Page 32 of Vampire's Breath

I gasped. “But the truce?” I couldn’t imagine what would come next if Runa attacked the mate of a family member, even an adopted family member. A chill settled at the base of my spine.

Cormac bit the inside of his cheek. “The truce still stands. I fear I may have been the one who put Isla in harm’s way, but Declan rescued her. Shall we get a drink?”

I gritted my teeth. It didn’t matter if I wanted one or not. That was his way of telling me I needed a drink to go with this story. He led the way into the library, the shelves rising around us. Untold numbers of tomes gave off the sweet fragrance of ancient leather and paper, a forest in its own right. I found it comforting in a way.

I sank into the leather chair that had always been mine. Cormac prepared two whiskeys before joining me. A wisp of laughter echoed in my head, my mind seeing translucent imagesof our father and two other brothers joining us, discussing our next transition for the title of Marquess. I jammed my eyes closed and sipped the liquid. It burned as it went down my throat, and I found myself with a desire for it to burn away the memories.

Cormac’s words forced me to push the past aside and focus on him. “Runa never expected Isla to escape. As a result, she told Isla more than we ever knew. For instance, our father had an older brother.”

“What?” My eyebrows shot up. We had always believed our father was the eldest of his siblings. Of course, I was aware of his younger siblings. Our three aunts—the witches who became the Coven of the Blood—and our four uncles, who became vampire hunters, were always around until we departed for England. But our youngest uncle had disappeared into the night, chased away by our grandfather, yet no one knew why.

“Runa turned Father as an act of revenge. Her husband was our uncle.” Cormac looked over the rim of his glass at me.

“That abusive bastard was our family?” I sputtered.

Cormac nodded and took in a breath. “But that isn’t all. That means Father’s youngest brother was the seventh son, not the sixth. And he had seven sons.”

My mind spun, and my mouth dropped open. “My God, a Cure.” Would it be possible? My heart pounded in my chest at what this could mean. In our homeland, the seventh son of the seventh son could know a cure for anything. It could be as mundane as a cure for a sprained ankle. But a Cure descended from our grandfather, with magic touching every other child? Surely, he knew something more.

Cormac pressed his lips together into a thin line. “We keep trying to find him, but we haven’t been able to. Some kind of magic is at play.”

The pieces snapped into place, and I clenched my jaw. Magic—the one thing my brothers had ignored, but I had studied. “And that’s why you wanted to find me?”

Cormac swirled his glass, watching the whiskey coat the sides. “You spent the time learning the magic behind our existence—or at least what Mother would tell you. Aurora hasn’t successfully located the Cure yet, and we need help.”

I smirked. “Why would she be able to find him?”

A small smile played on Cormac’s lips, the same one he had when hiding something of profound importance. He lifted his glass to his lips, his words muffled into the amber liquid as he spoke. “She is the High Priestess of the Coven of the Blood.” He took a sip, his eyes never leaving mine.

I couldn’t stop myself from letting out a nervous laugh. This story just kept getting better. What had this brother of mine done while I was away? “Your mate is the High Priestess of the coven that set out to kill us?”

He shrugged and grinned, his eyes crinkling. “A little ironic, isn’t it?” Typical Cormac. “There’s so much I need to catch you up on, Lorcan. We need your help. Aiden—”

“Yes, I’ve heard about the Council of Charleston, but I’m not getting involved.” My words sounded much firmer than I felt. “There’s a reason I walked away from all of it. I could have lived in any of our properties and stayed part of all this—the homes, the jets, the money—but I chose a small, anonymous spot. I don’t want to deal with Aiden and don’t want Briar involved.”

Cormac crossed his arms. “It seems Briar’s already involved. She’s here, isn’t she?”

Briar

Rory and I climbed the town house steps, the carpet soft and plush beneath my feet. What was Lorcan doing living in his little house in Byron Bay with all this at his fingertips?

She gestured around as we reached the first floor, pointing out features. “You can go anywhere in the entire town house, including the corporate offices, if you want to. I’m sure that Cormac will secure your access cards shortly. The ballroom, drawing room, and art gallery are on this floor. The staff can access this space only for special events, so you shouldn’t run into anyone. Do you like artwork?”

I glanced around, my heart fluttering. I was entirely out of place here. “Mm-hmm.” The syllable was hardly audible, even to me.

Rory stopped as we rounded the hallway toward another door. “There’s a whole gallery—” I felt nauseous. She laid her fingers on my arm, her touch tender. “I know this is a lot, especially if you aren’t used to this world, but I’m here to help. Cormac, too.”

But I wanted Lorcan to guide me through it. I hadn’t realized until the plane last night how little he wanted to do with me when he refused to lie in the bed beside me. We hadn’t even shared a kiss, so I wasn’t expecting mad, passionate sex, but curling up next to him would have been nice. Instead, I was left alone, with only my dreams of lying in his arms after riding his cock until we both came.

A cool draft whispered through the hall, and the muted light from a nearby chandelier cast intricate patterns on the floor, giving the space an otherworldly glow. I nodded. “Thank you. I’ll get used to it.”

Rory pulled a white key card from her pocket and waved it in front of a reader next to the door. The latch clicked, and she opened the door, gesturing for me to climb the stairs ahead of her.

I glanced back over my shoulder. “All this belongs to Lorcan’s family?”

Rory smiled. “Lorcan, too, if he wants it.”

We continued climbing to the second floor. “The first two rooms on the left belong to Kieran and Aine. On the right, Cormac, Lorcan, Aiden, and then Conall. A family library and drawing room are at the end of the hall. Cormac and I share his room. Should I assume…”

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