“Order of the Void?Damn. You seem to opt for dramatic names, huh?”
“It’s dramatic for a reason,” Kai said, brows furrowed together in a serious expression. “They’re the ones who had Thaddeus turn us and gave us our gifts.”
My chest suddenly felt tight. “Gifts?”
“Our clan was created with the sole purpose of obliterating the abandoned,” Blaise said. “Thaddeus was sought out by them, and Kai and I were handpicked to make up the Draven clan. When they established us, they gave us each a specific power and all of us the duty to obliterate.”
“There’s only one other clan like us,” Kai added.
My head throbbed from all the new information.
“Why is it illegal to turn humans? What’s going to happen to me since you did?”
Blaise and Kai turned toward Thaddeus, who shook his head. “It became illegal around the time we were turned because of a taboo brood of vampires who hunt and eat freshly turned vampires in order to gain new powers. This brood popped up around the time the abandoned started getting worse. They’re led by a psychopath ancient vampire you don’teverwant to meet. The law gets broken sometimes and when new vampires are made, they pop up on his radar.”
“New powers?”
“Pretty sure it’s a myth, but it’s said that if a vampire drinks enough blood of a newly turned vampire, they gain powers or strength,” Blaise said. “I think it’s bullshit.”
My heart thumped twice in a row, and I rubbed my chest. “Does that make me a target?”
“Yes, and that’s exactly why we’re going to start training you tomorrow morning, starting with control of blood-lust. We have to tell the Order of the Void what we did and face the consequences.”
“What’re they going to do with me?”
Thaddeus’ gaze clouded over with concern before he blinked it away. “I don’t know, but if we get you trained right and make you useful, we hope that they appoint you to our clan.”
“That’s our goal,” Kai said.
Blaise bumped his shoulder against mine. “We’re going to get it sorted.”
I dropped my head. “Because I’m your responsibility?”
“Because we want to keep you,” Thaddeus murmured so low if I didn’t have the enhanced hearing, I wouldn’t have heard him.
“It’s fucked up, but I kind of like the thought of that.” I lifted my head to look at him. “Didn’t you mention something about searching for a Crimson Demon?”
The room dropped about ten degrees as the guys shared an intense look.
“Okay, not going to ask. Pin that for later.” I clapped my hands together, trying to dispel some of the tension. “What about my family and friends? Can’t I see them once I learn control?”
A low growl rumbled out of Thaddeus. “No.” It was like the word sucked all the oxygen from the room.
He stood, stalking away toward the staircase without any explanation.
I blinked after him. My attempt to dispel the tension backfired, and...what the fuck did he mean by no?
“Don’t take it personally.” Blaise nodded in the direction he went.
“Thaddeus’s worried about you hurting someone you care about. We’ve all done it, but what he did haunts him in ways we won’t ever understand.”
I bristled, shifting in my seat. “What did he do?”
“That’s his story to tell, Poppy.” Blaise gave me a sad smile as Kai avoided my gaze. “Why don’t we get you settled the rest of the way in?”
I nodded. “Sure, but one more question. Now that I’m a vampire, what does that mean for me? What changes?”
Kai smirked, reaching over and grabbing my hand. Every nerve-ending set ablaze with the simple touch, and I gasped. The more I focused on his touch, the more I felt his fingerprint indentions against mine.
