She wipes her eyes and gives a tiny nod. “Yes. Anything.”
“That you won’t be frightened of me,” I say. “And that you won’t defer to me because of my strength. I can be your friend, Patricia, but our friendship has to transcend all that.”
She nods again, more resolutely this time. “I… I think I can do that.”
“Now.” I stand up and feel a new determination growing. “Since I’m back, I need to get a feel for this place. For The Haven. Can you help, will you be my guide?”
She bobs her head up and down once more.
“You need to feed first. Even I can see that. We’ll go up to the blood banks—”
“But those are forbidden for all vampires but those of the Royal Court!” she exclaims in alarm. She takes a step back. “The only time I can feed will be at the next Hunt.”
“The blood banks are only for the Royal Court?” I question.
“Yes,” she says. “They are barred to us.”
“No, no.” I shake my head. “That’s ridiculous.”
“If all The Haven’s vampires were given access to it, it would quickly run out of blood.”
“That’s what you think?” I ask. “I was just there—there’s enough blood to last everybody here for decades.”
Her eyes widen. “You have access to the banks?”
“Of course,” I say. “And as my friend, so do you. Now come on. If you won’t go, I’ll bring you some blood. But it’s obvious we need to get your strength back before doing anything else.”
And what comes next, I tell myself firmly, is finding out where Morgan placed all the humans… and returning them to their regular lives.
At least, until I can do something to improve their standards of living.
Chapter Fifteen
PHILLIP
I race around The Haven, trying to find some glimpse of my Mother. But every time I get a hint of her whereabouts, she’s gone by the time I arrive.
The beast inside me is growing stronger, continuously. I thought April’s blood would unleash it, but it only served to nudge it awake. Now, it’s using the influx of human blood to stretch out its long-dormant muscles and ready itself for the next time I feed.
Next time… can I even envision such a thing? But what choice do I have? My body will demand more blood for as long as I live. The fast has been broken, and there’s no going back.
Not unless I want to end up like one of The Convicted. I’d only managed to survive on animal blood without devolving into their state because I hadn’t ever tasted human blood before.
But now?
Now, animal blood will never sustain me. All it would do is slow the descent into the horrific existence The Convicted live.
I end up back at the castle. This is where all this began, and this is where everything can come to its end.
As I enter, I look upon the paintings on the walls. I shiver. I witnessed the profane ritual Mother used to cast a vampire into that eternal hell.
She needs to be stopped. Before she can inflict more damage upon The Haven, and have us crumble from the inside, she needs to be stopped.
I start up the stairs when I hear a door open. I sense who it is immediately. Without looking down, I say, “Raul.”
He joins me on the stairs. “I just spoke to James,” he says.
“You found him?” My eyebrows go up.
“It wasn’t easy. Mother put him in one of the deepest cells.”
“She’s really serious about the sentence, isn’t she?”
“Have you known her to backtrack after making a public announcement?” Raul shakes his head in disgust. “I think there’s only one way we can save our brother. And it’s not through diplomacy.”
“You mean…” my eyes narrow and I lower my voice. “You mean we need to help him escape?”
“I see no other choice,” Raul says grimly. He grunts in frustration. “It seems all we’re doing recently is sneaking someone out or bringing them back in.”
“Mother won’t take kindly to another escapee,” I say. “She has Eleira here, too. Aren’t you afraid she’ll take her frustrations out on her?”
“I’m terrified of that,” Raul says. “That’s why, if we do it, we need to have Eleira’s full support.”
“Will she give it?” I ask. “You haven’t told me about her rescue. How did you— ”
“I love her, Phillip,” Raul says.
My head snaps to him. “What?”
“She’s it, she is the one, she’s the girl for me.” His breath hitches. “And I won’t do anything, ever, to compromise her safety.”