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He didn’t seem annoyed about that, and he stayed quiet as he read the paper about the black blood. I went still when he readjusted, leaning against the pillows just like I was. His arm was an inch from mine, and his closeness wasn’t bothering me like it should. We both slept in here every night, but he’d been staying on his side of the bed. Right now, he didn’t seem to care how close he was.
“Sickness,” he muttered, pushing the rest of the papers to the side so he could stretch out his legs. “Your government knew even back then what black blood meant. They were also aware that vampires existed long before the public did.”
“Why?” I blurted out. “Vampires have existed for who knows how long. Why did they decide to bring attention to themselves? Why didn’t they just stay living in secret?”
Zan tensed slightly as his eyes raised from the paper to look at me. “Because my father had been planning it for years prior.”
I wasn’t sure why that surprised me. “Amaros wanted this to happen?”
“Shadows are half vampire, Kali,” he murmured. “Do you think it was a coincidence that people with black blood began emerging right after vampires revealed themselves? No. Amaros planned for years before it actually happened. He wanted Shadows full grown when the war happened. He needed an army. He’d lived for centuries in secret, and he was tired of it. He wanted the world.”
I turned my body, lying on my side to face him. “If that’s the case, then why didn’t vampires win?”
“Because he underestimated PARA. It was more of a challenge than he thought.” Zan paused. “And the Shadows weren’t the soldiers he thought they’d be.”
“Why?”
“That’s a conversation for later.”
I frowned. “How come you never tell me anything about Shadows?”
He shifted, mimicking my position as he lay on his side, facing me. His small grin didn’t reach his eyes as he answered. “I can’t tell you all vampire secrets yet.”
His words were teasing, but a tingle still ran down my spine. He was keeping something from me. When it came to learning about Shadows, he always avoided the subject. Why? Because he really didn’t want me to know? Or was it because we still didn’t know if I was a Shadow? Was there something awful about having black blood that he didn’t want me to know about? That didn’t make any sense. Zan and his brothers were all Shadows, and they seemed just like all the other vampires I’d come across.
But I had a feeling there was a sinister reason why he wasn’t telling me about Shadows.
Chapter 22
Kali
“How old are you?”
My question had Zan turning to look at me. We were sitting on the beach, the wind whipping around us as dark clouds moved in. A storm was approaching, but I still wasn’t ready to leave. There were still hours before dusk fell, and I wanted to stay near the water for as long as possible. It had been a couple of days since I’d read over all the papers that Asami had given me, and I still wasn’t sure why.
“I transitioned a little over seven years ago when I turned twenty-five,” he said quietly. “Time moves differently when you don’t age.”
I took in his answer, my gaze returning to the massive waves. Every time we came out here, we talked. Sometimes it was about random things, and other times it was deeper. I’d told him about growing up in Project Hope. He revealed that he had a human nanny who cared for him as a child. I didn’t talk about the Clovers or Warner, and he didn’t say a word about his father. If I asked, he just changed the subject, but that didn’t mean I veered away from that topic.
“Will your father expect me to be pregnant when he comes back?” I asked bluntly.
A muscle in his jaw ticked. “Why worry about that? You won’t be pregnant.”
“Because I need to know if he’s going to kill me when he finds out I’m not carrying a Kane baby.”
“He won’t kill you, Kali.”
His eyes suddenly went over my shoulder toward the cliffs. I frowned, glancing behind me and seeing nothing. This wasn’t the first time he’d done that since we’d come out here today.
“What is it?” I asked, looking back at him.
“I thought I heard something…” He trailed off, sounding distracted. “It’s about to rain. We should go back.”
“Why? Is the big, bad Zan Kane afraid of some rain?” I teased.
His eyes shot to mine, a grin tipping up his lips. “There’s not much I fear in this world.”
“Do you fear Amaros?”
