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My nose wrinkled. “Gross.”
“Yep.” His mouth twisted. “One of his victims was killed with Vener’s blood still in her veins. When she woke up, she was a vampire just like him.”
The hairs on my arms stood erect. “Wait, people can become vampires just by drinking the blood of a vampire?”
“Yes. Well, they need to die too.”
My eyes bulged. “That’s… I mean, there are rumors that vampires can be made, but I was always told that was just a myth.”
“We want mortals to believe that vampires can’t be made,” he explained. “Can you imagine what would happen if people realized they could become immortal? Hordes of them would go to Sanmorte, hoping to be turned, and the vampires would take advantage. They wouldn’t change everyone. It would be like animals willingly walking into a slaughterhouse.”
My chest tightened. “Do you think that many people want to be vampires?”
“I think a lot of people are afraid of dying and will take a way out when there is one.”
“I would rather die than become a monster.”
“I’m glad you see it that way.” He rubbed his forehead. “Unfortunately, most people don’t think that. A couple of centuries ago, according to our books and journals, it was widely known that vampires could be made. All I’ll say is the number of mortals dwindled fast, but the vampire population didn’t grow that much.”
“So they killed most of them?”
He nodded. “It’s why we keep it a secret.”
I swallowed hard, attempting to remove the lump that had formed in my throat. “So many people have faith that vampires can be vanquished one day. They’re convinced there are only a few thousand of them left, and once they’re killed, they’re gone. If they can make more, then that will never happen.”
He shook his leg, tapping his finger against his knee. “There aren’t just three or four thousand vampires. There are hundreds of thousands of them in Sanmorte alone, and if the other kingdoms found out the truth, everyone would be living in fear all the time.”
“The guild is lying to everyone.”
“We get our instructions from the royal family.”
“Then they’re lying too.”
“For the good of our kingdom and for the rest of the world.”
“I get it,” I said, feeling unnerved. “Why would you tell me that?” I was certain he would get into a lot of trouble if anyone found out.
He turned, his fingers brushing mine over the top of the blankets. “I trust you.” Astor hadn’t told me any of this, and he had to have known. He was in the same ranks as Draven. I thought we told each other everything. Draven nudged my hand. “Why are you so sad?”
“It’s nothing,” I lied, but my chest felt ten times heavier. “It’s a lot to process.”
“Well, now you know.”
A knock resonated around the room, jolting me upward. Draven jumped in front of me, and his shoulder brushed against mine. He looked over his shoulder, and I shot him an uneasy look. He returned my gaze as fear threaded through his eyes. It was unlike him to be afraid. The doors opened, and his hand flexed to my side.
I realized his panic had little to do with the vampires stalking the city and everything to do with me. The walls to the guild were impenetrable, built to sustain apocalyptic events. I was safe here, but Draven didn’t relent. He moved like a panther—smooth, graceful, deadly. His body was forged by years of training, muscles rippling under the spandex material slicked against his back. He acted on impulse, as if every movement were a potential threat.
Two protectors marched inside with enough guns to steal my breath away. One I recognized as Thomas approached Draven first, barely shooting a glance my way. “We’ve lost Starlight and Eagle.”
Code names, I concluded.
“Taken or dead?”
“Taken.”
He closed his eyes for half a second. “Where are the others?”
“In the east. sangaree are attacking in numbers we’ve not seen before. We’re being sent there. Aiden asked me to tell you to stay here and protect the sorceress.”
