Chapter 19 Danni
Danni
Sitting next to Knox is like being as close to the center of gravity as humanly possible. Nothing in the world can pull me out of his orbit.
Despite the six sets of crimson eyes focused on me, I feel safe with him. I’ve never experienced such a feeling before, at least not that I can recall.
My mind travels back to the day of my mom’s murder.
The confusion on the social worker’s face as I sat on our porch, wrapped up in a tinfoil blanket, screaming the word “vampire” to anyone who would listen.
Trauma, my court-assigned therapist had called it.
Because I witnessed something so horrific, my childlike mind invented the story of a mythical creature sucking my mother’s blood to bury the real details of what happened.
The mundane, perfectly normal, not weird at all details.
But it was real. I was traumatized, sure, but not delusional.
And now I’m at dinner with the monsters who have haunted my dreams ever since I was six years old. I fake a smile as a Rabbid servant places a covered dish in front of me. The other Familiars immediately dig in, but all I can focus on is the reflection of my six-year-old self on the domed lid.
I hardly remember the car ride to my aunt’s house after the police removed my mother’s body. But I do remember how my aunt had looked at me disapprovingly. Like I was just another burden added to her already busy schedule.
My Aunt Tabby was a woman who had it all.
She lived in the gated part of Hillsview, with perfectly mowed grass and a sign above the door that said, “Home Is Where The Heart Is.” Her husband was the town pastor, and she had six children of her own, all of them perfectly well-mannered and always spotless as hell.
I couldn’t have been more different. Aunt Tabby saw me as vermin infesting her house with paint splatter and untamable frizzy hair.
I was an only child, and Mom and I lived in a pretty run down, one bedroom house on the other side of town.
My mom was an artist, self-proclaimed of course.
She never sold a single painting. At times, I don’t know how we managed to survive.
We didn’t have anything but our high spirits and the music of Dolly Parton to guide my mother through her break-ups.
I’ll never forget the look on Aunt Tabby’s face when I said her sister was killed by a vampire. I went from vermin to insane in a second.
I bring myself back out of my lost memories when I realize I’m not listening to a single thing being said.
I finally remove the domed lid on my plate, keeping my eyes focused on my hands to avoid the vampiric gazes that track my every movement.
I try to make it seem like I’m listening and being attentive, but my mind feels fuzzy as I try to follow along.
A man with shoulder-length, jet black hair, who looks uncannily like Knox in twenty years’ time, clears his throat to get everyone’s attention.
He announces that his name is Cyprian, and confirms that he is, in fact, Knox’s dad.
My jaw drops. He barely looks older than forty!
Then, a blush creeps up my neck. What a way to meet your future in-law… at an orgy full of vampires…
Cyprian rises from his seat to continue the introductions.
First are Egor and Damon, who often share Familiars, apparently.
They both have dark skin and dark hair that is shoulder length like Cyprian’s.
If it wasn’t for the subtle differences in their facial features—one had a mole on their cheek while the other had thicker eyebrows—they could be twins.
They both have an heir of regency about them in the way they hold themselves.
Next is Alaric, a man with bone-white skin, short blond hair, and mousey features.
He doesn’t look any older than thirty. Distant, glassy eyes convince me that he’s the only vampire who doesn’t seem infatuated with me.
Prominent blue veins creep up his jaw and across his face.
If any human looked at him, they would surely believe he’s already dead.
Alaric sits still as a corpse, his goblet of dark red blood left untouched in front of him.
He, like Cyprian, has a male potential sitting with him.
The guy stares at Alaric like the sun shines out of his—
“Is there a problem with the food?”
The voice startles me, pulling me from my thoughts.
I snap my eyes away from Alaric and his Familiar to see Egor’s accusing red stare.
His hands are clasped in front of his face, the golden rings adorning his fingers glittering in the candlelight.
For a moment, I don’t know what to say. His terrifying gaze makes me feel about two feet tall, but if Knox is right and no one can touch me while I’m in his presence, then why shouldn’t I hold my own against them?
“Yes, there is, actually.”
Eyebrows rise around the table as I enter into a staring contest with Egor.
“And pray tell, what might be wrong with it?” He leans back in his chair, authority held in the broadness of his shoulders.
I open my mouth to give a snotty retort that my aunt would have scolded me for when Megan, still fully naked, rises from the seat next to him.
She slowly runs a hand across his shoulder before perching gracefully on his lap and exposing her neck to him.
My pulse feels like it’s going to burst from my arteries.
No matter how hard I try to look anywhere else, my eyes are glued to Egor and Megan.
My body goes taut by an invisible gravitational pull.
It feels nothing like the comfort of being in Knox’s orbit.
Nausea washes over me, and I realize far too late that I’m being compelled against my will.
Fear—all I feel is fear. Fear over the amount of control these creatures have.
This is about their pleasure and their fun; humans are just living dolls here to satisfy their boring lives.
I focus my mind and try to resist the pull, but it’s no use.
No matter how hard I focus, I can’t even wiggle my toes. I’m at his mercy, entirely.
“Egor.” Knox’s tone is laced with danger. “Release my Familiar.”
The bond between us gives a satisfying hum at his possessiveness. My fear is quickly replaced with a feeling that’s far more reckless.
Still captivated against my will, I watch as Egor’s bright white canine teeth elongate to a monstrous size. He sinks his fangs into Megan’s neck far slower than necessary. His eyes stay fixed on me as if he’s demonstrating his power, showing me exactly what he is capable of.
Megan throws her head back, moaning in either ecstasy or pain.
I can’t be sure which. Her brown curls slide from her shoulders as he tilts her further back to get better access.
Nausea rises in me as a tiny droplet of blood slides down her throat.
Oh, how gullible I was to believe it was forbidden to harm the Familiars, even your own.
They can definitely harm us, and this is a real threat.
“I said release my Familiar!” Knox slams his fist onto the table, and I hear Damon’s unmistakable laugh from outside of my perspective.
Egor doesn’t seem to like that I’m not acting doe-eyed and flirtatious like all the other dumb fucks in here. I’m not someone who basks in the wonder and magic of immortality.
I keep trying to move. The sheer force of resisting Egor’s compulsion makes my body shake and my teeth clench. I no longer feel fear. I feel nothing but fucking rage.
Knox kicks his chair backwards as he stands up.
I hear the wood shatter behind me, but not the words he angrily spits at Egor.
With a flutter of her eyelids, Megan begins to go limp in Egor’s arms. He’s killing her in front of everyone and nobody is going to stop him.
This woman has a family, friends, and probably a job.
Yet nobody knows she’s here. And nobody here will mourn her.
I feel Egor’s concentration finally begin to slip, and a tiny tear forms in the compulsion. I focus on that rip and urge it to grow.
Knox continues shouting, and I think someone else is, too, but everything sounds muffled like I’m underwater.
I feel like I have an anchor tied to my ankle while I struggle to swim up to the surface.
When I think about kicking the anchor off of me, my toes wiggle.
Something hot pours from my ear and drips down my neck.
And that’s just enough for Egor to notice that he fucked up.
Another tear appears in the compulsion, and I have him. His hold on me loosens. I concentrate so hard that my brain might burst out of my skull. The anchor chain around my ankle slips free. Then I feel everything. I can move again.
I take in a deep breath and let out a laugh. Judging by looks on the faces of those fuckers, I wasn’t supposed to be able to move.
But instead of launching an attack on Egor like I want to do, my body slumps down into the chair. Knox catches the back of my head with his hand before I can hurt myself.
It’s like I’ve fallen from a cliff and smashed into the rocks at the bottom. Every inch of my body aches from the effort it took to break the compulsion. I don’t protest when Knox picks me up bridal-style from the chair.
“Oh, don’t go,” Damon calls after us. “It was just a bit of fun. Don’t spoil it, Knox. She’s just a Familiar.” His tone is light and haughty as if I didn’t just watch someone almost get murdered at the dinner table.
Knox looks back when we reach the door, his jaw clenched so tight I worry it might shatter into a million perfect pieces.
“I may be powerless now, but as soon as my father retires, the first thing I’m going to do when I claim the throne is destroy you, Egor.
You may be older and stronger now, but the clock ticks away even down here. ”
Laughter echoes throughout the room. Knox’s threat is taken no more seriously than a child impulsively throwing a tantrum. Then the ear-piercing sound of a chair scraping across the floor makes the room fall quiet. A voice I don’t recognize fills the silence.
“The rope is tied. There will be no undoing it. The shadows of that girl will be your downfall, Knox.”
The voice is softer than the others, older and wiser than I’ve heard before. A voice of thousands rolled into one. Still weakened, I keep my eyes on Knox, watching his brows furrow at the strange man’s words.
“Let them pass, Alaric.” I recognize Cyprian’s voice. “You will over exert yourself, old friend. Sit and drink so that you might tell me more of what you’ve foreseen.”
Foreseen? Is Alaric some kind of prophet?
Knox rolls his eyes in a particularly dramatic fashion as he turns and exits the room. The hushed voices fade as we head down the corridor.
Hot liquid continues to drip from my ear and I worry it’ll stain my dress. I look up at Knox. His pupils are fully dilated and his face is contorted in a way I never thought possible.
He looks like a monster.
His brows are lower, thicker, and are more pronounced than they were a second ago. The lines around his face are deeper, making him look older and menacing, yet still somehow young and concerned, all at the same time.
So that’s why I haven’t recognized my mother’s killer down here yet…
“What’s wrong with your face?” I ask, my eyelids growing heavier with each step.
“You’re bleeding,” he growls.
Sharp fangs protrude from his mouth. He looks utterly terrifying.
Then why don’t I feel afraid? Why do I feel safe and protected, like the entire hotel could come crashing down on us and I wouldn’t get hurt?
I know in my bones that he’ll do anything to make sure I’m safe. He’d take the blow of every falling rock if it meant I wouldn’t get hurt. But why do I feel this way?
“Are you going to kill me?”
I don’t know why I’m asking. Not like I’ll get a straight answer. But the scent or sight of my blood has an effect on him. It made his usual handsome mask slip involuntarily into a truth that lies just behind his crimson eyes.
If this is how vampires truly look, why didn’t Egor’s face change when he bit into that woman’s neck?
Knox contemplates my question for a moment. I watch him war with himself as his face morphs back into the perfectly chiseled captor I’ve come to feel safe with.
“Not today.” He smirks, but this time, the expression doesn’t reach his eyes. Anger still swirls in their depths.
The questions forming in my mind make my skin itch. But the world suddenly turns to darkness, the kind that swallows a person’s hand when they try to see it in front of them.
All I see are gleaming red eyes staring back at me through the pitch black.
Someone is in my head. Someone is watching me.