Текст книги "Born in Chains"

Автор книги: Caris Roane

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The attackers took up more defensive positions, working the two Adriens farther apart.

Once more Lily felt the tug on the chains and began working her way back up the roof, scrambling each time, scraping up her hands all over again, but she didn’t care.

Adrien had to survive, and she had to do everything she could to help.

The Ancestral remained at a distance as Adrien battled the other men. She glanced in his direction. He appeared to be concentrating hard, his arms held wide—and that was when she noticed how the night air seemed wavy and strange all over the roof and several feet above.

The waves emanated from the Ancestral. She realized she was watching the creation of the single most important element vampires used to keep themselves hidden, the disguising ability of the Ancestrals.

A world of power, of violent factions, of fanatics and Ancestrals, and of certain gifted vampires who could split into two equal parts.

A cry sounded in the air. The Adrien to the right withdrew his blade from his attacker’s throat. Only one enemy remained and Lily wasn’t surprised when Adrien re-formed his body and, with unearthly speed, all but whirled around the final attacker. The man started to levitate and almost gained a quick takeoff speed, but Adrien launched above him, the chains tugging hard, cut his neck, and the vampire fell back to the roof. He would have slid off, but Adrien flew again, caught him, and finished what these men had started.

Lily rose up and gained her footing more easily than she thought she would. She glanced down and realized her feet were only partially touching the tiles: more siphoned power. She walked, or moved, or half flew in Adrien’s direction.

He breathed hard, hands on knees. He met her gaze. Sorry you had to see this.

She looked down at the dead vampire, blood pouring from his neck.

“I’ll get a cleanup crew.” The Ancestral had his phone out. It struck Lily as funny that these creatures, who could create disguising waves out of nothing, who could split into two parts and do battle, would use human technology to call for cleanup.

“You’re smiling?”

Lily glanced at Adrien. “I can’t believe you even need phones, with everything else you can do.” She put her hand to her cheek and shook her head. “I might be feeling a little hysterical right now.”

“They’ll be coming from the south, about two minutes out.” The Ancestral, who looked to be no more than thirty, wore his hair corporate-short. He had large brown eyes, visible in Lily’s continually improving sight.

He met her gaze, took in the chain, and dipped his chin once.

Adrien introduced her to Sebastien, and by the time she’d exchanged bizarre pleasantries on the roof of his home, a disposal crew had arrived.

Sebastien extended an arm, a graceful gesture in the direction of the home beneath his feet. “Shall we?”

Adrien quickly took Lily’s hand. “Which room?”

“They’d just started into my study when I escaped to the roof. I believe that chamber might still be intact.”

Sebastien disappeared first, sinking through the mass of the building. With his free hand, Adrien wiped sweat off his forehead. He called to the foreman of the crew, thanked him for his hard work, then the vibration began. Lily’s last view of the roof involved watching one of the disposal crew, a huge pack on his back, start power-spraying the blood away.

Maybe for that reason, or because she’d just witnessed more killings, or due to the action of moving through another solid mass, the moment Lily’s feet touched the soft carpet of Sebastien’s study she dropped to her knees. She worked hard not to hurl all over what she could see was a finely woven Persian carpet.

She felt a hand on the back of her head. Waves of energy pulsed through her, and the nausea passed. Her head didn’t even hurt. She sat back on her heels and looked up at Sebastien. “Thank you. I don’t know what you did, but I feel much better.”

“Good. I take it you’re finding our means of travel difficult to take.”

“Nearly impossible, unless I’m fully prepared and we take it really slow.”

He stepped away from her suddenly. In fact, he crossed to the opposite side of the room, but she wasn’t certain why.

When she rose to her feet, however, she turned to find Adrien in a state. He was growling again, his head low, his fangs bared. His flecked teal eyes had what was now becoming a familiar wild appearance.

Instinctively, Lily reached up and put her hand on his face. Is this because he touched me?

Adrien turned into her hand, kissed her palm, then hauled her into his arms. His thoughts came at her in a fragmented jumble: Kill Sebastien. Don’t. Lily, my God. Hurting. Fangs. Must stop. Lily. What’s happening? I could take her now. An entire string of expletives followed.

Panicked, Lily threw her arms around his neck. I’m here, she said.

Lily?

I’m here.

I’m sorry.

What do you need?

He can’t touch you again.

He won’t. He didn’t understand. I’m sure he gets it now.

She felt him take a deep breath, then another. Because she was pressed up against him, she also felt his arousal and was stunned all over again. Was it possible she’d need to give it up for Adrien, again, in a stranger’s study?

She wasn’t sure she had a choice. Tell your friend to leave the room.

No. I’ll get through this. I can’t keep giving in to this terrible need I have for you.

He trembled as he pulled away from her, but they were alone. Sebastien had left the room anyway, which helped.

At first Lily opened her mouth to yell at Adrien, but what she sensed through the chain stopped her. The vampire was humiliated by what had just happened.

He moved to a large desk, planted his hands on the top, and worked at his breathing. She stared at him, uncertain what to do. Her chain began to vibrate heavily against her neck as powerful emotions worked in Adrien. Humiliation, yes, but something more, something that fueled his rage.

He shook from head to toe and without warning, he lifted his head and screamed into the air.

Lily jumped back several paces at first, then moved back to him. She put a hand on his arm, wanting to calm him, but he jerked away. He paced the room in a circle and shouted. More profanity followed, reams of it.

“Adrien, what’s wrong? Talk to me. Maybe I can help with this, whatever’s going on with you.”

“You want to help? You, a human. And what are you going to help with? Can you change my DNA or that this damn chain has my cock in an uproar? Or that when I catch even a whiff of you I want to bite down hard on your throat and never let go?”

She took a step away, one hand sliding up her neck. Her breath came in heaving gulps. She’d had sex with him twice and both experiences had overwhelmed her, made her crave more. Because of the chain, she could feel his need, that he meant what he said.

She stared at him, unwilling to admit just how much she responded to the call in his eyes, to the size and beauty of him, or to his primitive nature. And she hated herself for it, for desiring him like this, the feeling that not to have him would somehow destroy her life, even her soul.

She saw that he worked to control himself.

So she did the same. “We’ll get past this, Adrien, both of us. We’ll get the weapon and somehow get the chains off, the sooner the better, then we’ll both be free of these inexplicable cravings.”

He met her gaze but shook his head. “Did you have to be so beautiful?”

Lily grew very still. Tension filled the air. Silence as well. Maybe she breathed, she wasn’t sure. Adrien held her gaze, his eyes dark with longing and need, now glittering in the soft dark of the room.

She heard movement near the doorway and wasn’t surprised when Sebastien appeared. “Rumy called just before the fanatics showed up, demanding information about the extinction weapon. I wouldn’t have survived the attack without Rumy’s warning, but I’ve lost a good friend tonight.”

“I’m sorry,” Adrien said.

Sebastien nodded, his expression grim. “I’ve made a couple of phone calls. I think you should head north, to the Trevayne system. Alfonse is expecting you. I told him to take you to the vault.”

Lily felt Adrien growing calmer by the second. Perhaps that was why the Ancestral had rejoined them, to change the subject and to give Adrien something else to focus on.

CHAPTER 6

Adrien kept his gaze fixed on Sebastien, his chest tight. It helped a lot that he’d shifted his attention away from Lily. He drew another deep breath. “What vault?”

“The one only three other Ancestrals know about, Alfonse being one of them.”

Lily turned to face Sebastien as well. “What’s in the vault? Is the weapon there?” Adrien could sense her sudden excitement.

Sebastien shook his head. “No, but there are documents about experiments performed here in France. I read them forty years ago. They were of a scientific nature and might have included design plans, I’m not sure. I’m asking that you secure them and take them to Gabriel. He’ll know what to do with them.” As a respected Ancestral, Gabriel knew a lot of trustworthy vampires. If anyone would know what to do with these documents, he would.

He glanced from one to the other. “You’re in this together and you’re in deep. You’re both pretending that what’s happening here is simple, with the chains and with each other, but it’s not. Adrien, you and your brothers have served as one of our few policing forces, and you’ve done a great job. But our society, if we’re to survive, needs more than that, from you especially. You have tremendous Ancestral power, I can sense it in you. And you’ve always spoken loudly about the need for an improved court system. We must have that if we’re to hold maniacs like Daniel at bay. And now that he’s making a power grab by using you both to get the weapon, it’s even more important that you tap into your Ancestral legacy.”

“But when I’ve spoken of this, most of the Ancestrals insist that Daniel is an anomaly among vampires, that we shouldn’t build an entire system around one freak. And if we can locate the weapon at all, it’s unclear what we’ll do with it. We’ll handle that when the time comes.”

Sebastien nodded. “But Daniel’s not the only one vying for control, is he? Who do you think was behind the attack here?”

“I know that Silas leads this group.”

Sebastien nodded. “The long black hooded robes have become his signature.”

“Yes, they have.”

Lily turned to glance at Adrien over her shoulder. “Silas again. What’s his main deal?”

“He keeps dozens of our young male vampires worked up about human intrusions into our world, while he profits from selling human drugs to vampire dealers in just about every system on earth. He’s one of my least favorite things, a complete hypocrite.”

“But I take it he wants more than just the profit from selling drugs.”

“Like Daniel, he’s after control.”

Lily shifted her gaze back to Sebastien. “Do you agree?”

Sebastien stepped back into the room. “Absolutely.” He sat down in a winged chair near tall bookshelves and settled his gaze on Adrien. “Just think about what I’ve said. If you embraced your Ancestral calling, you’d be able to make a difference, I know it.” He lifted a hand. “I won’t argue with you, not tonight. But please consider the possibility that there’s something else here.” He glanced from Adrien to Lily and back. “Fate has brought you to Lily and she to you.”

“I don’t believe in fate.” Adrien flared his nostrils, slinging his hands behind his back.

“Whether you believe it or not, I’m going to tell you a truth right now that I think you won’t want to hear.” He gestured to the chain at Adrien’s neck. “These blood-chains that you’ve got have very little to do with your drive toward Lily.”

“You’re wrong about that.”

Sebastien shook his head. “My wife and I donned blood-chains once, hoping to improve our marriage. All they did was increase the hostility we felt for each other. I almost died getting rid of the chains but would have preferred death to keeping them.”

“That can’t be true.”

“Are you calling me a liar?” But he smiled, if wearily.

Adrien backed down. “No. You always speak the truth.”

Lily met Adrien’s gaze. “But this can’t be true. I couldn’t possibly be experiencing these kinds of things on my own.” She whirled back to Sebastien. “You must be mistaken.”

“Sorry, the chains don’t lie or mislead.” He rose from his chair. “And now, I have a good friend to bury. I suggest you head north before Silas finds out about the vault.”

For a long moment, Adrien couldn’t move. His gaze was glued to Lily as he tried to process what Sebastien had just told him. What did his profound drive toward the human mean, then?

In the end, he made a choice to ignore Sebastien’s revelations, at least for the present. Besides, soon enough he’d come to the end of this line, then he and Lily could go their separate ways.

“You’re right, we should get going. And Sebastien, I’m sorry we can’t stay to help out with this.”

“My people are coming. I’m not alone. Try to gather the support you need and think about what I told you. You have an extraordinary lineage. If I had half your power and even a quarter of your natural ability, Adrien—my God, what I could have accomplished on behalf of our world.”

Adrien met and held his gaze, willing him to understand his thoughts. That the latent power he kept in check, those so-called natural abilities he possessed, belonged in hell and nowhere else.

He held his arm out to Lily. Accustomed to the drill, she stepped into him and slid an arm around his neck. This kind of proximity because of the way they had to travel wasn’t helping his profound desire for her, but it was still the best way of traveling with altered flight.

The moment she planted her foot on top of his, he inclined his head to Sebastien and put them both in motion, gliding upward and passing easily through the house and into the night air.

He’d half expected Lily to speak to him while traveling, to contact him telepathically and discuss what Sebastien had said. Instead she remained silent.

If what Sebastien had shared was accurate, then Adrien had to face a hard fact about his desire for Lily: He’d never experienced such a powerful reaction to a woman, any woman, in the entire course of his four centuries.

But what did it mean? He’d known dozens of women over the decades, and had loved two or three of them, but he’d never felt a desire for a deeper commitment. He held back of course, just as his brothers did, since they each feared and mistrusted their parentage. Yet when he reviewed his loves, they seemed mild in comparison with his reactions to Lily. Even before she’d come into the cave, he’d thought, She’s here. She’s mine. And that was well before he’d worn the blood-chain.

Are we in any danger, being airborne like this?

Finally, she spoke to his mind, addressing a subject he could respond to, but she wouldn’t like the answer. Because we’re traveling like slugs, yeah, we’re in danger. Hopefully, though, anyone watching for us would be checking the southern routes out of Paris.

In the direction of Lake Como and The Erotic Passage?

Yep. Rumy’s business is known to be a hotbed of information, any kind you could possibly want. Most of the club’s workers would have heard something about the weapon over the years.

Do you think anything in the vault will be of value?

Only one way to find out, but I need to prepare you for something else, Lily. No human has been allowed to visit the Trevayne system in a long time. I don’t know if Kiernan told you this, but a large number of our cavern systems don’t allow humans inside. Most interactions with your kind have ended badly for the vampire world.

You’re saying I won’t be welcomed.

Only an Ancestral like Sebastien could have given us access like this, so I’m asking that you be respectful despite how you feel about my kind.

Of course I will. I’m not a barbarian.

No, that you’re not. I apologize if I offended you.

Apology accepted.

* * *

Lily didn’t blame Adrien for not trusting her. If she’d been in his shoes she would have done and said the same kinds of things. After at least an hour of travel, and as he dropped down to earth, she glanced around and saw a barren rise of hills amid a fertile area, except that the air looked as it had on top of Sebastien’s roof, like it moved in waves.

Another disguise.

A stream flowed nearby and a chill filled the air. She wondered where the caves were and why vampires would still choose to live in caves when many, like Adrien, had apartments and homes.

She watched the stream, the trees on the opposite side. The wind flowed along the waterway.

Adrien had grown very still but he finally said, “We have permission to go inside.”

She had no idea what he meant, but when she shifted toward the barren land, a sight like nothing she could possibly have expected met her eyes. A several-stories-tall entrance, made of stone blocks, framed a massive cave entrance on an even taller grass-covered hill. What had appeared barren to her human eye was actually the entrance to the Trevayne system.

The beauty of the entrance stunned her, and for a long moment she couldn’t make her feet move. The stone had dozens of magnificent carvings, something that probably spoke of the history of the system as well as the vampires who’d lived here throughout the ages. But across the top of massive columns lay an enormous curved stone, settled deep into the hill and also carved.

She felt her jaw had dropped, and there it stayed. The cavern in the Himalayas had been an uncivilized hellhole, a perfect representation, from Lily’s limited point of view, of vampire society, violent and unclean.

But here, rising to such an incredible height, carved with great beauty, was something else altogether. The stones, massed together and decorated, meant civilization.

“Not what you expected?” Adrien’s words held a sharp, sarcastic edge.

“Sorry. Not even a little.”

He led her up a series of steps, but each forward movement bit at her conscience. Humans weren’t allowed in this place and for good reason: Her kind usually meant death and destruction, and here she was looking for the one thing that would destroy the few hundred vampires undoubtedly living here.

But as she moved deeper into the entrance, her eyes widened. She thought a five-star hotel couldn’t have been any grander. The several-story theme continued, the sculpted walls rising to a massive domed ceiling with more intricate carvings. A granite mosaic of a huge oak tree decorated the entire eight-foot wall to her left. Dozens of white linen-covered round tables and tall-upholstered chairs took up the main body of the room.

Straight ahead, a vampire stood at attention, meeting neither of their gazes.

To the right, a long hotel-like desk, though unmanned, flanked the wall. From the same direction, a tall, lean vampire with large eyes and his dark hair cut businessman-short moved in her direction, his lips pinched tightly together.

“Well met, Adrien.”

“And you, Alfonse. May I present Lily Haven.”

Alfonse turned his piercing gaze on Lily. He didn’t smile and she didn’t offer her hand. “We don’t usually receive humans here, madame. But you probably already know that.”

“I do.”

He then shifted his attention to Adrien. “Sebastien gave specific instructions that I’m to take you directly to the vault. Our people have retired, at my request. I’m not happy about this, on any level, but Sebastien indicated that a difficult situation has arisen and he trusts you. I do as well, but if you could see to your business then leave, I’d offer any favor in return that I could.”

Bribing Adrien to get rid of them?

“You know about the imprisonment of me and my brothers.”

Alfonse shook his head, and his frown deepened. “We’re unsettled by these events and by rumors that Daniel has been stripping some of our most powerful leaders of their businesses, selling them to humans.”

“I wish I could tell you differently.”

“Doesn’t Daniel understand that if our wealth departs, so does the ability to feed those in each system? We’ll be forced out into the open. That can’t be his plan.”

Adrien’s voice grew quieter. “I’ve never understood his mind.”

Alfonse clapped him on the shoulder. “Of course not. No one can understand the thinking of a madman.” He glanced at Lily. “I’ll show you to the vault.”

A woman’s voice sounded to Lily’s right. “Now, is that any way to treat guests that Sebastien has sent to us, my dear? I insist they receive refreshment, and if you continue to stand there like a statue and scowl at our human visitor, she will no doubt make a report that will do none of us any good.”

Lily found herself swept away by the woman, who took her arm, introduced herself as Giselle, and drew her back down the way she’d come. She felt the tug on her chain, which quickly relaxed since Adrien moved to catch up.

“Giselle, we can’t stay for your hospitality,” Adrien said. “Time is critical.”

“So I understand, but you haven’t seen how my grandson has grown. You’ve been a favorite of his since birth and he’s missed you.”

Lily’s astonishment grew. Grandson? Which meant children. So there were vampire children here.

Her gaze took in the walls as Giselle led her away from the entrance. They appeared to be decorated with some kind of elegant polished quartz, and went on and on, for at least an eighth of a mile, with many offshoots of more halls, or tunnels, more carvings and more crystals, more beauty and civilization.

This wasn’t a cavern system, this was a palace.

After a series of descending steps, taking them deeper into the earth, the hall opened up into another vast underground cavern, also carved and gleaming with a soft light from several oil lamps. Her vision adjusted, so that once more she saw the space in a soft glow. She also felt the flow of warm air, fresh air. “You have electricity.”

“Some, and as carefully hidden as possible.”

Lily turned in a circle. “This is a magnificent room.”

“And Alfonse works hard in his business so that we, and all the families living in our system, can maintain the necessary repairs. We’re constantly battling the effects of water, and of course the moment a stalagmite appears, I’m calling in a work crew.” She laughed as she spoke.

Giselle had long black hair with a straight line of bangs. Her skin was very pale. Her clothes were casual enough, but she looked stunning in a pair of black tailored pants and a soft, clinging purple top. She wore thick silver bands on her wrist and a matching piece around her neck.

She led Lily to an elevated living area on which were grouped red velvet sofas and chairs. Beneath the furniture lay an enormous carpet.

“Please, sit down. My husband is glaring at me but I insisted on inviting you to our private quarters.” She had wine waiting and goblets.

When she offered, Lily accepted because to do anything else seemed wrong. But Giselle had knocked her off-stride. She’d had one opinion of vampires, and little about Adrien’s powerful presence and temper had altered that.

Yet here was a woman who, in any other setting, might have become Lily’s friend.

Lily took a sip and found the Cabernet flavor almost perfect. Adrien moved to stand near the chair in which Giselle sat. He held his goblet tight in his fist, his brows drawn together as he watched her. She sensed his uneasiness, but couldn’t figure out the cause of it.

Then she felt it, a kind of energy emanating from Giselle. She shifted her gaze to the woman, who sat with one leg tucked beneath her. Then, leaning forward as she searched Lily’s eyes, she finally murmured, “Sebastien told me you shared the bonding chains with Adrien, and I can see that you do, I can feel the bonds between you and they’re powerful. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever felt anything like this before. When did you put them on?”

Some part of Lily didn’t want to answer the question, but she felt compelled to speak anyway. “Earlier. Just after sunset when I brought Adrien out of the prison.”

“I see.” More of Giselle’s power flowed toward Lily in soft entrancing waves. “And why did you bring him out?”

Again, Lily wanted to hold back, but the words flowed out of her as she spoke about her mission, that she had to get the extinction weapon. She even told Giselle about Kiernan and Daniel—everything, except Josh.

“I can sense that you’re a tracker, that you have the locating ability. I want you to extend your powers to our system right now and focus on the weapon. What do you see?”

Lily did as she was told, closing her eyes. She reached out with her mind and focused on the weapon. She felt the familiar tendrils flow from her once more, but much stronger this time and extending in all directions. But as before nothing happened—as though she simply didn’t have enough power to get the job done.

Opening her eyes, she said, “I can feel this ability at work in me, but I can’t seem to locate the weapon.”

Giselle glanced at Adrien. “Perhaps there isn’t enough power yet for that to happen.” Shifting her gaze back to Lily, she asked. “Did you agree to your mission because of money?”

She shook her head. Panic set in. By now, she knew that Giselle had some kind of power over her, but she couldn’t reveal the whole truth. She couldn’t. Trembling set in. “Not … money.”

“Then what? Why do you do this thing? Are you afraid of Daniel?”

“Yes, that he’ll kill me. Kiernan as well.” She bit back the rest of the truth, but she broke out in a sweat.

“And what else?”

The woman’s voice cajoled and coaxed Lily, the powerful vampire waves beating at her mind, compelling her.

Lily glanced up at Adrien. Help me. I can’t tell her. Please. Make her stop.

But Adrien’s gaze was hard as he responded, mind-to-mind, We have a right to know why you’re set on destroying our kind.

I can’t tell you or anyone.

But Adrien pressed her. You’re after the weapon, acquiring it on behalf of one greedy human and one maniacal vampire. We must know what’s going on.

Please, Adrien. I’m begging you. I can’t give the reason. Too much is at stake.

“Lily,” Giselle called out, more waves pounding on her this time.

Lily turned slowly in her direction, under the strange spell all over again. “Tell me why you must find the weapon, if not for money?”

Lily’s trembling increased. Her lips formed the words. She would try to say them, but her heart forced them back. Sweat poured from her now, streaming down her face, her back. She shook hard, resisting Giselle’s power.

She couldn’t betray her son. One of the terms of her arrangement was that she keep the terms confidential. If she revealed the truth, Kiernan would kill Josh.

Suddenly a new power flowed toward her, but this time possessing and strengthening her as the blood-chain vibrated heavily. Though Giselle continued to pummel her, Lily now siphoned Adrien’s power. She could resist Giselle.

“Enough,” Alfonse said. “Giselle, stop.”

Giselle ceased suddenly and Lily weaved in her seat, but caught hold of the arm of the chair with her free hand to steady herself. That Adrien’s power still flowed through her made her feel dizzy. She met his gaze once more. Thank you.

She set her goblet down on the table next to her then wiped the sleeve of her shirt over her face. She leaned forward and put her head in her hands.

She didn’t understand why Adrien had stepped in to support her. She looked up at him once more. Why did you do it? I think she could have broken me.

I disagreed with the effort on principle. But I wish you would tell us, or at least tell me.

I can’t.

He looked as though he wanted to say more, but a young voice called out, “Uncle Adrien. I thought that was you.”

“Ah, my grandson,” Giselle murmured, pride in her voice.

But what happened next stunned Lily: The warm smile that broke over Adrien’s face transformed him completely as he turned to hold out his arms to a boy of maybe six or seven.

The lad half leaped, half flew into Adrien’s arms. He swung him in a circle, hugging him, even levitating and whirling faster so that the child laughed, the sound bouncing around the domed, carved ceiling of the large cavern.

Because of the chain, she sensed Adrien’s love for the boy. Even without the chain, though, she could see the affection on his face.

All that love. From a vampire. From Adrien.

The dizziness Lily had experienced earlier returned, but for a completely different reason.

The boy put his arms around Adrien’s neck. “I’ve missed you. We all have.”

“I’ve been away for a year, but now I’m back.”

“The alarm sounded,” the boy said, his eyes wide. “All my friends had to go into their hidden homes, did you know that?”

Adrien glanced at Alfonse. “No, I didn’t.”

The boy glanced at Lily, then his eyes widened further. “You’re a human.”

Lily nodded. “I am.”

He frowned. “But you’re just a girl. Why would the alarms sound because a female human came into Trevayne?” He glanced from Adrien to Lily then to his grandparents.

Giselle rose from her seat and took charge of him. “Come, Jean-Luc. You should have been in bed an hour ago.” The boy stared over his shoulder at Lily as he walked away, half dragged by his grandmother who promised more information about the human once he was in bed.

Jean-Luc waved and smiled at Lily, the tips of his fangs showing.

Lily waved in return, knowing that what had happened in the past few minutes had overturned her world.

Adrien spoke quietly to Alfonse, which gave her a moment to gather her thoughts once more and to look at the vampire who had killed others of his kind in front of her, whose dark nature both made her afraid and excited her, and who had just shown a very human response to a vampire child.

She looked away from Adrien, feeling more confused than ever about this world she’d just entered. She’d had a strong opinion about vampires, which kept being confirmed over and over again. But other situations, like this one, had arisen to obliterate at least some of those preconceptions.

The one thing she knew for certain, however, was that Adrien couldn’t have faked his obvious love for Jean-Luc. But even beyond this, he had interfered with Giselle’s enthrallment skills, allowing Lily to keep secret the one piece of information that could keep her son alive.