for him to speak again.