Page 23 of Trapped By the Blood Ruby

He leaned back, getting comfortable. Today he was dressed in a billowing white shirt, open at the throat, sleeves rolled up to his elbow, like something off the cover of the ten cent paperback romance novels I collected.

“I’m curious, how long have you lived in Braxton?”

I licked my lips and said, “Three years.”

“And before that?”

“Tioa City.” It was a small agricultural town a couple of hours east. Most people hadn’t even heard of it.

He appeared thoughtful, running a hand along his jaw. “I found you at a college party. You are a university student, then?”

“Yes, a spoiled party brat.”

He made a humming noise.

“I take it the rumors about vampires and sunlight weren’t actually true.” The bitterness in my voice was unmistakable.

He huffed. “Obviously.”

“So, it doesn’t bother you then?”

“It’s annoying, more so for vampires than humans. But we can manage. Sunglasses help.”

I held back a sneer. How stupid to assume they wouldn’t catch me. To assume they’d be tucked away in coffins. That I had a fighting chance. That’s why Laurent had left my door unlocked.

I swallowed. It hurt like hell and made me wince.

“You’d better get some rest. I’ll leave you.” He stood, returning the chair to the breakfast table. Before he left, he paused at my door. “Someone will be along later to check on you. Good day, Miss Shaw.”

I waited until I was certain he was gone before letting my vision blur. A tear slid from the corner of my right eye, down my temple. Another followed, until silent sobs wracked my body. It hurt, but I couldn’t help it. My whole body ached after getting a chunk taken out of me, but that wasn’t why I cried.

A soft knock sounded.

I cursed, wiping at my eyes. “Come in.”

Zola slipped inside. I tucked my hands beneath the comforter, blowing out a breath.

“Oh, darling.” Her words were soft. She took a seat on the side of my bed, placing a bottle of painkillers on the nightstand. Her fingers brushed a fresh tear from the corner of my eye. “Everything will be all right, you’ll see.”

Then she leaned in and kissed my forehead. The gesture was tender, like a mother kissing a child. It made me want to cry all over again.

“Nothing will be all right.”

“Oh, stop it,” she said, her voice firming up. “He doesn’t deserve your tears. No one does. You’re stronger than this—you have no choice but to be strong. You are an amplifier. There is no easy road ahead of you.”

While I hated the truth of her words, I knew she spoke them out of concern.

“There, that’s better.” She patted me through the comforter.

“Why… Why are you being so nice to me?”

She chuckled. “Because Laurent is an asshole. He’s often cruel. He forgets that there are more problems in the world than his own. But…” She sighed. “He hasn’t had much choice in the matter. It is a heavy responsibility, being the head of a great household.”

“A household?”

“House Sarkas. We are the second oldest vampiric household in the world, and arguably the strongest, perhaps even the greatest. The houses have been dying for centuries. A thousand years ago there were nearly fifteen. Now? A mere five. Laurent has kept ours from dying for a very, very long time.”

“Oh.” was all I could manage.