Page 56 of House of Royals

A FEW DAYS LATER, I’VE just woken up when there’s a quiet knock on my door. I squint my eyes open just as Ian lets himself in. A smile starts to spread on my lips. This is a habit he’s formed, one I greatly approve of. Without hesitation, Ian climbs into my bed and wraps his arms around me.

“Good morning,” I say sleepily. I press my face into his chest. And then my nose crinkles. “You just got off work, didn’t you? You smell like ambulance and blood.”

“I did.” And the tone of his voice instantly brings my eyes up to his face.

“What happened?” I ask. Because I’ve been in this town long enough to know that something did happen.

Ian sighs and holds me tighter. I place my head back on his chest. “There was a thirteen-year-old girl attacked the day we left for Jackson, on the edge of town. Her mom found her outside their house the next morning. She was almost completely drained of blood.”

“Almost?” I question.

“Yeah,” he says. He rubs his eyes. He’s tired, he needs sleep. But lately he comes here first after a shift. Sometimes he then goes home and sleeps, sometimes he just sleeps here. “And then there was another attack last night. You know Bella who volunteers at the library?”

“I’ve only met her once, but yeah,” I say, recalling the very unfriendly redheaded woman. The one who looked at me differently the second I asked for any info on the Conrath Plantation.

My insides are sinking.

“She was nearly drained, too. She was found at her house by the neighbor.”

“They were bothnearlydrained,” I say. The room grows colder and my future comes creeping up on me. “Too much blood gone for it to have been a House member feeding, too much blood gone for them to survive and be turned into a Bitten.” And that means just dead.

Ian rubs a hand up and down my arm absentmindedly. “I think someone was trying to turn them, they just didn’t have enough self-control. If it was just a thirsty vamp, they wouldn’t have left just a little blood. They always drain them. I think these two were a mistake—a mess up.”

“Whoever declared war on the House is back,” I say as I sit up and look down at Ian. “That’s how it started before. Someone went missing, and then they attacked the House.”

Ian nods, his eyes distant. “I don’t know what to do about this,” he says. “I can’t stop it if I don’t know who’s doing this. I’ve been patrolling at nights, but I’ve never seen anyone. I want to blame the House, but it’s clearly not them. People are scared, Liv. Half this town is fully aware of the vampire problem in Silent Bend. They never talk about it, but they’re going to start.”

And I can only imagine the chaos that is going to happen if the town goes into a vampire panic.

“I should go talk to Jasmine,” I say. “See if they’ve heard anything. I’m sure they’ve been on alert. They might have some leads.”

“No,” Ian shakes his head and his eyes grow dark with worry. His hand reaches forward and his thumb rests on my lower lip. “You’re only a month away from your birthday. You show up at their door now with all this chaos going on, Jasmine might decide she’s tired of waiting. It’s too risky, Liv.”

“You’re not my protector,” I say with annoyance as I stand and take a step away from the bed.

“But he’s right.” Rath pushes the door open and stands in the doorway with his hands folded. “Jasmine is a desperate, oftentimes unpredictable leader. If you go to her, anything could happen.”

I look between Ian and Rath, angry and conflicted.

I’m not a little girl. I’ve survived on my own the last four years without anyone’s help. Without a father figure or an overly protective non-boyfriend.

But something is tugging on the back of my heart. Something soft and grateful that there are two men in my life who care about me and that I’m not alone.

It’s annoying. So I walk into the bathroom and close the door on them.

“WHAT’S BOTHERING YOU, ALIVIA?”

I look up from the display case to Daphne. She sits at a table, eating her cinnamon roll. It’s early, just after six again. She’s the first customer of the morning. Not every day, but I usually see her twice a week.

“How do you know something is wrong?” I ask as I slide the scones onto the display tray.

“I don’t need eyes to feel the frustration rolling off of you,” she says. “You’ve been quiet today. What’s on your mind?”

I sigh and walk around the display case and lean against it. I cross my arms over my chest. “Life is just complicated,” I say, because I could never explain what’s really bothering me. Four weeks, one day. A non-boyfriend who’s agitated and I’m afraid is going to do something stupid. Rath insisting I not go to the House. “I never thought I’d be involved in politics. All of adult life is just a game of politics, I’m learning.”

“Sadly, it’s true,” Daphne says with the nod of her head. “And it’s even more true when you live in a small, old town like this one.”

“Yeah,” I say. I stand back up and grab the baking sheet.

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