Page 17 of Call of the Blood

“I know.” He moved closer and reached around me to put his glass into the sink. “Move, let me finish up here. Settle in and tell your brother we’re here.”

“He’s probably sleeping by now, but I’ll try.” I took my phone and claimed a room, opting for the giant primary bedroom before Alexius could claim it. This wasn’t Isaiah’s house, where certain things were expected because I was a young vampire in a space I shouldn’t have been in with the ancients. This was supposed to be a vacation in California. I was taking the giant bed in the suite upstairs.

He didn’t realize. When he walked in a few minutes later, he quickly saw I was already there and backed out.

“Ha!” I called out.

“Call your brother!” he called back.

I did, and surprisingly, he picked up.

“Hey, sis!” he said, clearly drowsy. “You caught me trying to get to sleep.”

“Hey, Declan. I knew I would. Just wanted to tell you I’m here. In California. I’ll be able to come over tomorrow, if you’re willing to have me.”

“Wha?” He was sleepy and confused.

“I brought the ring, too,” I continued as if he had understood. “So, I’ll come over about an hour after sunset, yeah?”

“Huh? Wait, slow down, Everly. You’re actually here?”

“About twenty minutes away, based on the online directions to your place.”

“No fucking way,” he said, sounding more awake with each word. “Yeah, come over tomorrow. I’m free. Please. Holy shit.” Then he yawned.

“Get some sleep,” I said, chuckling.

“Yeah, yeah. I can’t believe you flew out so fast.”

“My boss is very rich.”

“Clearly.” He chuckled. “Okay, tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow. Good night, Declan.”

“How am I going to sleep now?” he complained, but he did hang up.

With that, I just had to pass the time.

7

CHAPTER SEVEN

Ipractically jumped out of bed once the sun was down. My first night and day in California had passed without issue. No one tried to kill me. Alexius didn’t need to rescue me. Nothing. I gamed for the night on my safe laptop, one I didn’t keep anything work-related on, then passed out. With the sunset, I was jumping up, well rested and ready to get to my brother’s condo.

I took a shower and did my hair, making sure I was presentable and not a mess. He would fret if I looked like a disaster. I didn’t do much for makeup, purely because I had never been one to put too much of it on. I wore a tee and jeans with a loose hoodie, casual and simple.

“I feel like I’m overthinking this,” I said as I looked at myself in the mirror. “It’s my brother of all people. Sure, we haven’t seen each other in person since…” I sighed, the memory assaulting me out of nowhere.

We hadn’t seen each other in person since Mom’s funeral, when I had been desperate for him to leave the state to be safe. He’d had no idea what was really going on, and I couldn’t tell him, or he’d try to stay and help.

But he couldn’t have helped. He would have just gotten killed. I protected him. At the cost of myself, I had protected him and gotten justice for Mom on my own.

While I was now an immortal vampire, more powerful than I could have ever been as human, that didn’t mean I hadn’t lost something. I had lost everything, really. I wouldn’t go to my brother’s wedding unless he was willing to do it at night. I wouldn’t grow old with someone. I wouldn’t have children. I wouldn’t be able to do a lot.

And I knew, with certainty, I’d do it all over again the exact same way because it had been worth it. Declan had never wanted to stay in the world of the supernatural. He’d been fine with Mom and me being close to it, been fine with our uncle, but he didn’t want it in his day-to-day life. I certainly wasn’t going to let it kill him. One of us deserved the life our parents dreamed for us.

I took a deep breath to calm myself, and nodded into the mirror, telling myself I was ready for whatever the night would bring. Whatever this month would bring. If it was going south, I could always ask to head home before Alexius. He’d put me on a plane without question. I grabbed the ring in its little box and shoved it into my pocket, keeping it close until it was time to hand it over.