House of Kings(21)
“What am I?” the woman says as she takes an aggressive step toward me. She raises her hands, as if to grab me and do damage, but she falters, as if she can’t. “What is happening? Why am I looking for you?”
I take a step back, my eyes wide and confused. “No,” I say, shaking my head. “I killed you. I…I…I drained you!”
“You attacked me!” she yells as she takes another step forward. “You bit me. That’s the last thing I remember. And then I wake up, feeling like I’m going to die. I found that poor old man in his house, half frozen to death, and I killed him. I drank—” her voice falters, emotion cracking her tough exterior. “I drank his blood.”
The fight seems to seep out of her. Her shoulders sag, her entire frame seeming to grow too heavy for her slight frame. Her eyes fall to the floor. “Ian’s dead, isn’t he? That’s why they’re back so strong.”
“Ian?” I question, a painful little pull snagging in my chest. “No, he’s not dead.”
“Then why are there so many vampires back in Silent Bend?” she whispers with malice as hatred burns in her eyes again.
Ice creeps along my insides. I can’t. I have to shut it out. I have to not feel. “He left. He left me. He left this life. He left Silent Bend.”
She shakes her head. “Ian would never. Because Lula would never, and he’d never leave her.”
“She did,” Cameron says with a hard swallow. “We were all here that night. He turned his back on Alivia and he left town.”
“You’re the woman he was losing his mind over?” the woman says as she shoots me a sharp stare. “The one that psycho bitch killed him over?”
“What?” I ask with a breathy defense. “What are you talking about? How do you know Ian?”
She shoots me a dark glare once more before stepping around me. She works her way past the library, observing it, back toward the ballroom. “I’ve known Ian my whole life. We used to be neighbors, back before his parents were killed. I used to hear the screaming fights and the shit being broken in the house. He’d bring Elle over when it got real bad.”
“You two were friends,” I say in surprise. Ian’s always seemed such a lone wolf. To hear he had a friend just doesn’t seem right.
“Friends,” she says, the way she says it makes me think she hates the way that word applies to her and Ian. “Something like that.”
And the truth is there—so damn obvious. This woman has, had, it’s unclear, feelings for Ian. “What’s your name?” I ask, because I have to move on from my previous thought.
She turns back around to face me, her yellow eyes glowing bright. “Danielle. Danielle Kapos.”
I reach forward and place my hands on her shoulders. The look on her face makes me think she’d very much like to jerk away from me, but her Debt prevents her from doing that. So, I let my hands drop away. “I’m very sorry for what I did to you, Danielle. I didn’t mean to, I swear. I’m still adjusting to this new life and I-”
“Apologies mean nothing,” she says, her eyes growing colder. “Not when I know this isn’t going away. I’m in this for life now. And that’s on you, whether you’re sorry about it or not.”
Well. Isn’t that the cold, hard truth?
WE’VE RUN OUT OF BEDROOMS. With Cyrus’ court members returning within two weeks, they’ve occupied all the spare bedrooms I have. So, I put Danielle in the library. It’s a temporary solution. I can’t have her running around town until she has her thirst under control.
Together, we raid the fridge in Nial’s room. It’s packed full of blood bags.
With one in hand, I make my way to the veranda, to a rocking chair. I dial Rath’s number.
“Alivia,” he answers in that calm demeanor of his. “How are you?”
A little smile spreads on my face at just hearing his voice. Like a warm embrace and a true welcome home. “I’m…okay. Considering everything going on.”
“Is everyone safe?” he asks.
It is such a weighted question.
“No one is truly safe anymore,” I answer him honestly. “Things are so complicated and there are so many little plots going on.” I take a deep breath, letting my eyes slide closed. My brain feels like a tangled web of lies, trying to follow each one as it twists and drops out of sight before resurfacing in a completely different direction.
“It is the truth,” he says. “Nothing is simple in this world.”
“How’s Luke?” I ask, because it’s almost a normal and mundane question.