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“Fledglings are of our bloodline rather than our flesh, and they are never referred to as sons or daughters.”
“But… how?”
Vampirescouldn’treproduce. The changes their bodies underwent during the ceremony that gave them eternal life—unless someone stuck a stake through their bodies or they fried in sunlight, of course—not only rendered them incapable of eating, but also infertile. Which was a good thing considering how horny vampires seemed to become once undead.
Her smile was distant and fierce, all at the same time. “I was not born a vampire, remember. I wasreborn.”
“Meaning your daughter was born before you turned?”
“She was my youngest. I had three in all, and two sons.”
I hesitated, sensing I needed to tread warily, and yet at the same time, understanding that if I didn’t push, she wouldn’t answer. It was a fucking fine line to walk.
“Would they not have died long ago?”
“All except my youngest, Jaqueline, who followed me into this life and is a very powerful vampiric sorceress in her own right.”
Is, notwas.
As if we don’t have enough family dramas to deal with already, Belle said.
I think every other family drama will pale into insignificance compared to this one.To Maelle, I added, “Did you turn her?”
“No. Marie did.”
“With your approval?”
“Yes.”
“And your daughter’s consent?”
“Yes.”
There was something in the way she said that—a slight abruptness and perhaps a whisper of… angst? … that suggested consent might not have been one hundred percent. Perhaps her daughter had not fully understood the life she was stepping into, and that made me wonder just how old she’d been when Marie had turned her. The sexual age of consent was very different back then to what it was now, and these days, vampires tended to turn those close to—or older than—the legal age. At least from the little I’d seen and read about them.
“Was she one of Marie’s lovers?”
“No. That I forbade. It was one of the conditions I placed on turning her.”
I wondered what the others were and whether they were part of the current problem. But again, I doubted she’d tell me. “Then why would Marie be targeting women who look like your daughter?”
“Because my daughter was the only fledgling to survive my decimation of the coven.”
“Why?”
It was a horrid thing to say, but nevertheless a valid question. One the saner part of me instantly regretted when her gaze snapped from my eyes to my neck, and she bared her teeth. Her anger was so damn fierce I could barely even breathe.
“Why would you even ask that?” Her tone was low and dangerous and my skin crawled.
“Because I wanted a real response rather than one that yet again skirted the truth.”
“You are lucky I did not fly over this table and attack.”
My answering smile was as fierce as the gleam in her eyes. This was a turning point. If I backed down now, if I apologized, she would no longer treat me as an equal. And that could get very,verydangerous.
I placed my hand on the table and let a couple of tiny sparks dance across my fingertips. I needed a reminder more than a threat.
The movement drew her gaze from the pulse at my neck, as it was meant to.
