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“What’s this then?” Gaius stood over them, his brow creased in concern.
Thorne smirked, a cruel tilt spreading across his lips. “The matters I discuss with my progeny are not your concern. In fact, I’d very much like to beg your leave. I’ve had enough of your meddling and prying. Haven is mine. And he won’t be going anywhere with you.”
Gaius stuttered and blinked, glancing from Haven to Thorne.
“Oh yes, I know all about your attempts to take him away from me. Your attempts to lure him in with the promise of the Cure. But hear this now, Haven. There is no Cure. There never has been and never will be. You’re a vampyre. And you will be for the rest of your lifetime, miserable as it might be. It’s your choice.”
“That’s not true,” Haven whispered, his heart clenching. He glanced from Thorne to Gaius, his eyes imploring for the truth. “Gaius, the Cure is real. Isn’t it?”
The look on Gaius’s face, guilt and horror and agitation, killed all Haven’s hope. Gaius squared his jaw and glared at Thorne, hatred and anger evident in the set of his brow. Hesitantly, he turned to look at Haven. “It’s the stuff of rumors. But I believe that there is truth to what’s been said.”
“He’s lying to you, my love. Look at his face. He’s no more certain of this than he is of the whereabouts of the Veritas. He wove a pretty lie for you because he knew it would gain your trust. He told you what he wanted you to hear because he wanted you. And he would do whatever he could to own you.”
“No,” Gaius snarled, whirling on Thorne and baring his fangs. “You don’t know anything, Thorne. You’ve always been like this, so sure of yourself. I told Haven of the Cure because I knew his desire for it was so strong. I couldn’t withhold it from you, Haven. It may be a folly, but the information I have is more than enough. It’s well-founded. I’ve heard of vampyres achieving their humanity.”
“But have you seen it?” Thorne sneered. “With your own eyes, Gaius? Have you seen it? This transformation you speak of?”
Gaius’s hands clenched at his side. His body was taut with rage.
“You haven’t, have you?”
Gaius swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat. “The stories say most vampyres don’t survive the transformation. Or perhaps they use the opportunity to take their lives afterward.”
“So you see?” Thorne moved closer, his nose so close to his sire’s that given a few inches, their lips might touch. But Thorne seemed more likely to tear with his teeth than to kiss. “No proof. Nothing. And even if there was, you’d be delivering Haven to his death. Because you know that’s what he wants, don’t you? He wants to end his life.”
“Don’t talk about me like I’m not here,” Haven snarled. He was sick of this. So sick of these men around him willing to take his own autonomy out of the question. He’d never been allowed the freedom to make his own choices. Ever since being born into slavery and then born again into vampirism, he’d never been able to choose what he wore, where he went, who he fucked. Until Cypress.
Cypress had been the first choice that had felt like his own.
Touching him, kissing him. Giving himself to the human, even in the throes of his drug-induced state. He had wanted Cypress. He wanted him still.
But it was a doomed choice. Not one he was allowed to make. He could never be with Cypress. Because Cypress was human. A member of the Veritas. Though he himself had only ever been kind, the Veritas was evil, the enemy of all vampyre-kind.
Perhaps there was another option. Not one in which Haven and Cypress could be together. But still, a choice Haven could make. One that might allow Cypress to live.
“You’re right,” Gaius said, his voice tremulous. “It’s unfair of us to exclude you. You must know that both of us, in our own ways, only care about you.”
“He’s not yours to care for!” Thorne put space between Haven and Gaius, his influence rolling off him in waves. “We’re finished here, Gaius. You have a trial to prepare for. And I have my progeny to tend to.”
“I’m not going anywhere with either of you.” Haven stood his ground, firmly planting his feet. “I need to clear my head. I’ve spent the last several hours in a cell below ground. And the majority of the last thirty years being lied and dictated to. So you’ll excuse me if I need a moment.”
Thorne reared back, exposing his fangs, his eyes flashing dangerously. “How dare—” He reached out to strike, but Gaius caught his arm, wrestling him back. For all Thorne’s bluster, Gaius was stronger, older. He’d win in a direct challenge.
“Let him go,” Gaius hissed.
Without looking back, Haven walked away.
CHApTER NinETEEn
Cypress
It was over.It had all been for naught. Nothing mattered anymore. He’d never escape now. And more than that, he’d betrayed his allies, and delivered Dahlia to trial by Dominion.
Perhaps there was a way Dahlia and her brother could be declared innocent during their trial. But if Cy had learned anything about Thorne Bathory, it was that he would not give up so easily. He was vicious, and he would do everything in his power to protect himself and place the blame elsewhere.
The De Raises would fall. Perhaps be burned at the stake. And all because Cy had willingly given them up. He was worse than the vampyres. He was a traitor to the only ally he’d had in this place.
He slumped down against the wall of his cell, allowing his head to fall between his knees. He couldn’t stop seeing Haven’s face, the hurt that had been there when he’d seen Cy’s battered and bruised body. Why was that the thing he fixated on? That broken-hearted, melancholy look.
