Page 36 of Awakened Light

“Is she okay?” I asked as they walked out. “Please say she’s okay.”

“She’s fine,” Lothaire said, clutching his little sister tighter to his chest. “They had her under UV lights to weaken her, but she’ll be fine soon.”

“We need to get her home.” Grizella stroked Annella’s long, auburn hair.

“You guys go. Catrain and I will drive back and meet you at the estate.”

Aiden had his arm around Emilia’s waist as he walked toward me. “I’ll get rid of the bodies, and then I’ll be behind you.”

“We’ll see you all at home.” I clapped Lothaire on the shoulder as he walked by. “Just take care of Annella.”

Mark followed behind him, his normally playful eyes solemn and heavy.

“You okay?” I asked him.

Instead of the cocky answer that usually accompanied anything Mark said, he just nodded his head. Before I had time to press him, Lothaire announced it was time to go.

“We’ll see you soon,” I said and watched them flash away. Aiden grabbed a body from the street and disappeared toward the ocean.

Catrain and I stood alone on the street, and even though I knew Leith and Leeya were probably running for their lives and a hundred miles away by now, I didn’t want to take a chance. “Come on. Let’s go.”

Catrain didn’t say a word as I guided her back to the car. What could she say? Everything she’d been told about vampires had just come true right in front of her eyes. She’d be begging me to bring her back to her island tomorrow, and the thought of parting with her tore apart my soul.

But I’d made her a promise to bring her back as soon as she was ready, and even though it would kill me to say goodbye, I would respect her choice.

For once in her life, she deserved to have one... even if it meant an eternity of missing her for me.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Catrain

“IF IT WASN’T SO CLOSE to sunset, I’d teach you how to drive,” Thorne said as we wound down the roads close to his home.

“Me?” I laughed. “I don’t think so.”

“Oh, come on. You’re a badass, Catrain. If ever there was a woman who belonged behind the wheel of a Bugatti, it’s you.”

The thought of driving made me smile, or maybe it was the compliment he’d just given me.

“You laid a vampire out on his arse with a touch. You can handle driving a car.”

“Are most other vampires bad like those tonight?”

He shook his head. “No. Most vampires follow the rules Lothaire has laid out for them. Each clan of vampires has their own leader, like Leith leads Clan Lennox, but Lothaire leads them all. He’s like the King... or like your mother to all vampires. The clan leaders report to him and enforce his rules within their clans.”

“But they don’t all follow the rules?” I asked.

“Most do. Don’t kill humans and don’t get discovered are the big rules, and vampires coexist with humans fairly well. But every century or so, a clan tries to take power. This time it’s Clan Lennox. They want a world where humans can be harvested and kept like cattle for feeding.”

“Disgusting,” I said, the thought churning my stomach.

“It is. And Lothaire has dismissed their pleas to have the rules changed to allow them to do so. They got fed up and tried to use Annella to get Lothaire out of the way so they could take power and change things.”

“You can’t ever let them take over.”

He chuckled. “We won’t. Our family is far more powerful than them. We’ve handled every other clan rebellion for centuries, and we’ll handle this one too. Lothaire is our leader, and he’ll remain that way for eternity.”

“Good. I like Lothaire.”