by L E Royal
I was arguing for my own death.
“Not for me.” She hissed the words and then she was gone, only the breeze gently lifting the ends of my hair left in her wake.
“That went well.”
Camilla strode into the kitchen, dragging along a boy I didn’t recognize.
“We’ll definitely have to kill him now he heard all that, but first, drink up.”
She dragged him around the bar and shoved him in between mine and Jade’s stools. I immediately got up, stuttering my way through excusing myself. Jade looked horrified, and I walked out to the sound of them arguing, my breakfast forgotten, bile in my throat as I left the boy to die.
IT TOOK ME a full half hour to find Scarlett, and when I did, she was on the roof still in her ridiculously short shorts and T-shirt, sitting on the edge of the wall, looking bound and determined among the soft blanket of snow covering the world around her.
“Is all this because you won’t…want me like that?”
Tired of holding things in, of letting what-ifs and maybes and insecurities eat me from the inside out, I asked her for the truth. I had felt her revulsion in the kitchen, and I wondered what about me she wouldn’t like if I was a vampire. It was easier to throw myself at this than to think of what was happening in the kitchen.
“It has nothing to do with that. Go back inside, please.”
She glared at me from her perch. I knew that she knew I was absolutely freezing, in a T-shirt myself, and dark blue jeans. Thank God I had stopped to grab my sneakers.
“Just help me understand why. Why go to war over this, why try to take down an organization that has controlled you all your life?”
Scarlett stood up and stalked toward me. She opened the door back into the tower and waited for me to step inside. I held my ground, and she held hers.
Finally giving up, rolling my eyes, I stepped into the admittedly warmer hall, though I turned right back to where she still stood, door in hand, and waited for my answer.
“Because I love you.”
It was only half a reason and I was about to tell her as much before she spoke again.
“And I never want to see you end up like me.”
Chapter Five
HAWTHORNE TOWER WAS stunningly beautiful and, it turned out, only two towers away from Pearce Tower, which explained how Camilla was always at our place so much.
After a tense few days it was nice to be able to forget. Scarlett was losing herself in her insane quest for power and this even more insane scheme she had to destroy the Government.
I had heard Camilla arguing with her in the early hours of the morning, and I had shared Jade’s dread the nights she’d crawled into Scarlett’s bed with me long after Scarlett had left for the Punishment Center.
Nobody spoke about it, but it hung over us all, and I was sure it was what had prompted Camilla to invite all of us to dinner with her family tonight, an invitation that had taken copious begging on my part before Scarlett would accept.
The décor was a little much for my taste, designer this and that, expense for expense’s sake. Their human workers dressed in fancy pressed tuxedos and elegant cocktail dresses that seemed bizarre, now I was accustomed to our tower workers and their beige clothing.
“I like beautiful things. If I have to look at them, I may as well enjoy.” Camilla had shrugged and then given Jade a look that had made even me blush. It was true, all the servants here seemed to be beautiful, and Jade was practically a model, shy and awkward as she was, even by vampire standards.
I never did find out what had transpired in the kitchen between them that day, and the fate of the boy, but Jade no longer looked like death. I figured it was resolved and tried not to think of it further.
Scarlett twisted her fingers in the hair at the nape of my neck, and I turned to look at her, drinking her in, enjoying her in her sleek black evening dress. We had all dressed for the occasion. I was wearing something Cami had brought for me, a soft deep blue number, while Jade had on an emerald green gown. I vaguely wondered if Camilla had provided clothes for all of us for the occasion, before I was lost again staring at Scarlett, noticing her irises were just barely beginning to stir.
Music crackled to life, filling up the opulent sitting area we had moved to. I had never been fuller, after an elaborate meal I hadn’t been able to finish, though somehow I found room for my dessert and half of Scarlett’s, which she’d spooned into my mouth indulgently. I really liked the cake.
“Shall we dance, darling?”
Cami took Jade’s hand, and I giggled at the corniness of the gesture.
“Are you kidding? Do you want her to fall and break something, or worse, herself?”
There was no malice in Scarlett’s tone, but it was still cool. Things had begun to smooth over between her and Camilla. I couldn’t say mend because I knew Scarlett was still unhappy with the relationship, though I honestly did wonder if she would ever believe anyone good enough for her sister.
Camilla ignored her, giving Jade a dazzling smile and promising to lead as she pulled the reluctant vampire to her feet.
I watched them sway together and couldn’t help but think they did look beautiful; both tall, slim, glamorous. I loved Jade and worried for her too, but I knew she could do far worse than Camilla who was brutally honest and a little bit shallow, but also loyal and loving beneath it.
“Maybe give them a break, just a little?”
Scarlett harrumphed, and I knew it was unlikely, though I could feel her softening as she watched Jade laughing, head thrown back in glee as Camilla twirled them effortlessly.
“Do you want to dance, sweetheart?”
I was still smiling at the scene when soft lips kissed the skin just beneath my ear. I shook my head, enjoying just being with her, our time together seeming entirely too short over the previous few days.
She twisted her fingers into the ends of my hair, and rested her chin on my shoulder. I let my eyes close as we sat there on the sofa, cheek to cheek. I imagined that this could be our life: dinners with friends and family, laughter and dancing and light. If only it could be this simple.
Scarlett jumped away from me a split-second before the door to the room opened, and I turned to see a rather portly older man, totally bald and bursting from his three-piece suit, making his way toward us.
“Scarlett!”
He seemed thrilled to see her. Her reaction to him was unreadable, though as he plunked himself down on the sofa, forcing his way between us and clapping her on the back, I sensed her mood darkening, and her anxiety at not being near me.
“Mr. Hawthorne.”
She was cordial, and the old man laughed jovially.
“Call me Harry, Scarlett, for Pete’s sake! I’ve known you since you were in diapers.”
She laughed, as awkward as I had ever seen her.
“Yes, sir, Harry.”
“Good, good. Now, tell me, how are you? I did hear about your hard work in the Fringe. I know people talk but I think it’s absolutely wonderful that a young lady is up to the task, putting some of the young Delta men to shame if you ask me!”
I carefully pressed myself back against the arm of the sofa, feeling suddenly small, transported back to my high school days where I wished for nothing more than to be invisible, unsure how to navigate this new unknown variable in a society as dangerous as I knew Vires to be.
“Daddy, stop harassing Scarlett,” Camilla cut in.
Her hand was still loosely entwined with Jade’s, both their eyes bright with happiness.
“Camilla, my love, you look just like your mother in our younger years. And little Jade, you’re all grown up and finally out of the tower! I was most happy to hear you two have become such good friends.”
He gestured between them and I cringed.
“I remember a time Scarlett and Camilla were the same way!”
I wondered if he knew exactly how great friends either of the sisters and Camilla had been.
“Daddy, Jad
e and I are dating.”
He looked up at her, his puffy cheeks and piggy brown eyes making me seriously question where Camilla got her good looks.
“That’s wonderful, darling. Perhaps you could take your sister on some of these dates too. She’s awfully stressed now the baby is due any day, she could use some time with the gals!”
Jade’s cheeks were beet red, and Scarlett was barely containing her laughter.
“Daddy… Jade is my girlfriend…”
He was still nodding along.
“We’re involved…”
I watched the train wreck that was happening as Mr. Hawthorne seemed more and more thrilled with each development in Jade and Camilla’s “friendship.”
“Harry,” Scarlett cut through, and I could tell she was choking down her laughter, her voice thick and throaty. “They’re not gal pals, they’re girlfriends.”
He nodded some more, and she sighed, the humor falling from her face.
“They fuck, sir. Loudly.”
She gave Camilla a withering glare, delivering the news with a dryness only she could possess in a moment like that, though I vividly remembered the two separate occasions I’d had to drag her off the thirteenth floor before she burst into Jade’s room and ended up coming to blows with Camilla for “defiling” her sister.
Harry’s mouth formed an O, and he clambered to his feet. He clapped Camilla on the back.
“Right then, darling, very good. I’ll…er…let Mommy know. You girls enjoy your night.”
He was clearly flummoxed by the news, but I admired his grace and was pleased he hadn’t reacted negatively; he just seemed surprised.
As he moved to leave, he seemed to notice me again.
“Oh Scarlett, you brought your hybrid. She’ll be a beautiful vampire, magnificent. When will you turn her?”
And just like that, the good mood wilted.
“I’ve not set a date yet, sir.” All the levity had left Scarlett’s voice and I ached to have it back, to return to the comic relief we were all enjoying just a few moments before.
“Well I for one can’t wait to see her. Goodnight, girls, Camilla, do keep the noise down tonight if you decide to stay home.”
He gave the two of them a pointed look before he disappeared, and the minute the doors closed behind him, even with the mention of my turning hanging over us, I couldn’t help but break out laughing. It wasn’t long before everyone else in the room joined me.
WE LAY IN bed, a content silence between us, the ghost of emotions washing back and forth on an easy tide as we were each lost in our thoughts. For my part, it was the perfect end to what on the whole had been one of the best evenings we’d had in a while, only made better by the fact that tonight, Scarlett had stayed home.
My mind roamed, wandering back over the evening, amusement still tickling me at Harry Hawthorne’s blundering misguided enthusiasm, before something struck me.
“Scar?”
She looked up from where she had been staring at the wall, still combing her fingers through my hair.
“What did Harry mean when he said Cami’s sister was having a baby in a few days? Is that possible? I mean, can vampires have children?”
Surprise shot through her followed by a carefulness that made me instantly curious. I tugged harder on our connection, prying, though it quickly snapped and went silent and I knew I’d been caught.
“We do have a way to reproduce, yes, but it’s not what you’re thinking.”
I was immediately interested. A distant thought of Scarlett holding an adorable little girl rose from somewhere unknown before I shoved it back down, too embarrassed and conflicted to even assemble my feelings on the subject.
“How so?”
“We can no longer reproduce sexually after we’re turned, so it’s all done in the lab. The geneticists take genes from both parties and incorporate them into blank embryos. You can choose girl or boy.”
“Wow…” I wasn’t expecting that, though I knew Vires was a society heavily invested in advanced genetics.
“Then is the baby grown in the lab or…?”
She studied me.
“Why are you so interested in this?” It was an honest question, and despite the subject matter it didn’t feel loaded, but something in her eyes made me careful with my answer.
“Just curious. I’d like to know how you came to be.”
She nodded and returned to her explanation.
“The embryo is carried to term by a human surrogate. It’s customary to kill the surrogate after the birth, to avoid later conflict or confusion.”
I preferred my lab idea so much more.
“So that’s how you were born? And Jade?”
She stiffened at the mention of her sister, which seemed strange to me.
“Yes, we’re born as human children and turned at a time of our parents’ choosing after we turn seventeen.”
I let the information wash over me.
“Was Jade made differently?” Her jaw clenched, and I backtracked. “You just seemed tense when I mentioned her. If you don’t want to talk about it, wait… Is Jade…your daughter?”
For a minute the pieces fit.
“Of course not. She’s my sister.” There was a long pregnant pause before she spoke again. “I’ve never told anyone in the world this, but we have different fathers.”
I reached up to brush some dark hair back from her face, a silent thank-you for the trust.
“How? If vampire babies are always planned and conceived in a laboratory, was it intentional?”
She shook her head.
“There was a mistake at the lab, and a huge cover-up afterwards. I only found out two years ago when I worked my way deep into the bunker and was finally able to find the records there.”
She hesitated. I let her take her time, sensing there was more she wanted to share and willing to wait.
“The wrong DNA was used when they made Jade. I don’t know much else about it other than the scientist responsible was killed, probably by my father, and my parents have likely known all her life. It explains why he’s always been so hard on her and treated her as a failure. In some part.”
“Does Jade know that you’re half-sisters?”
“We’re sisters.” Her tone was absolute. “She’s been my sister since the moment she was born, nothing will ever make it to a lesser degree, but no, she has no idea and I’d like to keep it that way.”
I squeezed her shoulder through the thin cotton sleep shirt covering it and leaned over to kiss her softly at the corner of her mouth. Anxiety still radiated off her.
“I promise you I won’t ever repeat this.”
She nodded.
“Did you find out whose genes they accidentally used?”
The emotional ricochet from the question was huge before she locked it down tight. I still felt the echoes of her war with herself over whether to tell me.
“Promise me you’ll never tell?”
I promised her sincerely.
“April, Cami’s younger sister, is the same age as Jade. They actually share a birthday.”
My mouth fell open.
“It’s possible Harry Hawthorne is the…donor.” She muttered the words with a grimace.
“So Camilla is…oh my God.”
“She’s not her sister.” Scarlett corrected the words I hadn’t said. “Blood doesn’t make a family.”
“That’s why you were so against it?”
She sighed heavily.
“One of a few reasons, but like you’ve told me so many times they’re happy. They’re never going to find out. That information will never see the light of day. If it did there would be a massive loss of trust in our reproductive process and it would rock the city. Can you imagine the uncertainty of everyone wondering if their child is really their child? They really care about something as stupid as genes. The government would never let it get out.”
I was three steps behind her and still bowled over by her admission that
Camilla and Jade could be biological half-sisters, her earlier resistance to their relationship suddenly cast in a whole new light. I felt guilty for the times I had prodded her over it. I couldn’t imagine how lonely it must have been for her, fighting that fight for a reason no one else understood.
“I’m sorry I didn’t respect how you felt about their relationship.”
She shrugged. “It took me a while to come to terms, yes, but honestly, why shouldn’t they be happy? Besides the fact that Jade is a child and Cami is…Cami. Why is it wrong, who says, society? The same society that would say the fact I love you is also wrong?”
I wrapped my arms around her neck and hugged her close, closing my eyes and listening to the sounds of her unnecessary breaths. I needed a moment to process, and she gave it to me.
When the shock passed, I was struck by something else.
“Scarlett?”
I pulled back and she kissed my lips softly, humming her response.
“Thank you for trusting me.”
She kissed me again. A little uncertainty and unease still lingered over the decision, but for the most part I was pleased she didn’t regret it.
“You’re mine, Princess, always.”
I rested my forehead against hers.
“And you’re mine.”
We soaked up each other’s presence, moving away from the weight of the admission. I knew I would have to mull it over more later to make peace with my feelings on it.
“I don’t want to lose this.”
My back was pressed against her front and she leaned up on her elbow. She dipped to kiss my cheek then my temple, the fingers of her free hand playing with the hem of my shirt by my thighs.
“Your heartbeat, your warmth, the smile that doesn’t know the real weight of the world.”
My stomach plummeted as I realized she was talking about not turning me.
“I just want you like this, forever.”
She whispered the words and I swallowed down the trepidation, and the rush of longing, they brought.
“You have a plan?”
I could already sense she did.
“Yes.”
It was one simple word, but it changed everything. Finally, defying the government wasn’t just an idea, a crazy scheme she was courting. Now she had plotted a course, and I knew she would see it through.
