Page 75 of House of Crimson Kisses
“Right, but we’re bringing it back,” I say.
She shakes her head. “Not exactly. That’s why they think you’re a hybrid. The dhampirs of old are gone-gone. You are something new. My best guess is that blood was the dhampir’s source of magic. Their blood made vampires. And now the cycle is being closed, the magic seeded in vampirism is going to make dhampir’s reawaken.”
“That doesn’t sound too bad,” I say.
Amelia swallows. “Right. But the second thing they’re all agreed on is that in order to transition, the dhampir won’t just have to drink human blood…”
Red frowns, clearly still putting the pieces together. Amelia meets my gaze because I understand the insinuation in her words. This time, it’s me that swallows hard, and the pair of us wait while Red stares into the distance, her eyebrows flickering. Micro expressions play out across her features.
The frown disappears, her eyes widen and her nostrils flare as she pulls in a deep breath. Her hands claw at the armchair, her knuckles white.
Her words are scarcely audible as she whispers, “I have to drain someone, don’t I?”
Amelia sags. “Yeah.”
“But other vampires don’t have to when they transition. They only have to drink a bit of human blood. Why the hell do I have to?”
“Because of the level of magic required to complete the transformation. I’m so sorry,” Amelia says and falls to her knees to take Red’s hand.
But she yanks it out of Amelia’s grasp.
“I’m not doing it,” Red snaps and stands.
“If you don’t—” Amelia starts, but I touch her hand and silence her.
“I. Am. Not. Doing. It,” Red barks. Then she marches out of the office, leaving Amelia and me in silence.
Amelia puts her head in her hands. “If she doesn’t drain someone…”
“I know,” I say, and I get off my chair and pull her into my arms. “She will. She has no choice.” I hug Amelia tight, hoping that it’s enough comfort. But deep in my gut, my tummy swirls as much as I imagine Amelia’s is.
We are both far too familiar with how stubborn Red can be. This is a precarious position. Neither of us wants to be the one to push her into digging her heels in. That’s why I stopped Amelia talking.
“We need to give her space and time to process. She’s still human, and a hunter at that. The last thing I imagine she wants to do is to drain one of her own in order to gain a load of power that—if she’s honest—she probably doesn’t agree with having. Look at how much she disagrees with vampires and what they’ve done to your family.”
Amelia pulls her head off my chest and wipes her face. “I can’t lose her. She’s all I have left.”
“Then for now, we pray to the Mother of Blood that I can sustain her for long enough to let her process what she needs to do and come to terms with it.”
Amelia gathers herself and then heads to find Red, but she returns a short while later saying that Red had passed out on her bed, her cheeks tear-streaked and surrounded by pillows. We agreed we should let her rest for the remainder of the night. Which is why, several hours later, I’m still sat at my desk signing off on castle salaries and order sheets for kitchen supplies. This is the dull work that no one recognises when you run a castle the size of mine. That’s without including the pile of club paperwork on the other side of the desk.
I, thankfully, use my vampire speed to make my way through the documents, staffing reviews, alcohol and blood order forms in a little over half an hour.
It’s only as I finish the last couple of signature sign-offs that Wendell comes into the office.
“Yes?” I say.
“There’s… well, I think it’s best you come and see. There’s someone at the front of the castle.”
I sigh, push myself back from the desk, and follow him.
We meander through the castle. The stone corridors are cool, and growing colder as the last of the sun’s warmth ebbs away. The flame lanterns hanging uniformly along the stone corridors flicker to life, showering us in a minuscule amount of heat. We pass the grand hall and make our way to the central staircase.
It’s only as I reach the bottom of the stairs that I spot Red. She’s standing next to Lennox, my resident vampire blood healer. I like to think of him as insurance should any of my staff get injured and need rapid healing. The pair of them wait by the front door.
Red’s eyes are puffy, a result of the crying, I suspect. She’s wearing a scowl that would put even Sadie’s demeanour to shame. She hides her head under an oversized jumper hood and bed shorts. Goosebumps fleck her legs.
Wendell’s expression is severe. He touches my elbow. It’s jarring. While he is caring towards me, and I sense that he’s fond of me, he often averts his eyes like the other humans. But he has certainly never offered a touch before. At least not like this.
