“I think all of us secretly hoped she would get better,” Theo mumbled. “None of us wanted to see her lose her mind the way she did.” He growled. “But if she thought we would be okay with her drinking the blood of her own grandchild to continue living, she had another thing coming.”
“And what about the fog? Will we be okay to keep our way of life?”
Pierce glanced at Lark and gently stroked her cheek. The motion was gentle and full of love. “Lark can produce the fog. As long as her bias doesn’t swing in either vampire or human direction, we will be fine.” He picked her up and nuzzled her. She mumbled and peeked an eye open. “And that won’t happen because both her parents are alive, and love her.”
With a heavy weight in my chest, I leaned against Pierce. “Is it okay if we stop talking about this for now? I just want to rest with Pierce and Lark.”
“That would be best,” Maxwell added.
“That reminds me,” Theo said, “what are we gonna do with this guy? And shouldn’t the fog affect him?”
“No,” Pierce said. “He already knows our secret. That knowledge makes him immune to it.”
Adriel glared at Maxwell, who sheepishly withdrew. “You’re right,” Adriel said. “If we let him leave, he could run out into the streets and tell everybody what he knows.”
“I wouldn’t do that!” Maxwell cried. “And besides, it’s not like anybody would even believe me.”
Pierce shook his head solemnly. “Even planting a seed of doubt is troublesome. For the time being, you will be welcomed as our guest, and unable to leave the estate property. I’m sorry, doctor.”
Maxwell didn’t take the news as badly as I hoped. Maybe he was too tired to care. He just sighed and slumped his shoulders. “Fine.”
“C’mon,” Theo said with an encouraging yet sympathetic smile. “I’ll show you to a spare room.”
Meanwhile, Pierce returned Lark to me and then looped his arm around my waist. “Come, my love. You deserve a good, long rest.”
You know what? I really,reallydid.
20
Epilogue: Pierce
“C’mon, Lark, drink your blood…”
Benji rolled his eyes and swatted his brother’s hand and sippy cup away. “No, no, she doesn’t want blood right now. She wants juice.”
“What?” Caleb groaned. “How do youknow?”
Sticking up his nose at him, Benji replied, “BecauseIgave birth to her. I know her better than you. Step aside, newbie.”
With a quirked brow of disbelief, Caleb watched as Benji lowered himself to Lark’s level. Her pastel-colored high chair seemed comically out of place in the stuffy Victorian style dining hall. He brought the straw of the juice box to her lips and her eyes instantly lit up. She grabbed it clumsily and began to drink.
“I told you,” Benji said.
“Fascinating,” Maxwell breathed in awe. He adjusted his glasses and took notes on his clipboard. “From my calculations, it appears Lark grows at an accelerated rate compared to a - er - normal human infant.”
“Hey, don’t call my baby abnormal!” Benji protested.
“Well, duh, she ages faster,” Theo said. “Any one of us could’ve told you that. Once she becomes an adult, she’ll basically stop aging.”
“That’s not quite true,” Adriel said suddenly. Since Margaret passed, all of us had been less flighty and on-edge, but my brother’s abrupt appearances from the shadows still caused Maxwell to leap a foot in the air each time.
“Could you stop that?” Maxwell demanded, cold sweat beading his brow. I guessed he still wasn’t used to the wholehouse of vampiressituation.
Ignoring him, Adriel continued. “Since she’s only half vampire, she won’t cease to age entirely. The accelerated aging only continues to an adult age, then slows to roughly half the speed of a human.”
Instantly Maxwell’s spookiness disappeared, replaced by awe and intrigue. “Interesting…”
Benji shoved his hand in Maxwell’s direction. “She’s my baby, not your research experiment. Buzz off.”
