Page 9 of House of Pawns
Ian. Here.
“Ian, how are you alive?” I say it with reverence.
The moment I say it, his head sags, his shoulders tensing up. He doesn’t say anything.
“I need to make sure I understand things,” I say as I sink onto the couch. “Because I thought there were only two kinds of vampires. The Bitten, who have not tasted death yet. They are drained to the brink of it, but the toxin takes over and changes them. They have yellow eyes and aren’t particularly in control of themselves, and I’m not just talking about the Debt.”
The Bitten, like those that have been attacking the House, and those from our town who have been changed: the mayor’s wife, a star football player, others.
“And, there’s the Born. Like me. Those with an immortal, Born, vampire father. Those who are not vampires until after they die.”
I swallow hard, my brain spinning, trying to make any sense of what is happening.
“You’re certainly not a Bitten, Ian,” I breathe. “But how the hell are you a Born?”
Ian takes a sharp breath and shakes his head. He isn’t facing me, but I can imagine the pained look on his face. “I watched my parents die. I saw my dad, white. There’s no chance he was alive. He was a human, Alivia. He worked construction. He was outside, everyday, all day. I know he wasn’t a Born.”
I know he doesn’t want to say the words, and I don’t want to force them upon him, so instead I have to compare. Ian and Elle.
While Ian’s hair is a fairly dark brown, Elle’s is blonde as the sun. Ian’s eyes are hazel, Elle’s are blue. Elle is fair and fragile and Ian is solid, around six feet tall and probably at least a hundred and eighty pounds. She’s a girl and he’s a man, but suddenly, I’m not sure if it’s just a gender difference.
“She wouldn’t, would she?” Ian suddenly asks.
He turns to face me and he’s confused and angry and unsure.
“You know how vampires are,” I say quietly. “Maybe she didn’t have any choice.”
“I’ve got to talk to Lula,” he says, his gaze retreating inward. “She’d know the answers. I mean, she has to know something.”
I stand and cross the library to him. I run my hands up and down his arms, attempting to comfort him. “I don’t know ifthat that’s a good idea. She had to bury you. You know her opinion of those associated with vampires.”
But as I recall Ian’s funeral, Lula never cried. She simply looked angry.
Did she know?
Ian swears. “I can’t even go home, can I? Not only will she hate me, but what if I hurt her, or Elle?”
“You wouldn’t, I know you wouldn’t.” And while I wasn’t as sure about myself, I am sure about his family. “But you know you’re always welcome to stay here.”
“This isn’t right, Liv,” Ian shakes his head. “This entire situation is so messed up. This goes against everything. Just…everything.”
“Come here,” I say and pull him into my arms. Because I don’t know what to say.
Chapter
Five
THE FIREPLACE IS ROARING IN the library thanks to Kellog’s skills. It’s hot in here, fighting off the chill in the house. It’s late at night. I sit in an oversized chair, Rath keeping me company on the couch while Ian showers or sleeps or mopes. I’m trying to give him space to cope.
“Do you think it was an affair?” I ask as I study the flames.
“I do not think anything about that aspect of the situation,” Rath says. “It is the implications of him being alive that concerns me.”
“How do you mean?” I ask, stealing a glance in his direction. His eyes are reflective, staring at the flames. I imagine the late night conversations that must have taken place in this very room between him and my father. The things they must have discussed. The loyalty that ran so deep.
I’m ever jealous that Rath got time with my father and I did not.
Suddenly, he looks at me. “You began plotting a game ofpower because Jasmine took from you what you valued most. The valuee is returned to you. What is your intent now?”
