Page 16 of Dark Souls

It was meant as a joke but, of course, she answered as if she was trying to help me make sense of the world.

“Vampires are the most impulsive and unpredictable of all species. And you know the history of the originals? Some believe the devil blessed them himself. The first vampires were never meant to coexist with other species. They were sent to the human realm to dominate. To hunt. Of course, as all species do, when the wolves, fae and witches came along and posed a threat to their existence, they adapted to survive in their environment, which meant learning to coexist and not kill every living thing within their sight. They learned control. But that doesn’t mean to say it is easy. We all know how much easier it would be to just switch off your emotions, lose your humanity and become the beast. But it's not really living. That is not feeling.”

I sighed, stretching out my fingers before digging my black-painted nails into my ripped jeans again. “Is that what great-grandfather Lucius did? Disconnected with his human side when he lost his soulmate and unborn child?”

“My guess is yes. From what I’ve heard, he was never an angel before that fateful event, but at least he loved deeply. And I do believe anyone who can love so deeply cannot be completely evil. But yes, I think he switched off his humanity the moment Celeste died, which is why he could never show your grandpapi any love.”

I licked my lips and clasped my hands together to stop my nails from extending at the rage, just merely thinking of how much abuse my grandpapi endured growing up caused me. “No matter what happens, I will never be like Lucius.”

Grandma smiled with so much genuine warmth it seeped into my own icy heart because I could see that she believed me one hundred percent. “I know you won’t. We all know that. Is that what has been bothering you the last few days?”

There it was. The concern I saw in my family’s eyes this week. Had it been bothering me? Maybe a little. But it had mainly just made me even more determined to prove to them all that they didn’t need to worry about me. I could handle my darkness. My mind returned to the heart thief.

I shook my head.

“Is there something else bothering you?”

I chewed at my bottom lip, avoiding her eyes. God, she would be so upset if she found out I was covering for a serial killer. No, that wasn’t what this was. I won’t make any excuses for his behaviour and I am handing him over to the SIA as soon as I find his ass. This is just something I have to do alone. If I told any of my family, they would bulldoze all over this. They wouldn’t stop until they found him and would most probably rip him to pieces for daring to fuck with me.

My phone vibrated next to me on the sofa. A text from Lacey who had been in the group I’d forced myself to socialise with the other night.

Hey, doll. I’m hitting up a vamp club tonight in London. Fancy it?

“No, Grandma.” I shook my head. “I just need to feed. In fact, my friend Lacey has just texted me, inviting me to a vampire club in London. There will be willing humans to feed from there. I think I’m going to go and then crash at Grandpapi’s castle tonight.”

She nodded but I didn’t miss the uneasiness in her features. “Sounds like a plan. Just be careful, yeah?”

“Of course. I always am.” I smiled, jumping up from the sofa. “Thanks for the session. I feel loads better for it.”

“Anytime, darling.”

I leaned against the brickwork outside the club as I took the joint Lacey offered me. Inhaling deeply, I fought back the urge to cough from the burn filling my lungs and held it back before releasing the cloud of smoke into the air. I didn’t make a habit of doing drugs. It was pretty pointless as they never had the same effect on us supernaturals as they did on humans, but I was of the mind totry anything once. Well, maybe not anything. You wouldn’t find me down some alley with a meth needle hanging out my arm, that’s for sure. But weed took the edge of the bloodthirst enough to keep me calm and not fall into a dangerous frenzy when feeding.

Lacey jumped from one foot to the other, rubbing her arms up and down from the freezing autumn chill. “Why does England have to be so frickin’ cold all the time?”

I could tell her all about the flow of current easterly winds from Siberia and the impact of climate change, but I assumed her question was rhetorical, so I kept my mouth shut. Lacey was a vampire, too. We’d been in the same year at the academy and taken nearly all the same classes together, but I’d never actually hung out with her alone before. She was nice enough, a little dramatic, but I didn’t mind. She wasn’t one of those bitchy girls who smiled at your face while thinking of all the things she hated about you in her head, so that was a plus.

“Maybe you should have worn more clothes,” I offered bluntly, eyeing her tiny mini-skirt, heels and lace bralette. I wasn’t trying to be rude. She looked awesome. I was just being honest. I gave her back the joint as a peace offering.

“You sound like my mum.” She gave me the once over, judging my leather trousers and black long-sleeved bodysuit. The only bit of skin on show was my wrists and neck. But like she said. It was frickin’ cold in England. Her eyes lit up when they rested on my pointed nipples and the outline of the silver bars that were quite visible because of said weather.

“Oh my god! You have your nipples pierced! I want to get mine done too! Did they hurt?”

“A little. I did it myself.” I shrugged. “Who exactly are we waiting for?” I changed the subject before she said something absurd, like could I flash her or pierce hers for her?

“Lacey!”

She glanced over her shoulder at the shrill, high-pitched squeal from the blonde bombshell strutting down the pavement in her seven-inch Gucci heels that matched her silver designer handbag. Oh, hell no! Lia. The girl looked like a walking disco ball in the sequin dress which barely contained her huge tits. Yeah, okay. Now who was being bitchy? The difference was that I wouldn’t be faking any smiles for her benefit.

Lia was a vampire and witch hybrid who had also been in our year at the Academy. After the mess with the missing students in the last few months, we’d all graduated early so I had hoped I’d never have to see her face again. She was the biggest bitch and cared only about herself. Also, I found out a few weeks ago about the extent of her bullying behaviour towards my best friend, Neve. She’d even put her in the hospital during a combat training lesson she took way too far. Neve hadn’t told me about the snide comments or harassment she’d been receiving from Lia because she knew I’d lose my shit. I can be a crazy bitch when I want to be, especially for those who hurt people I love. I may not be able to do any permanent damage to her because her father’s strong ties with my grandpapi kept her family in our good graces but that didn’t mean I had to be nice to the girl.

Her made-up face dropped the moment her blue eyes met mine, and she visibly paled before shoving her shoulders back and plastering on a fake smile. I narrowed my eyes into a deadly glare and folded my arms over my chest as she hugged Lacey and then turned to me.

“Hey. Ilaria! Wow, I didn’t expect to see you here. How are you?”

Blank. Blank. Blank. Keep your mind blank and she can’t read my thoughts. Shit, she looks like she’s about to murder me. She must really hate me now, not that she likes anyone, anyway.

A smirk lifted my lips as I read her mind before she averted her eyes away from mine.

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