"You're late." A tall slender brunette leads us down a narrow hallway. "He's been waiting all night for you. The least you could have done was be on time for the appointment you scheduled."
"Lace, your face is far too pretty to always wear that scowl," Julian teases. She did have a pretty face. Oval with high cheekbones and eyes the deep amber of a tiger.
"Flattery never got you anywhere, Rivera." She doesn't as much as look at him, her face stony. It might crack if she moved it.
"With you, maybe." He looks at me and winks. "But I always like a challenge."
Lace glares at him, while politely knocking on a door.
"Enter." A deep, rugged voice echoes back. We step into a dimly lit room. A flickering fire casts meandering shadows across Victor's chest as he stands from his desk. "This better be good new—"
Victor's gaze meets mine, and he holds it for just a moment before turning his attention to Julian. I feel him again, it's a nervous sizzle. He tugs at the bottom of his shirt, clearing his throat. "Everything's complete then?"
"Yes, Master. She's completely reborn. No complications." Julian's tone holds nothing playful—nothing of the man just moments ago in the hall.
"Good." His lips stay tight as he looks me over again, as if inspecting me for flaws or imperfections. "Thank you. Rivera, Lace, that will be all. I'll send word if I need anything further."
Julian nods again before exiting the room, Lace trailing after him.
"Come, please have a seat." Victor gestures to the thick leather chairs sitting before his massive oak desk.
"I'm glad to see you made this choice." A warm ripple tugs the air around me.
I wring my hands. Everything inside me is still twisted into hundreds of tight knots. Constricting and releasing as if fighting for control. But when I'm around Victor something fights the anguish my logical mind says I should feel and coats the knots with a relaxing serum.
"Please, sit." He gestures again to the leather chairs in front of his desk and holds my gaze, seeming to note my struggle and allowing me to work through it. I take his offer and move to the chair.
He clears his throat. "First, I'd like to extend my personal welcome to Ettore Estates. As Master of this clan I hope that you'll find the stay to your liking. I only regret not being available when you awoke in the holding room."
Ice clinks on his glass as he swirls the crimson liquid. If I didn't know better, I would have thought it to be a Bloody Mary. "I'm sorry. This is a lot for me. I'm trying to process it—"
"I'm here to help. The transition period is never easy. What are your questions?" He crosses his arms and leans back in his chair.
What are my questions? The question seems so big. How can you possibly articulate something that is so different then the reality you grew up with? I've been told my whole life that vampires aren't real, and today I woke up as one. Where do I even start?
"The Authority has sent out a memo about you." His voice softer as if he's afraid to startle me.
I gather the strength to speak. "I have a feeling that's not the police." Was anyone looking for me or had Talum wiped their memory of my existence? Or maybe—oh god. What if he killed them? I look to the door. I shouldn't be here talking.
His low chuckle pulls me back. "No, it's not. Every community has appointed ambassadors that make up the Authority. It's an overruling power meant to make it an even playing field for all clans. However, the Silvanos still hold most of the power and Lazarus, as the Overseer, has the final say. Whether he claims to or not."
"What do they want with me?"
"He likes to stake claim on whatever he deems fit 'for the betterment of society.' However, I'm your Guardian, and I won't give you up that easily. At least not until I know why they want you so badly."
I sit up straighter. "I'm not property to be claimed."
"Of course not. You're free to leave anytime you wish, but you will always receive protection for the duration of your stay."
I stand and look to the door again. At least he's honest. I cross my arms and pace for now. Counting my steps.
Victor doesn't stop me, but continues, "When the Silvanos want something, it's for a reason. So, for whatever reason they want you, is a reason I don't want them to have you. Who knows what kind of treachery they'll bring onto the communities. But either way, I don't have any plans on bargaining for you."
"They think I have something to do with some disease Sypris labs created. That's why I was there. I was trying to get answers." I stop pacing and my hands slump to my sides.
He leans forward in his chair. "The Celmosis outbreak?"
"I have no idea. I don't know what any of this means. I just know that they think I'm some sort of magic cure. And I'm not." I turn away. "I'm not anything."
"You're the daughter of the late Richard Beckett, are you not? The lead scientist at Sypris."
I spin back to face him. "How do you know that?" A fire ignites in my gut.
He leans back, his fingers coil around his glass. A cooling release ebbs out the flames. "It's standard procedure, darling. I have to know who I'm bringing into my community, let alone who I'm allowing to be my newborn. But to be honest, everyone knows your father."
I return to my seat, resting my elbows on my knees. I massage my temples before I meet his gaze again. "So, it's all true. What does this all mean? Am I like a fugitive? I've done nothing wrong." I can't hold the bubbling heat back any longer and it spills out. "You did this to me. You destroyed my family. You took my life away."
His hands flex on the desk, as if he was wrestling with his own emotions. "Watch how you speak of us. You are one of us now too."
"Not by choice." I can't hold still. I stand again and walk toward the window on the far side of the room, refusing to let him see the tears pricking my eyes. Why do I care what this stranger thinks? Part of me hates him for doing this to me. He should have just left me there to die. But if he didn't find me, surely Talum would have. So, really, should I be thankful it was him instead? I turn back to Victor. He stands and moves to lean on the side of his desk, thick arms crossed over his broad chest.
"Masters don't typically make newborns, but I made my decision and therefore the consequences are mine to deal with. But I won't have you speak of our kind as monsters. Remember, I saved your life."
I roll my eyes. He created me. Did that make him think he had some sort of power over me? "You said yourself, it was more for your benefit than mine. I wasn't your problem. And I probably would have been better off dead. So, don't expect me to thank you." A hot rage burns beneath my skin.
The muscles in his neck and jaw flex as if he too is trying to control his temper. "Creating a newborn is not something we take lightly. That means I saw and felt something in you that made you worth saving. Why can't you see that?"
My eyes never leave his. "Vampires have destroyed every aspect of my life. They've lied to me. They've deceived me and used me for their own will. Why the hell would I think you'd be any different?"
"Because I'm not them. The Silvanos have their own agenda. They do what's right for them and play it off like it's good for the whole society. The last time we attempted to comply to their rules, we lost our leader. I'm not foolish enough to do it again."
Pain flickers in his eyes and my chest pricks for him. I know that look. He lost someone close to him. "What did they do?"
"When Sypris was formed, Lazarus thought it would fall away and become myth, just like it always had. But they were different this time, they captured one of us and tortured him until he released the names of our leaders. Bane and Lazarus were extremely close. They ruled the North American territories together as a team.
"They communicated with the officials and attempted to form a peace agreement. But the humans kept experimenting. Then they captured several of our own." I wonder if this is the subject Julian didn't want to discuss. "And Bane couldn't sit back any longer and watch as our people died. Lazarus refused to act—he ordered against it. He claimed he was close to an agreement, but I think he was getting something out of their experiments."
"What could he possibly want from them?"
"Money—power. It's hard to say, but he never got it. Bane got us released, but the humans had already gotten what they wanted. They created a virus that would destroy us from the inside out, and they strategically placed it where Bane found it. We lost many people in the months after, and it wasn't until then that Lazarus finally took any initiative to stop it. But by then, it was too late."
He pauses, gauging my reaction. "Do you see now why I hate that you think vampires are monsters?"
"When people die, neither side is right." Guiltrips my insides because I can't hate them for standing up for their own, justas I can't hate my father for doing the same.