She cleared her throat. “Have you guys drank from each other recently? Both of you immortal?”
I nodded. “It left a scar.”
She laughed and shook her head. “That’s because your bodies were warning you not to do it. I didn’t stand a chance then. When you share blood with another vampire, it changes everything in your DNA. You’ve drank his blood at least twice now, and he’s had yours. You two will never see another person the way you see each other.”
I blinked but said nothing. Guilt swirled in my stomach. I had felt this way since my curse had been broken, but now that we all knew the truth and I was trapped in a moving vehicle with her, I felt like absolute shit. We didn’t say anything the rest of the way.
We turned down the road, and rather than try to hide our presence, Aleida drove right up to the house.
“Thanks for the ride. I’ll figure it out from here,” I told her. She got out of the car with me, though, and grabbed my arm. She started to pull me toward the house. I pushed my heels into the grass and tried to stop her. “What are you doing?” I screamed.
“Shut up! They’ll hear you.” She snapped. “We’re going through the front, but you’re my friend. We’re offering our condolences for the death of their human son.”
I relaxed, and while still unsure, I weighed my options. I doubted the kitchen entrance was safe now. I had little choice but to follow her. We went right to the front door, and she knocked. The door opened a moment later by a Bloodshed vampire in a butler’s uniform.
“Hello, we’re here for Charles.”
The man barely glanced at us. He nodded and let us in. “They are in his study. Let me see you there.” He directed us down the hall through rooms I’d seen the night before. The butler opened a door and ushered us inside.
I saw Charles first. He really did look like his great-great-grandson. Their genes were strong, apparently. He greeted us with a smile that made me instantly uneasy. He had turned to look at us when we entered, and I hadn’t noticed the person in the chair he was standing directly in front of. Charles shifted, and my body jolted with fear as I gazed at Desi, bloody, in pain, and furious.
“Here she is, Charles.” Aleida beamed.
What?
“Good girl. Go get a drink. There’s a teakettle in the kitchen for you.”
I looked at Aleida, and she smiled at me with evil eyes. The door closed behind her, and I heard the click of a lock. I was left alone with the two men. My attention swung back to them, and Charles smiled at me. “It’s so nice to meet you, Scout. I think you know Desiderio.”
39
I fucked up. I fucked up bad.
Desi was sitting there, bound, and looking as if he’d spent the night battling for his life. His eyes were full of unspoken rage as he continued to fight his restraints.
“I don’t remember you. So you must not be a Seven Sin.” Charles said to me. I shook my head. He grinned. Charles was dressed in an expensive grey suit and was pacing around Desi. He had his hands in his pockets. “Desi hasn’t been much of a conversationalist tonight, but Aleida was more than helpful. Tell me, did Corrine send you?”
My eyes flicked to Desi’s mismatched ones. He shook his head. I didn’t respond to Charles. Which only made the blonde Bloodborn chuckle. “You don’t have to say. I’m not stupid. Although I am surprised it’s taken this long. She’s been biding her time on this one. I can honestly say this hit surprised me. My granddaughter is devastated, by the way. Jason was twenty-five.”
“He was a deviant.” Desi snarled. Embarrassment flooded me, remembering what the human was going to try to force us to do. Charles pulled his hand out of his pocket and waved off Desi’s comment.
“Oh yes, we were all aware of his sexual preferences. Not my thing, but all of us have our demons. Surely it wasn’t worth killing him for?”
I couldn’t take my eyes away from Charles’ hand. He was wearing black leather gloves. The gash in my side screamed to life as if warning me. He had Sunrise in here, and he would use it on us.
“There was quite a bit of blood on one of Jason’s knives. Which one of you was stabbed?”
Neither of us spoke, but Desi’s eyes flicked to mine, and it was obvious. Charles stared at me with interest. “Oh. He got you? Where? Might I ask?”
I shook my head. He rolled his eyes and then sauntered behind his desk. He pulled out a drawer and removed a tall bottle. It was unlabeled and had an amber liquid in it. He raised it to show us. “Sunrise. I named it that. I thought it was apt, considering what it does.”
“What is it?” Desi snapped.
“In its most basic description—vampire poison.” Charles laughed. “But to be more detailed, well, I’m not sharing secrets tonight. I spent many years crafting the perfect recipe. If it weren’t for my genius, my family would have been wiped out generations ago.”
“You deserve to be. You’re monsters,” Desi said.
“Us? Oh, isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black? I remember your story, Desiderio. The vampire with the mismatched eyes. Ten thousand souls in exchange for your soulmate back. Corrine told me all about you. I’d say that maybe you’re the monster.”
