“It does mean one of your parents was a vampire.” Foxx opened his mouth, closed it, and then finally spoke after a long pause. “Let...me explain some...specifics. The number of vampire-human pregnancies that survive to full term is less than one percent. Of the ones that come to term…one in three will be completely fine—normal.”
“And the other two?”
“The descriptors typically used are…insane and violent…”
“Ha, I was not one in three.” Harlow chuckled.
“Harlow, it’s not funny!”
“No, it’s pretty funny.” He smirked. “I mean, I was a baby in the system. People love adopting those, but I kept freaking outcouples who were trying to adopt because I was quiet and didn’t cry…and I stared a bit too much.”
Foxx rolled his eyes. “Yes…hilarious. I guess you’ll be happy to know then that, of the normal ones, about ninety percent of them go insane at a later age.”
Harlow’s smirk widened. “Do we know why they go insane? Or is it just a sudden loss of sanity? Like a switch or something gets flipped.”
“Harlow, stop enjoying this. All of this is serious… If the council finds out, they will hunt you and put you down.” Foxx grimaced. “I should have noticed… The reason… You asked for a reason, but you know it. The thirst. You weren’t born human at all. No dhampir is born human. They are bornother. Neither vampire nor human.
“But the ones who are born sane, unless they are changed, usually that urge, that thirst, will drive them mad before they even come of age. Because when stuck in that in between place, there is no way to satisfy it.
“The thirst you had… what you felt, is what those in bloodlust feel, Harlow. For forty-six years, you have survived the urges of bloodlust without losing your mind. You were never human. You only aged because you didn’t consume blood, but even if you had, your body would have rejected it. You were other. And dammit, I knew what that symptom meant. I knew it. I’ve seen it…”
Foxx bit his bottom lip,staring blankly as he tried to figure out WHY he hadn’t…noticed sooner… He should haverecognized what it meant right away… That was something he should have never been able to forget…
“You’ve seen it?”
He glanced up as Harlow slowly approached. The dhampir’s face was splotchy with blood, no longer coated as it had been when he’d bitten Foxx. Though some still clung to his trim beard and mustache. The man’s black and silver hair also still had flecks of blood and what looked to be…possibly spinal fluid.
When the dhampir was close enough, Harlow’s hand snaked out and grabbed hold of Foxx’s. The man smiled gently while threading their fingers together. Gentle or not, Harlow’s smile was slightly smug. It always was, as if he knew something everyone else didn’t.
Foxx gripped that larger hand, stomach churning… He’d come so close to losing him tonight…hadn’t he? If Micah had chosen differently…
Harlow frowned, his brow pinching. “Your heartbeat…sped up… Do I…scare you?”
He tightened his grip. “No… It’s just been an awful night, old man.” Foxx’s voice broke at the end.
Harlow tugged Foxx to him, wrapping his arms around him. “Sorry for getting kidnapped.”
Foxx sagged against the man. “You should be sorry… Oh, bloody hell, I’ll regret saying this, but thank the Goddess your paranoid ass insisted on those damn trackers.”
The dhampir’s chest rumbled as he chuckled. “See, see, I was right.”
“Shut up.” He laughed despite the situation. “As…for your question. Yes…I’ve met one of your kind before. Not all of you have been destroyed. While most will be hunted as soon as the council knows, the council’s authority only goes so far.
“It was a young female child, a direct descendent of Rita… One of Daydric’s brothers saved her from them and brought herto where Daydric was residing. It was…during the time I still lived with him. She was going insane. Screaming and ranting about the pain, the thirst.
“At first, Daydric...disagreed with changing her. He wanted to end her misery, but his brother didn’t agree. So they locked her up. And for days he argued with Zabier, I think...” He frowned, the memories oddly fuzzy. “Yes…it was Zabier. During that time, Daydric explained why he made his choice. I think he didn’t want me to see him as cruel. I know he never believed, and still doesn’t, that all of your kind should be put down. But they, as the beginning of our kind, have always tried to stay out of truly governing us all. The brothers were at a standoff…but then…”
“Why…didn’t Zabier just change her?”
“Getting changed directly by one of the firsts…can be complicated… I…” Foxx’s frown deepened. “I can’t remember why he wanted Daydric to do it…”
“I see… So…they were at a standoff and then?” Harlow pressed.
“The council stupidly tried to come for her.”
The man scoffed. “Somehow, I don’t think Daydric would be lenient of them trying to take someone from his home. Also, I thought you didn’t know any of the other siblings?”
“No…not at all. And I…don’t…” He blinked. “At least, I thought I didn’t.”
