‘Darius,’ I repeat. ‘Sir Darius of Mystras. My vampire friend.’
‘Oh my god,’ says Sadie, pressing her hands to her cheeks. ‘Is he ... Is he ... please tell me he’s still around?’
I shake my head. ‘No, unfortunately, he was murdered in 1758. I found him in his house lying under the bed.’
Sadie moans, ‘Oh god.’ Then she starts hitting her palm against her forehead. Elliott is up in a flash and talking softly to her.
I look at Hester. ‘What is this? Why is she so upset about Darius? Did she know him?’
She shakes her head, looking shocked. ‘I’m not sure. She’s never mentioned him, and I didn’t talk about him either. Oh, poor Darius. I wonder what happened to him.’
‘It was me!’ Sadie wails, overhearing us. ‘I think I drained him!’
Elliott puts his arm around her. ‘You don’t know that, sweetheart,’ he murmurs.
‘What? Were you there?’ I ask incredulously.
She nods. ‘It was the night I was turned. I thought Darius wanted a fuck, but it was this woman. I never saw her because I was blindfolded. But she was a vampire.’
‘Anya,’ I say grimly. ‘Darius used to source girls for her from the Covent Garden brothels. Rest assured it wasn’t you that drained him. I’m positive it was Anya’s doing.’
Sadie visibly sags with relief. ‘Oh my god, thank you. That’s such a weight off my mind. I can’t believe you know her.’
‘I don’t really. I haven’t seen her for centuries. Her and her brother Dimitri took off after that day, and I never saw them again.’
‘Dimitri is my sire,’ chimes in Hester. ‘I’m not sure if you know that, Will. He turned me in Windsor Castle dungeon. I thought he was a demon in a cloak.’
She purses her lips and looks so cute I want to kiss her.
‘That must have been really scary,’ I say softly, going over and sitting across from her at the table. ‘I met him a few times, and I wouldn’t want to run into him in a dark alleyway, let alone a dungeon.’ I rest my hand next to hers.
Hester nods, looking at our nearly touching fingers. ‘Yes. Yes, it was,’ she whispers.
‘Anyway’, says Sadie, breaking the moment, ‘vampire networking is all well and good, and as much as I want to find that bitch Anya and give her a good biting, we’ve still got the Alexander problem to deal with. Those journals of his were pretty useless. Maybe now that we’ve got another shielder, Will can help us find him.’
All faces turn to me expectantly.
‘Who’s this?’ I ask, knowing I’ve heard that name before.
‘Alexander Dryden, Floss’s evil sire,’ says Hester. ‘He’s kidnapped a bunch of innocent women, enthralled them, and he’s setting up a vampire brothel in Covent Garden. We’re going to stake him. In between rehearsals, of course.’ She brushes her little finger against mine, and I swear my heart gives a little jolt. But it must be my imagination. It hasn’t pumped since 1560.
I nod slowly. ‘I heard about that brothel at the pub the other night. My friend’s mate was talking about it.’
‘Which pub?’ asks Damian. ‘And do they serve blood?’
There’s a sudden frisson in the air at the mention of the word ‘blood’, and suddenly, everyone’s looking at me intensely. It makes me want to laugh.
‘It’s called The Pale Hart,’ I tell them. ‘And yep, they sure do. By the pint.’
Chapter 23
Hester | London, present day
I was dreading the confrontation between Will and the coven, but it actually turned out OK. Now we’re all going to the pub, and it’s like a ... triple date? I gulp, thinking of Will touching my hand and the desire sparking between us when we kissed. It felt like we belonged together; it can’t be just the sire bond, surely?
A fist banging on the bathroom door jolts me out of my reverie.
‘What are you doing in there, Hester? Are you pooping?’ Sadie calls.
