Page 129 of Cruelly Bitten
His lips curled downward.
“Sorry,Hazel Region,” I clarified. “The border for her territory begins in Slovenia, a country from the olden world. I assume you’ve never heard of it?”
He stiffly shook his head.
“Because all you know are regions and clans,” I presumed aloud. “That’s all they allow you to know.” I ran my fingers through Ismerelda’s hair again, another sigh escaping me. “It’sstrategic. Keeping mortals in the dark makes them easier to control. Lilith had me convinced that it was all my idea.”
Which made sense because, intellectually, I understood her decision.
But hearing Ismerelda’s mind made me realize that there’d been a key piece missing from all of this—my humanity.
You’re the reason I feel,I thought, looking down at the angel in my lap.You keep me grounded. Help me remember my human nature. Ensure I don’t become a complete monster.
And I’d rewarded all of that by abandoning her on a quest to save mortal kind.
Fascinating,I marveled.Fascinating and infuriating.
“My name is Cam,” I told Keys, my attention returning to the barely breathing human in the front seat. I needed him to calm down and focus on driving safely. While I’d absolutely survive a car accident, Ismerelda might not.
Oh, she’d wake up eventually.
But we didn’t have time for any of that.
And she would lose her memories like she did when I killed her,I thought, frowning once more.Fuck, I’m an asshole.
She’d been so relieved to see me alive, so enthralled by my presence, and I’d…bled her dry.
Her mind filled in the memory for me, only from her perspective, showing me the pain of that moment. Her heart shattering in her chest. How she’d thought it wasn’t me, that Lilith had somehow created an evil look-alike.
Not my Cam, she’d often thought.He’s notmyCam.
Except I was her Cam, something she’d soon learned. That moment appeared to be almost as agonizing as the one where I’d sucked the life out of her. Perhaps it was even more excruciating.
It was hard to say.
Ismerelda had a lot of distressing recollections from the last two weeks.
Because of me.
I bit the inside of my cheek, my fingers threatening to curl into fists.
This was all so fucked up.Ihad fucked up.Fucking. Lilith.
“A-are you a new royal?” the human asked from the front seat, his question catching me off guard and distracting me from my mental tirade. “If you are, I apologize for not recognizing you, My Prince.”
I snorted. “I’m more than a royal, Keys. I’m the fucking king. The oldest of vampire kind. But you can call meCam. I’m tired of false platitudes.”
Keys’s hands tightened on the steering wheel, causing his exposed forearms to flex. Given what he’d revealed about his university assignment, I wasn’t surprised by his choice to wear sleeveless fatigues. This region of the world probably felt like hell compared to the Arctic.
“The oldest?” he repeated, his brow furrowing in his reflection in the mirror.
“I take it they didn’t teach you that fact in your vampire politics courses?”
“They taught us all the royal names and pertinent details. Kylan was noted as the oldest of vampire kind.” He swallowed. “I… I don’t recall learning about you…”
His hesitation didn’t seem to be about disbelief so much as nerves, like he was afraid he’d just failed a test or something.
“No, I imagine not. It seems my existence has been kept a secret.” Which wasn’t what I’d been led to believe at all.
