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He nods in agreement, but I see the sadness in his eyes. It tugs at my heart.
“Come on,” I say. “Let’s read through these books and see what we can find out. We just need to take it slow.”
“Of course. And at least I get to be with you. That is, if you’re happy to let me…” He gestures to my arm.
“Are you kidding? The endorphins are great for my skin.”
He laughs. “I don’t understand half the things you say, Kira Belvedere, but somehow, I know they’re funny.”
“Oh, I’m freaking hilarious. At least according to me.” I bite my lip and look down, sensing a warm blush staining my cheeks.
Cyrus notices it, too, gently touching my skin and making it burn hot.
Okay, so I went out with Paul for almost eight months, and I liked him a lot. But he didn’t make me burn when he touched me. I’ve known Cyrus for just one day, and it’s unreal how he affects me. For my own sake, I need to know if this is all vampiric trickery or if there’s a real connection between us.
But I’m also not sure I want to find out. If Cyrus and I are connected and we do sort of… like… each other, then how am I going to make difficult decisions later? I mean, I’m harbouring the last vampire in the world—a vampire that the entire school will want dead.
I’m not stupid. I know all of this adds up to a life-or-death situation.
“I need to study these overnight. Is that acceptable to you?” Cyrus asks.
“Don’t fold over any pages,” I warn. “I need to get these back to the library in pristine condition.”
He glances around the room. “It’s frustrating, being in here. Being trapped.”
“It’s better than being dead.”
He lowers his eyes. “After being in your head today, I learned some things about you.” He readjusts his sitting position and continues. “I’m beginning to understand that you have been thrown into a difficult situation. I see that your parents did not prepare you for this life. And I know I have inconvenienced you very much—”
“No—”
“Yes, I have. I’m sorry for that. It’s clear you are not your ancestors.” He sighs. “And my family did commit many crimes. My father, at least. I’m sorry for that too. I’m sorry for not being strong enough while alive to put a stop to it.” He glances at me. “I hope I don’t get you in any trouble by being here.”
“I hope so too,” I admit.
Twenty-Five
I’m walkingthrough Cyrus’s dream, a tourist travelling across a battlefield. None of the warriors know I’m here, and when a fireball zooms straight through my body without causing me harm, it’s obvious I’m like a ghost.
I see vampires, their faces savage, threaded with the same red veins I saw running across Cyrus’s skin. Fangs rip out throats. Fireballs blast through the air. Men scream in pain, a sound that will haunt me forever.
The vampires are lean and willowy, with long hair flowing down their backs. Their capes swoosh in the wind as they move at speed. A woman lets out a battle cry, leaps into the air, and transforms into a werewolf before my eyes.
Part of me wants to run and hide, but the rest of me wants to see the destruction for myself.
I’m in the middle of the Six Circle War.
I search the crowds of fighters for Cyrus’s face, but he’s nowhere to be seen. I don’t remember reading about him fighting in the wars. He was just a teenager then, so I assumed hestayed behind with his mother and sister. Which makes me wonder why Cyrus is dreaming of this battle.
Did the war happen like this, or is this how Cyrus imagines it?
A horn blasts. I watch a man in black-leather armour climb up a large rock and stand tall above the battlefield. The horn blows again, and the man lifts an object into the air. Shouts and wails break out across the field. It’s chaos. Some cheer, others scramble to get away. A circle of fire spreads around the entire field, and then the cries die down as the fighters realise there’s no way out.
The object the man holds is a severed head.
“Vladimir Dracul,” I whisper. Which makes the man in black my ancestor, and I can’t stop myself from adding. “Alaric Belvedere.”
He turns to me, and I gasp.
