“The bond has been transferring Celeste’s immunities,” Maximus says. “The dormancy resistance has been building for weeks. But something changed in Thessivane where I didn’t go dormant at all.”
“Immunities,” Julian says. “Plural.”
“Sunlight. And dormancy.”
Julian picks up his tablet. Sets it back down.
Elena is looking at me.
“Celeste is immune, too?” she asks, staring at me. “How long have you been immune?”
“Shortly after I arrived here at the compound,” I say. “Konstantin’s modifications progressed in stages.”
The silence deepens. I watch Marcellus’s hands flatten against the table surface. His throat moves once. Twice.
“You never said,” Elena says.
“I didn’t know what it was at first. By the time I did, there were bigger things in front of us.”
She sits back in her chair. Her hand settles on Marcellus’s forearm on the table.
Julian picks up his tablet again. His voice has a different quality now. Tighter. Clipped. “A vampire lord with no dormancy window, no sunlight vulnerability, and around-the-clock operational capacity.” His attention shifts to Maximus. “You can command during daylight. Defend during daylight. Move during daylight. Every strategic limitation we’ve built our defensive models around just became obsolete.”
“Yes,” Maximus says.
“Both of you. Two vampires who can fight, command, and defend when every other vampire is unconscious.”
Marcellus stands. The chair scrapes against the floor. He walks to the window and stands with his back to the room and his hands clasped behind him.
When he turns around, his face is unfamiliar in a way I don’t know how to read.
“I have never heard of a vampire lord who could walk in daylight. Dormancy and sunlight have been our two immovable constraints.”
His attention returns to Maximus. “And you just told me both of them are gone.”
Maximus holds his second’s gaze. “Both of them are gone.”
Marcellus nods. Once. Then he sits back down. “Good,” he says. “We’re going to need any advantage we can get.”
Yeah. We are.
Marcellus clears his throat. “On another note before we break. Elena and I bonded while you were gone.”
I look at Elena. She’s already looking at me. Her eyes are steady and warm and certain in a way I haven’t seen before. I reach across the table and squeeze her hand. She squeezes back.
Maximus is quiet for a moment.
“You have put this territory before yourself for as long as I’ve known you.” He holds Marcellus’s gaze. “I am glad you’re finally going after your happiness.”
Marcellus’s throat moves. He nods once. Then he glances at Julian. “There’s one more thing.”
Julian nods. “I’d like to brief you privately on this one.” His eyes find mine. “Find me when you’ve seen Simone.”
Simone isin the training room. The heavy bag has new dents in it. A water bottle on the bench has her name written on it in marker.
She’s put on muscle since we left. Her shoulders are broader. Her stance is wider.
“Simone.”
