Again, I find nothing.
“Fuck you,” I snarl. “Fuck you to hell and back, Lucian.”
I look down. The dress I’m wearing is sunny and bright, a pretty blue with yellow flowers, the type of thing not designed for someone who drinks the blood of the living. Or lives in the night.
The dress saystoothless.
I go to my discarded clothes from last night and search through the scraps of fabric. After Lucian and I had…whatever the fuck that was in the park, I had found Santiago’s business card in the mud and picked it up before Lucian noticed.
Now, I stare at it.
Blond. Handsome. Dangerous. A man who’s hungry for more. That was clear to me. A man who hates Lucian. That glittered in him when we spoke.
There are a thousand lifetimes laid out before me.
Do I want to be with Lucian forever?
There’s a small part that whispersyes. But I squash it into nothing. I think about being trapped up here forever, forbidden to hunt and feed like any other vampire, and forced to scarf down protein bars indefinitely.
That’s not a life. That’s torture. That’s hell.
Even if it comes with Lucian fucking me on occasion.
I want to explore my power. See what I can do with it.
I’ve scraped and clawed my entire life to be something, and now I have a chance to do everything I’ve always wanted to do. Maybe become an investigative reporter, a podcast host, or write articles for VMR’s new outlets.
But that’s only if Lucian will let me.
I tug on the choker still wrapped tight around my neck. It feels like it’s suffocating me all of a sudden.
I hate that he’s able to control me this way, all because he’s mymaster.
Was that his plan all along? Entrap me by turning me?
I should leave.
I’ll have to if I want to do anything with my undead life. If not now, then eventually.
I peer down at the card again. I’ll call Santiago, ask him more about his offer. Since Sanguine is a big company like VMR, I’m sure there’s a spot for me somewhere. And I’ll be free from Lucian’s rules.
Something stirs in the air, and I turn to the door.
Lucian.
He walks over to me, his gaze dropping to the card in my hand. “You’re considering leaving.”
I try to hide the card behind my back, but he snatches my wrist to hold it out between us.
“Santiago isn’t who you think he is,” he says.
“How would you know what I think?”
He sighs. “I’ve known him a very,verylong time. My master wasn’t like I am. He turned then abandoned me, left me to discover what I was alone. But I searched for him, crossed the ocean and followed him to Spain. That’s where I met Santiago, newly turned, ready to burn the world to the ground…”
I keep my mouth shut. This is the most Lucian has ever shared about himself, especially his past.
“Santiago was my first connection to the vampire world, but he had been as lost as I had been when I was first turned. I taught him what I knew, but while I wanted to survive and thrive among humans, Santiago wanted to rule. I moved on. He…moved sideways.”
