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“Are they mesmerized, entranced, whatever?”
“They are.”
Kyla took a big breath, “But Liam…”
“Liam is neither royal, nor a true vamp. He’s turned. The problem with enchanted pets occurs when turned vamps stumble across them. They do not have near the control or power that we do. The older a turned vamp gets the more strong and powerful he becomes. The better he lives, the more powerful he becomes. Turned vampires are very accountable for their actions. It affects their longevity, their power, their health. Super vampires, true vamps with vampire DNA are better equipped than that. Tristan here, he could eat garbage and not exercise for a decade and he wouldn’t be depleted. That’s because his blood is not only true but also royal. Tristan, being who he is, wouldn’t do that to his body. Tristan, being who he has been… I expected a different outcome from him after you were delivered. I did not get what I expected. You are not what we expected.”
Kyla didn’t know what to make of that last comment. Tristan watched Claudio, expressionless. Kyla looked over at Lyle. He sat there quietly. He didn’t look reflective, bothered, anything like that.
Tristan’s phone made a text noise. He lifted it and then began thumbing away at it.
“And what about you?” Kyla asked, “What do you think about all of this?”
“All of this?” Lyle asked.
Kyla nodded, “Yeah. Your life plans are railroaded and that results in a whole lot of things happening. They orchestrate a bunch of things, including your marriage, me, and then turn you and your wife into vampires. I’m taken away from you and then you find out I was created to become a gift for a royal vampire. How did that make you feel?”
Lyle gave her a smile, “Proud.”
Kyla raised her eyebrows and her mouth dropped open.
Adrian was back. Adrian guided Sam the long way around so that he walked by Kyla instead of directly to their seats. Clearly a test. Tristan rose and stood behind Kyla. Sam looked at Kyla and gave her what she took to be an apologetic look. Sam then made it to his seat.
Kyla resumed asking her father, “Proud that you lost me for all this time? That you didn’t know if I was alive or dead? That now I could die because the list of lab experiments could go wrong?”
The room hushed as salad was served.
After the servers were done, Lyle answered, “Proud that I can help our kind. By fathering you I’ve contributed. I know that I was beside myself with worry when you went missing. I remember those emotions. But then I found out who I was. And when I got word that they found you I knew everything was going to be as it was supposed to be.”
“Whether you wanted it or not.”
“Sometimes things are bigger than the individual, Ky. I have vampire DNA; I’m true. My being turned was fate. Had it not happened, that would’ve been unfair to me. It’s your fate to be turned as well. You have contributions to make first, just like I did. And you are going to love life as a vamp. It’s absolutely amazing!”
Hearing him call her Ky again, like he’d done when she was small, it tore at the hole in her heart. She didn’t think she’d remembered much about him but right now, these conversations, seeing him, hearing him talk, it was digging in and churning up more memories, more feelings.
Bedtime stories, walks in the park, horsey rides on his back. With all of those memories she saw her mother in the background, green-eyed and smiling with happiness. She heard herself squealing in delight, calling him “Horsey-Daddy” and riding on his back.
The more she saw him, the more she really wanted to see her mother. But this wasn’t the typical craving for a long lost loved one. This was different. This was strange.
“Perhaps you and Lyle could spend some time together tomorrow. Talk some more,” Claudio suggested, interrupting her reverie and signaling to his empty goblet of blood. The one server that had stayed stationed in the room moved back over and refilled it.
In other words, he was asking them to save their heart to heart long lost father-daughter chat for another time. Clearly the arrogant prick thought his time was too valuable.
The door opened. It was the dark-haired woman they’d seen when they first arrived.
“Good evening gentlemen,” she said, stepping in as if everyone had been awaiting her arrival.
“Celia!” answered Adrian brightly.
“God damn it Adrian…” Tristan muttered in what sounded like a warning and Kyla felt something coming off him that tweaked her anxiety levels.
“Claudio!” she beamed, flipping her glossy straight long jet-black curtain of hair, “A lovely surprise. Good to see you. Forgive the intrusion. Tristan, could I trouble you for a quiet word?”
“It isn’t a good time, Celia,” Tristan replied and then he said, “Could you be any more obvious?” to Adrian.
