Was he safe?
Even though his leaving felt like a betrayal, part of me understood. Tiberius had used dark magic to force Alaric to bring me to him. Forall any of us knew, Alaric was a ticking time bomb. One Tiberius could trigger at any second.
As much as I hated the distance between us, there was no denying it was safer if he stayed away.
For now, at least.
Once Tiberius fucking Vane got what was coming to him, Alaric was mine. Whether he liked it or not.
Rasmus led me by the hand down a steep set of stairs. Glowing wall sconces lit the way, but I still stumbled over the rough stone.
“How old is this place?” I whispered.
“The dragon clans are among the oldest magicals on earth,” Rasmus told me. “Even older than the original vampires.”
I resolved to research the dragon clans the minute we returned to Starfall Academy before remembering I had a bounty on my head and return was not an option. We all did. While Zane seemed proud of the fact, I was not.
In my humble opinion, being wanted for mass murder was not a great life achievement.
We reached a thick oak door. The rooms down here were windowless, which made them perfect for a light-averse vampire. Rasmus had explained that Florica had been underground for so long daylight now hurt her eyes. She would adapt, but it was going to take time.
I shuffled nervously as Rasmus pushed open the door. What if Florica hated me? Rasmus was an ancient vampire, a crown prince, no less, whereas I was a magically incompetent witch.
Before I could finish mentally listing all the reasons why Rasmus’s sister would almost certainly hate me, she flew across the room and pulled me into her arms for a hug.
“My sweet girl, I am so happy to see you again,” she cooed before releasing me from her punishing grip.
“You are?” I blinked up at her. The last time we’d seen each other, she’d been strapped to a table with plastic tubes in her arms, her skin ghostly pale, every bone in her body prominent.
I barely recognized the female standing before me. Lustrous chestnut hair hung down her back in thick, shiny waves, and despite her ordeal, a hint of color had returned to her cheeks.
The family resemblance was obvious. Both siblings had chiseled cheekbones, strong noses, and full lips, and both were tall and stunningly beautiful.
I could barely drag my eyes away from Florica. Was this a vampire thing?
“Your mate is breathtaking, brother.”
“She is.” I blushed under the weight of their combined stares. Pretty,sure, but I didn’t consider myself beautiful. Nowhere near as stunning as Florica anyway.
“Little mate, you are the most beautiful female in the entire realm,” Maverick assured me, apparently listening to my internal trash-talking.
“Lovelier than all the stars in the sky,”Zane added.
“You are perfect,”Kai agreed.
Okay, so none of my mates thought I was ugly like the sea witch. Good to know.
“Are you, um, feeling better?”
Florica smiled. “I am, thank you. Now leave us, brother. I’d like to get to know my new sister.”
Florica brushed away all my questions about her experiences at the hands of Tiberius and Brianna Vane but was more than happy to spill the dirt on her brother.
“He had a terrible reputation back in the 1700s,” she said with a throaty laugh. “It was a wonder he survived!”
“That must have been stressful for your parents.” Florica’s smile faded, and she stared into space for a few seconds.
“Yes. Luckily Rasmus calmed down when Radimir came along.”
