He moved around to the other side of the bed, where Jake was standing. He was still new to his powers and would be easier to get past than any of the more experienced vampires. Averin saw what he was doing and crept in on Jake’s other side.
At a nod from Aris, Averin grabbed Jake by the shoulders and flung him back. Aris lunged, his fangs already extending. He bit deeply into Essa’s neck, pulling her blood into his mouth. He could feel the venom from his fangs entering her.
Hands grabbed him and yanked him away, but it was too late. He’d done what he needed to do. Essa would be safe. Aris allowed himself to go limp with relief as Tirin and Avlo dragged him away.
“Take him to the dungeons!” Assa shrieked. He was just grateful she wasn’t ordering him executed on the spot. He hadn’t thought she’d dare do that to an Issa, but he’d had his doubts. A quick glance showed that Averin had vanished, no doubt to send the message.
Aris was thrown – none too gently – into a cell in the Cherki dungeons. Tirin’s livid face appeared at the grate. “You will regret your act of treachery, Issa. I will see to it personally.”
Aris didn’t doubt him. Royal guards were fiercely protective of their charges. Once Tirin was done checking on Issa, he’d likely try to get Assa’s permission to punish him thoroughly for his treason. Aris resigned himself to receiving a beating, but it had been worth it. At least Essa would live.
Chapter 5
Melanie
It had all gotten blurry right after dinner. Melanie had been feeling out of sorts and decided to get an early night, sure she was coming down with a cold.
From there, her memories were disjointed. She remembered Jake shaking her and shouting something urgently. Then Gali was leaning over her. She was so hot. It felt like her body was burning from the inside. There were people everywhere, all talking over each other. Needles prodded and poked, but that discomfort was nothing compared to the burning within her.
The next clear thing Melanie remembered was the pain in her neck. Someone was way too close to her, and they were accompanied by a sharp, piercing pain. Then the pain doubled as the person was wrenched away. It felt like they were taking a chunk of her neck with them.
Hands were pressed to the wound, which just hurt even more, and Melanie tried to escape, but more hands were holding her down. The wound in her neck was hurting badly now, but strangely, the burning in the rest of her body was diminishing.
At some point, her body took pity on her and she passed out.
When she woke, everything was strangely clear, and she was consumed by thirst. She coughed and tried to sit up.
Jake leapt up at once. “Melanie! Mike, come here, she’s awake. Mel, I’m so glad you’re ok. Listen, you need to feed. You were bitten.”
Melanie stared at him, trying to figure out what she’d missed, but it was difficult to think of anything but her thirst.
Mike approached her slowly. “You are a vampire now, Essa. You need to feed. Here, bite into my neck.”
She had seen Jake do this, and she knew what to do. Putting aside the implications of what she’d been told, Melanie moved to sate her thirst. It felt so natural, biting into Mike’s neck. So delicious. Mike moaned in apparent pleasure, and it was all she could do to restrain her hands from running down his chest.
He tried to pull away, and she tried to let him, but instinct had her clamping down even harder on his neck. She wasn’t done yet; she was still thirsty! Fortunately, Mike seemed to be ready for her. At a signal from him, Apeo and Jake held her down, allowing him to back away.
“Sorry,” Melanie gasped. “I just…”
“Lost control. It’s alright, Essa. It happens to everyone. At least you didn’t attack those who were holding you. That happens more often than you’d think.”
Now that her thirst was at least diminished, Melanie turned her mind to the situation. “I’m a vampire.”
The three guys around her nodded. Jake took her hand.
“How? What happened? Where’s Rachel, she promised no one would turn me!”
Apeo’s face darkened. “Assa is in the dungeons, interrogating Aris. He was the one who turned you.”
Melanie stared in shock. She hadn’t exactly warmed to Aris, but she’d never suspected that he might turn her against her will. “Why?”
“We don’t know, but Rachel will find out. She’s furious; half the palace trembles when they see her coming.” Jake chuckled. “Trust me, she will not let this go unpunished.”
He left without saying that no matter how Aris was punished, it wouldn’t return Melanie to being human. There was no reversing the vampire transformation. This was her life now.
“Hey, don’t cry.” Jake wiped a few stray tears off her cheeks. “It’s not that bad. Remember what you told me when I first turned? This will take some getting used to, but we can deal with it. Don’t worry.”
“I will help you, Essa,” Apeo promised. “Whatever you need, you shall have. If you give me leave, I will go right now and rip Aris’ traitorous head from his shoulders.”
“That won’t be necessary, at least until we hear what he has to say. It seems crazy, him suddenly deciding to turn me against my will, in a room full of people. Maybe he was sick too and he didn’t know what he was doing.”
“Vampires don’t get sick, Essa, but you will her what his excuses are. Before you woke, Assa told us that she would return with answers.”
“Could you please stop calling me Essa? It’s weird. My name is Melanie.”
“Yes, Essa.”
She rolled her eyes. “Would you like it if I called you Issa?”
Apeo shook his head. “I like it that you say my name. Hardly anyone else does.”
“Then you can see why I might feel the same.”
“Yes, Essa.”
Mike chuckled. “That’s one battle you won’t win, royalty or not. I watched Assa do it when she first came here too. The titles are too ingrained to change. In many places, calling a royal by other than their title is punishable by death.”
“Refeu calls Rachel by her name.”
“He is a vampire royal and thus has less fear of being executed.”
Melanie turned her frown back on Apeo. “You’re a vampire royal, too. Do you really think anyone will try to execute you if you do as I ask by using my name?”
“No, Essa. It just doesn’t feel right.”
Mike shook his head again, and Melanie turned to him. “What about you? Will you use my name?”
He looked taken aback by the request but considered it. “Melanie.” Mike tested the word out slowly. “I like it. I will call you Melanie, if that is your wish.”
“I’d prefer Mel…”
Mike immediately shook his head. “That’s just too informal. I can’t.”
These people were bizarre, but Melanie would take what she could get. “Fine, Melanie is still better than Essa.”
“Essa is a term of respect. You should be proud to bear it.”
“Sure, Issa.”
Apeo made a face at her, and Melanie chuckled.
Not long after this, Rachel came back, her face troubled.
Melanie leapt up. “What did he say?”
“I don’t know what to make of it, Mel. He won’t tell me exactly why, but he insists that he changed you to save your life. Usually I’d dismiss that, except you were definitely sick with something even Gali didn’t have any idea what to do for, and you seem to be fine now. Aris says he will give the details only to you.”
“No way. I’m not going near him.”
“I thought you’d feel that way. In that case, I’ll have to contact Assa Vexin. She’ll no doubt want her son back, and we can’t hold him without causing a diplomatic incident. Would you be happy to let him go with a lifelong ban from all Cherki territories?”
Melanie wasn’t keen on the idea of Aris being out on the loose, but before she could decide, Apeo interrupted her thoughts.
“Essa, I urge you to speak to him. We do not und
erstand enough of this situation. The more we know, the safer we’ll all be. If he will only talk to you, you are our only hope of getting more information on this matter. You will be perfectly safe. I will accompany you, if you wish.”
Melanie fleetingly wished for her old life, where things were as simple as rearranging a few shifts. Now, she had an entire royal bloodline to think about, and she certainly didn’t want to start a war between vampire houses.
“I… ok, if you’ll come. He’ll be locked up the whole time, right?”
“He will,” Rachel promised. “Thank you, Mel. Come, I will take you.”
Apeo stuck close by her left side, and Jake to her right. It went without saying that Jake would support her in this. The dungeons were relatively modern and well-lit, and certainly seemed secure. The doors were all several feet thick, and each had a bar as well as two locks.
Aris came to the small glass panel in his door when the group approached. No one made any move to open the door, but Rachel pressed a button that apparently activated an intercom, because when Aris spoke, his voice came through a small speaker.
“Essa. Thank you for coming. I wish I’d had time to explain this to you before I acted, but had I waited, you would have died.”
Melanie folded her arms. “I’m listening.”
“I found you many years ago, when you were seven years old. Having stumbled across one of the lost Cherki Essas, I was going tell my family and coordinate to let yours know. Before I could, you were exposed to a peculiar combination of drugs by your foster parent. For a child born to vampires but not yet turned, seven is a critical age, and you are vulnerable to certain toxins.
“It hardly ever happens, because vampire parents are always so careful to avoid these situations. There are a few combinations that do it, and I’m not sure exactly which one you were given, but I recognized the symptoms. You had a seizure. When it stopped, your eyes glowed red, then went brown and then completely black before returning to normal.”
Apeo gasped and staggered back. “You lie!”
“I do not. Ask your healer to look up the symptoms when it takes over. They will match what Essa went through earlier.”
“What are you talking about?” Melanie demanded, staring at Apeo’s suddenly ashen face.
“Tainted blood,” Mike murmured. “As Aris said, it’s very rare. No one would have thought of it before it was too late. You would have died.”
Melanie glanced at Rachel, who seemed just as confused. “What is tainted blood?”
“A blood condition, Assa,” Apeo replied at once. “The person affected must be turned to a vampire, or they will die. Some live decades before the symptoms start, others only weeks, but once they do, the person has less than an hour to live if not turned. Their blood starts eating them from the inside.”
That certainly matched her vague memories of burning from within.
Rachel wasn’t happy with this explanation. “Why didn’t you say something sooner!”
“I judged it in Essa’s best interests. You were not brought up by vampires, Assa. There is a lot of mistrust toward those with tainted blood. I did not know whether your bloodline would view Essa worthy once they knew of her condition. I watched her for years, ready to turn her the minute she started showing symptoms, but not before. I wanted to let her have as normal a life as possible, though I did interfere several times when I judged it necessary for her safety.”
“It was you!” Melanie closed her eyes as she tried to remember the night in detail. “I was nine, and my foster mother had left me alone in an alley while she went inside, I think to see her dealer. A man wandered in and started harassing me. I tried to leave, but he blocked my way… I had a pretty good idea of what he’d do to me, but then he just collapsed. I saw a shadow behind him…”
“That was me.” Aris smiled. “I didn’t think you’d remember. I hit him on the back of the head with a brick and left. I stayed, following you home, though, from a distance, to make sure you were safe.”
Melanie hadn’t expected that anything Aris said could make her feel differently, but she’d been wrong. If what he said about tainted blood was true – and if it wasn’t, Apeo would have told her before now – then he truly had done the only thing he could in the situation.
“Why didn’t you tell me when you first met me, though? I get why you didn’t tell anyone else, but you could have given me the choice.”
“Perhaps I should have, but you were so against being turned, I feared that telling you would only anger you. If you sent me away, I couldn’t be nearby, which I had to me, because I needed to react fast if you started showing symptoms, as you did.”
Melanie nodded slowly. She still wasn’t sure that she agreed with him keeping it secret from her, but in terms of turning her, he had done the best he could when he had to make a split-second decision that would save her life.
“Let him out of that cell.”
Rachel glanced at her. “You’re sure?”
“Everything he said about tainted blood, that’s true, isn’t it?”
“It is.” Apeo was looking at Aris with newfound respect. “He saved your life, Essa.”
“Then let him out.”
“Does this mean you forgive me, Essa?”
“It does. I still think you should have told me, but I’m not going to hold it against you, not when I wouldn’t be alive right now if not for your actions. You risked a lot for me.”
“It was worth it.” Aris smiled and stood back as Rachel called a guard to open his cell.
When he stepped out, Melanie hesitantly embraced him. “Thank you, Aris.”
He wrapped his arms around her, returning the hug enthusiastically. “It was my honor, Essa.”
Chapter 6
Mike
Melanie smiled at him and handed him a tissue to wipe the excess blood off his neck. “Thanks, Mike. The cravings really are dying down, which is a relief.”
“They will keep fading. Eventually, you’ll only need to feed every few days.”
“Are you sure you’re alright? I’ve been taking quite a lot from you. I’ll use other donors if I’m risking your health.”
“I’m fine, Melanie. Don’t worry, donors regenerate blood much quicker than humans do.” Mike loved that he was the only donor she used, and he wanted to keep it that way.
“What made you decide to become a donor?”
It was one of the things Mike loved about Melanie. For the most part, donors were called for, fed on, and then they parted ways with the vampire in question, not staying for chat unless they were personal friends. Melanie always liked to talk to him afterward.
“I had cancer. The doctors had done all they could for me and gave me three months to live. Most vampire bloodlines send people through to the terminal wards in hospitals to talk to patients. The transformation to be a donor cures most diseases, but people are so hateful toward vampires that many would rather die than become associated with them. I chose to live.”
“I’m sorry.” Melanie gave him a soft look that just made his heart melt. “That’s not much of a choice: death or being a donor. Do you think you would have done it if you hadn’t gotten sick?”
“No, I never would have. Like many, I distrusted anything to do with vampires. When I became a donor, I realized how wrong I’d been. I’m glad I got sick. My life as a donor has been filled with joy. I married the girl I loved, and we had three beautiful children. We were together for eighty happy years, years I wouldn’t trade for anything.”
“Oh,” Melanie breathed. “How – how old are you? Is that rude to ask?”
“No, it’s not rude. I’m one hundred and twelve years old. I still have relatives out there somewhere, but I stopped following after my grandchildren. It hurt too much to see them die of old age. After Tiffany died, I swore I’d never be with another mortal. I don’t regret being with her, though.”
The old memories brought a wave of fondness rather than pain. For a while, Mike had thought he’d
never recover from Tiffany’s death, but he had. Looking at Melanie, he couldn’t help but wonder if he might have another chance with her. The thought of having her as a mate gave him butterflies in his stomach that he hadn’t felt for centuries.
He glanced at her, wondering if she could read his hopes in his eyes. In royal vampire society, women made the first move to initiate courtship. It wouldn’t be proper to try to push his and Melanie’s friendship into something more. If she wanted him, she would make her wishes known. There was nothing more he could do.
He and Melanie chatted for another hour before Aris and Apeo came to fetch her. They were teaching her about vampire royalty, and she had private lessons with Assa and Dasek to show her the specifics of what duties she’d have as a Cherki princess.
Mike met Jake on his way back to the donor quarters. “Hey, Jake. I’m surprised you’re not with Melanie.”
“Avlo was showing me some moves. I want to learn how to protect Mel, and he said he can teach me.”
“That’s a great idea.” Mike tried not to feel jealous of Jake, but it was hard. He saw how Melanie looked at him, with such adoration. Jake was giving him a strange look, so maybe Mike wasn’t doing a good job of hiding his thoughts.
It was several hours later when Apeo called for him specifically for a feeding. It was unusual, since Melanie had been feeding on him only. Most of the palace was avoiding using him, to give his blood more time to replenish. Still, he didn’t protest, and it seemed that Apeo was more interested in a snack than a full meal.
After just a few minutes, he pulled back and fixed Mike with an intense look. “I do not understand what it is between you and Essa.”
Oh. So that’s why he’d been called. Mike was a little intimidated by the vampire prince. He knew that should Apeo decide he was hurting Melanie; the prince would have no qualms about separating him from his head and justifying it to the Cherki later.
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Yes, you do. I can see her feelings for you, and yours for her, but you are not courting. Why?”
Secret Blood Ties Page 4
