Page 111 of Her Vampire, His Ruin

“So, what you’re saying is that Avant Garde is basically nothing more than a restaurant for your kind. You fuck and feed off the people who go there, then you make them forget. Is that what happened to Robert?”

“Robert?”

“My ex-husband. He was a member of your club.”

“Avant Garde serves many purposes. Yes, my fellow clan members feed there, and they’re free to be who they are under the watchful eye of Dorian, Logan, and me. But I want to reassure you that no human who enters dies, and no one is turned.”

“And that makes it okay, does it? How can anyone make a decision about their safety when you wipe their memories?”

“Yes, our human patrons are glamoured, but every single one of them came to our club of their own free will. They come for pleasure, and that’s exactly what they get. If a clan member drains a human completely, they are dealt with swiftly.”

“So, they’re not safe then.”

“It has happened only once since we opened the club. When it did, Dorian set an example.”

“He’s killed your own people?”

“He had to, though it wasn’t an easy decision to make. If a siring vampire dies, so does their progeny. This is why we now insist any new vampires do not sire another. Only the most powerful of us are granted permission.”

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“We are connected as vampires through the blood of our maker. I have never sired another through choice, not just because I wouldn’t wish this life on anyone, but because if I die, so do any vampires I make.”

“And by connection, do you mean more than the fact that a vampire can die if their sire does?” My cheeks heat, wondering if Viktor had somehow felt Dorian’s sexual attraction towards me.

“No, our connection to our sires goes no further. I sense nothing of Dorian’s physical feelings—no pleasure, no pain. I don’t hear his thoughts. I don’t feel his emotions either. All I know is that if a siring vampire dies, shortly after, so too does their progeny.”

“I didn’t realise that…” My voice trails off as I absorb this information. I can’t help but wonder how many humans Dorian has turned knowing this.

Outside in the hallway, I hear the sound of footsteps approaching. Taking another step towards me, Viktor lowers his voice. “You’re here because you can’t be glamoured like other humans can. We call people like you an Aegis. It means shield. For whatever reason, you, and people like you, are immune to our compulsion. Ordinarily, we have avoided people like you.”

“Then why didn’t Dorian do the same? Why pursue me? All of this could’ve been prevented.”

“Only Dorian knows why, but I suspect it has more to do with how he feels for you than it does your blood.”

“How Dorian feels for me?

“Listen to me, this is important. If you don’t find a way to get Dorian to admit he cares for you, then he’ll have no choice but to⁠—”

“Kill me?”

“No, turn you,” Viktor says. “I do not believe Dorian will end your life.”

“But he’ll make me one of you. Isn’t that the same damn thing?” Viktor opens his mouth to protest, but I shake my head. “No. Absolutely-fucking-not.”

“Then draw out his emotions. Make him feel, Edie,” Viktor persists.

“And you think that will work? Do you even really know him?”

“I know he doesn’t want to hurt you.”

I laugh bitterly. “He already has.”

“If he truly didn’t care, you’d be dead already. You have to draw out his emotions. It’s the only way to survive this,” Viktor repeats, throwing me one last sympathetic look before stepping out of the room.

Moments later, Dorian enters. He slips inside, shutting the door behind him, his intense gaze focusing on me. I notice he’s changed, no longer wearing his suit. He’s now in dark blue jeans and a black hoodie, his feet bare. It makes him seem terribly human, and I can’t help but think he’s trying his best to disarm me.

“Edie, you need to eat.”