Page 107 of Cruel Destinies

I frowned, turning my head all around in confusion. There were no needles attached to my arms, no blood bags hanging to deliver the vital liquid intravenously.

“But how?” I asked.

“I fed you my own blood,” Julian said, raising his arm to expose his smooth, unblemished wrist. “I sliced my artery and let my blood drip into your mouth until your color returned and your heart maintained a steady beat.”

I rushed my fingers to my lips, my eyes widening in understanding—and then disgust. “I think I’m gonna hurl,” I mumbled between my fingers.

“Ugh, where is Piper with that damn food,” Julian growled, getting to his feet and beginning to pace.

“How do you know she’s really getting food?” Caesar barked, a suspicious edge to his voice. “She could be running off to inform Hadrian of our alliance.”

Julian shook his head. “She wouldn’t do that, not after what happened here tonight. We can trust her.”

“Piper?” I asked. “Who’s Piper?”

“My Initiate,” Julian replied, stopping his pacing to look down at me. The concern and intimacy with which he regarded me made my insides melt, but the knowledge of Piper’s involvement was too striking to ignore.

“Wait, she knows about all this?” I burst.

“Yes, but she won’t betray us,” he assured me. “She was the one who killed Solomon. In Hadrian’s empire, a human killing a vampire is a capital offense, the punishment worse than death. Her allegiance lies elsewhere now.”

“For your sake, I hope you’re right,” Caesar grumbled.

“Raow,” came a disgruntled meow as Rainbow emerged from the bathroom and sat to look at us.

Caesar’s body jolted around me. “What the hell is that thing?”

“Yeah,” Julian said, drawing out the word as he rubbed the back of his neck. “About that. Well, he’s a vampire.”

“What!” Caesar’s booming voice vibrated through his chest. “You turned a cat into a vampire?”

“No, actually, I did,” I confessed in a small voice.

Caesar pulled away enough to look down at my face, his brows pinched in question.

“I used a dead cat to practice a spell I hoped to use to resurrect Alice,” I explained. “The spell didn’t work out exactly as planned.” I chewed my lip, darting my gaze away from his critical stare.

Finally, I felt his eyes shift to Julian.

“Why didn’t you just kill the thing?” Caesar asked him.

Julian walked to Rainbow and knelt to scoop him into his arm, and the vamp cat purred like a motorboat as Julian ran his hand free over its back. “He’s grown on me. Though, I did have to kill his mate, unfortunately. She attacked my Initiate just this evening, right before Solomon came bounding in.”

“Oh no, you killed Goldie?” I whined.

Caesar withdrew his arms and scooted back a few inches, shaking his head. “I can’t believe you two. They’re monsters. How can you talk about them like they’re actual pets?”

“Did you forget, Caesar, that I’m also a vampire? Do you consider me a monster, as well?” Julian asked, offense clear in his narrowed eyes.

“No, of course not,” Caesar retorted, shaking his head even more. “That’s beside the point. They’re wild animals that you endowed with immortality and bloodlust. They can’t control their urges like you can.”

Julian shrugged. “I disagree. Rainbow is quite intelligent.”

I nodded. I was growing fond of our undead feline.

Caesar looked between Julian and me with an astounded expression. “Okay, what’s happening here? Are you becoming a vampire sympathizer?” His question was directed at me.

I shrunk slightly at the accusation. “Not all vampires are bad.”

---