Giving the men who were clearly soldiers a long, narrow-eyed look, she coolly added, “I suppose I have one of you to thank for all this.”
There were several winces and even more muffled laughs around the room. The old man wasn’t laughing, though.
Making a clicking sound with his tongue, he demanded, “So you have no loyalty to the Bowans?”
“I don’t know them,” she answered honestly. “But I’ve known Felix for three years. If I have loyalty to anyone, it’s to him.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s mine. I’m his bride. He’s my husband,” she answered. There was zero hesitation and no thought. Just a truth that had been building in the shadows for years and recently burst into the light.
Felix squeezed her waist. A peek at his expression showed him looking as smug as she’d ever seen him, which was saying something. His lips twisted to one side as he fought a big, shit-eating grin, and the self-satisfaction in his eyes was unmistakable.
From across the room, Luis clapped his hands together, breaking the tension. “That settles that, then,” he laughed. “I guess I really don’t have a chance anymore.”
“To be clear, youneverhad a chance,” Felix replied, rolling his eyes. “Now, does anyone have any other questions?”
Hands went up all around the room. Soon enough she was peppered with inquiries about herself: where she’d been born, what her education was, how close she was to her human family, and more. She didn’t have much to offer on that front. Her hometown was a speck. Her education was slow and not particularly glamorous. Her family was full of deadbeats and criminals. She didn’t match up with any of the pedigreed blood brides they’d had in mind for Felix, but she held her head high anyway.
What mattered was that she knew she belonged there. If they didn’t like that, they could suck it down with their synth.
By far her favorite questions were the ones that came from the children, which Felix seemed to take as seriously as those that came from the elders.
Dahlia looked down to find a little vampire tugging at her pant leg, her eyes huge and curious in her face. A lock of tight white curls dangled against her cheek, while the rest were pulled back into pigtails. She couldn’t have been older than five, and aside from what looked like a fresh baby swaddled in her dad’s arms in the corner, appeared to be one of the youngest children in the room.
Crouching down to be at eye level with her, Dahlia murmured, “Yes?”
“How long have you been a vampire?”
The timeline was squishy, but since she didn’t feel the need to explain all the gory medical details to a child, Dahlia chose the simplest route. “About three weeks, give or take.”
“Oh.” The little girl drew out the sound with great solemnity. “That makes me older than you. I’ve been a vampire forfiveyears.”
Dahlia nodded, biting the inside of her cheek to fight a smile. “You must know a lot, then. What’s your name?”
“Sonia,” she answered. “And Idoknow a lot.”
“Well, Sonia, maybe you could give me some advice sometime.”
The little girl nodded. “I can help you. You’re gonna need it.”
Felix placed a hand on top of Sonia’s head. “Sonia gives great advice. A couple weeks ago she told me it’d improve morale to install a slide and swing set in the yard.”
Dahlia stood up. She didn’t bother hiding her smile this time. “And did it work?”
“For the youngest Amauris,” he dryly replied. Meeting Sonia’s satisfied smile with an arched brow, he said, “I suspect that we didn’t go far enough. Maybe a treehouse will get us there. What do you think?”
Sonia widened her eyes and sucked in a huge, dramatic breath. “Atreehouse?”
“A treehouse. You should go ask Luis to build it for you. Tell him I said it’s not optional.”
They watched Sonia scamper off, her head bobbing with agreement. The smart girl stopped to gather her cousins, who exploded in breathless excitement before they all rushed to corner Luis. He watched them come at him like a tidal wave with obvious alarm.
“That was cruel,” she muttered, leaning into Felix. He swayed her back into his chest as they watched the spectacle unfold.
“He likes to press my buttons. This is what he gets.” Felix shrugged. “It’s fine. He’ll just pay to have someone build it and then take all the credit when the kids worship him like a god for a couple weeks.”
Tucking her under his arm, he began to guide her around the room, introducing her to everyone individually. It was hopeless to actually attempt to memorize everyone’s names and where they fit into the family tree, so she didn’t try. Dahlia devoted her energy to picking up other important details, like how they reacted to her, whether they had children or not, and what generation they seemed to fall under.
