Celia

I cried until my eyes were swollen and sore to the touch. I might have dozed off for a bit, because when I woke, my mouth was full of cotton and it took me a minute to get my mind to register where the hell I was.

I wanted clothes, and maybe a chai latte, which I rarely bought because the calorie count was some ungodly number like 300. I wanted comfort food, and most of all, I wanted to go back to yesterday, before all of this happened.

I wasn’t fully convinced that Idris was telling the truth, but it was hard to deny when he knew about my nightmares. I started to think about my life, all the moments I passed off as nothing.

The nightmares. My job as a nurse—blood had never made me squeamish. In fact, I’d always been drawn to injuries. I’d thought it was my desire to help others, but now I wondered if it went beyond that.

I avoided being out at night, because I’d always felt spooked, like someone was watching me. Did my…vampire father have spies?

God, even thinking all that was crazy. This was crazy, wasn’t it? Maybe I’d finally cracked. Maybe none of this was real. I pinched myself on the arm, digging in my fingernails until I left crescent indents on my forearm.

But I was still in this small room, lying on a bed. I had to pee, so I slowly rolled off the bed onto shaky legs and headed toward a curtained-off doorway. Inside was a toilet, sink, and shower stall. I quickly did my business and washed my hands. I was too tired to get into the shower, so I wiped myself down as best as I could, shaking when I caught sight of the blood on my skin that wasn’t mine. After that, I took a look at myself in the mirror. Yep, I looked like shit. Swollen face, hair a mess, and bloodshot eyes. I looked half vampire already.

I checked to see if the door was locked, just to be sure. It was. I shuffled back to the bed and slipped under the covers. I didn’t want to sleep, afraid the nightmares would be worse, so I stared at the ceiling. I had thought for a minute about searching the room for a weapon, a way out. But what was the point? That thing had tried to kill me. I couldn’t imagine it’d been a ploy to get me to come with Idris. He’d killed it. The disembodied head had rolled across my floor. The thought of more of them out there…

I didn’t want to die. For the first time in my life, I was sure of it. There was more to learn about myself, about my family, and if Idris was the ticket to that knowledge, then this was where I’d stay. I couldn’t go back to my peaceful life in Mission anymore, not knowing what I knew now.

I’d always wanted a family. Growing up I’d had a friend in school—Elaine. She used to always talk about how she had her father’s nose, and her mother’s hair. She’d ask me all the time—who do you look like, your mother or your father? Even now I could recall the hole in my heart, the soul-sucking empty blackness. I’d lied. I’d told her that I had a twin sister who was homeschooled, and we looked exactly like our mother but had our father’s teeth.

She’d believed me. I’d changed foster homes the next week and never saw her again.

As an adult, I’d grown out of that urge to find family. I hadn’t bothered to look into my parentage, but there were plenty of times I wish I had someone, anyone. A family. Home.

So according to Idris, I had a father, and he was alive. But he was apparently a goddamn vampire. Merry Christmas, Celia. Check your stocking. I put in some extra plasma for ya.

I’d always lived in Mission, so some of the cases that came into the hospital seemed normal to me. It wasn’t until I met some nurses and doctors who did not grow up in Mission that I realized there was something a little different about this city. There were a lot of adult disappearances. People who just…never came back. Left their apartments and their lives. I chalked it up to their finally getting out of Mission, of seeking something beyond this city. But then I’d learned that was not normal, not something that happened most places. Of course, I’d never in my life believed the explanation could be something like…vampires. Could it? Could this really be true?

If Idris was the ticket to learning about my father, maybe meeting him, then I had to play nice. What did I have to lose? That Quellen had tried to kill me, and I wouldn’t be breathing now without Idris. My situation couldn’t get worse than it was now, could it? So I’d wait, and I’d play it smart, and I’d try to make the most of this…before I figured out a way to get out of here.

A key rattled in the doorknob, and I braced, just in case it was someone other than Idris. When the door opened and his dark eyes settled on mine, I sighed in relief. That was my life now, relieved at the sight of my vampire kidnapper. Stockholm Syndrome was a thing, apparently.

My head was a bit clearer now, like the tears now soaking my sheets had dissipated the fog in my head. Idris drew closer, several bags in his hands and a gym bag slung over his shoulder, watching me carefully. “You okay?”

Be agreeable, Celia. “I guess so. Better.”

He sat down and placed the bags at his feet. “I went back to your apartment to get some clothes for you. It’s…a bit ransacked.”

I probably should have felt sorrow, but that place never felt like home. I moved around all the time, always looking for a better and cheaper place. I’d only been in that apartment for a month. There went my security deposit. “The Quellen?”

He nodded and rummaged through the gym bag and pulled out a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt. “Kinda damp down here, and some humans say it’s cold for them. This okay?”

I took the clothes from him and immediately slipped on the pants and drew the shirt over my head. “Down here?” I asked.

“Ah, guess I didn’t tell you. We’re underground. My clan lives down here in old subway tunnels. We access it by ports we open using the somnus in our wrists.”

I looked up at the ceiling, thinking the smell made sense now. Earthy and damp. “Why did your clan choose Mission?”

“These tunnels,” he said. “They’d never been used heavily. Built, then abandoned because there was a collapse during construction. About ten workers killed. The city sealed it up, so it was completely vacant—no homeless. Nothing. We installed the ports, and now it’s ours.”

“I see,” I said in response, because it made sense. Was I really believing this was all true? Seeing is believing….

Plastic rustled. “Grabbed some food from your cabinets. Here’s…” I glanced over to see him frowning at a box of cereal. “Some rainbow rings in milk.” He looked at me with one raised eyebrow. “This is edible?”

I smiled in spite of my situation and took the box from him. “Froot Loops. My favorite.” I took out a handful and poured them into my mouth. “Want to try some?”

He wrinkled his nose. “Is that healthy?”

“What do you think?”

“I think it looks like fake food.”

“Well, I’m sure there are some fake flavorings and stuff. But it’s delicious.”

He shot me a look of disgust as I ate another handful. I smiled again, and his gaze dipped to my mouth before he focused back on the bags. “You can look through what I brought, then. And I can get whatever else you want.”

“You know, usually people complain about prison food.”

Again with the one-eyebrow raise. It made him look a whole lot less intimidating. “Prison?”

“Never mind.”

I ate a bit more cereal before my stomach protested and I set the box aside. I wasn’t quite hungry, but knew I needed to fill my belly with something. Still, I worried I’d throw up if I ate too much. I looked through the gym bag he packed while he watched me silently. He hadn’t done too badly. He’d even brought my bunny slippers. If I had any more tears to cry, I might have sobbed again.

I looked up when movement caught the corner of my eye. Idris scratched his beard. “For what it’s worth…I’m sorry.”

I tilted my head, surprised at the words. “Sorry for what?”

“I’m sorry that you don’t know your parentage. Sorry that you dealt with those nightmares without knowing why. I’m sorry that this is how you found out—because a Quellen tried to kill you and a strange vampire took you from your home.” He ran his tongue over his upper teeth, and it caught on a fang. “I’m sorry that I plan to use you to further the interests and goals of my clan. I recognize you haven’t had a choice in any of this.” He looked away, like he was embarrassed at his words.

“Tell me,” I said, “what your plan was originally with me. If the Quellen hadn’t tried to kill me.”

His hand tightened into a fist on his thigh. “I was going to observe you for another week or two until my king gave me the go-ahead to take you and hold you for ransom.”

“Another week or two?”

He didn’t look ashamed. “I’d been observing you for about three weeks.”

God. God.

“That night in the parking garage, when you were walking to your car. I was there.”

I remembered now. The glowing eyes. “That was you. My headlights caught on your eyes, right?”

He nodded.

“I felt someone watching me.”

“You were right.”

“So you saw—”

“That man,” he nearly growled.

I couldn’t help but flinch. He wouldn’t hurt Landon, would he? “My coworker.”

Idris’s eyes narrowed. “He wants you.”

“I don’t—”

“He does.”

“Okay, fine. He does. He asked me out at the end of my shift yesterday.”

“Asked you out?”

“Yeah, on a date.”

He pressed his lips together.

“I said no.”

“Good.”

“Why do you care?”

“Because I do,” was all he answered.

I waved a hand. “Well, whatever. He probably won’t see me again, will he?”

Idris didn’t answer that, only gazed at me steadily.

I blew out a breath. “Okay, so forget about him. You said that my father is the king of a clan that despises humans?”

He ran his hand over his short hair. “They don’t despise humans. They don’t respect them. They see them only as a food source.”

“So my dad is a piece of shit. Figures.” Idris was vibrating slightly, and his jaw was clenched tightly. He was staring at me so intensely, that I felt like a mouse about to be pounced on by a lion. I reached out a hand, and then drew it back. “Are you okay?”

“This is hard to say, because I hate your father more than anything. But he has his reasons. He thinks soon there will be widespread human knowledge of our existence, and that will lead to our demise. He thinks we will be hunted and killed.”

There was more to what he was saying—his eyes were blazing. “And your clan?”

“We have a partnership with humans. We don’t see how we would win any war with the humans by enslaving them. And we don’t want to.”

“So you both believe that what you are doing is what’s best for your clan?”

Idris was breathing deeply, and his hands were clenched tightly around his knees. “Yes.”

I stared at his fingertips, nearly white from the grip on his legs. The tip of his middle finger on his left hand—down to the first knuckle—was missing. Just gone. As if he could tell I noticed, he quickly curled his fingers into his palm and stood up quickly. “I need to—”

“What happened to your hand?” I asked.

He whirled around, face contorted with fury, fangs descended to his lower lip. “None of your fucking business,” he hissed.

His eyes burned into mine like lasers and I wasn’t able to look away, paralyzed with fear. I didn’t think he’d hurt me, at least not yet, but I was afraid of what he was hiding. Something scared him, this big vampire. And if he was scared, then I was out of my mind terrified. “Idris,” I whispered.

“I need to feed,” he said, eyes still blazing, “and you’re coming with me. Get your shoes on and let’s go.” He flung open the door and waited for me.

The door was open. Open. All I could see were concrete walls, but it was a chance to get out of this room. Who knew how long I’d have to stay here? I slipped my bare feet into a pair of beat-up red Converse shoes and walked toward him. He’d calmed somewhat, although his eyes were still swirling. When I reached him, I stopped, and he stared down at me, mouth still tight.

“I’m sorry I asked,” I said. “I won’t pry again. I don’t want to upset you. You’re the only option I have to finally meet my father. So I promise to be good and listen to what you say.”

I took a step out into the hallway, waited while he shut the door behind me. He took a while, and when I glanced back, his hand was on the doorknob, eyes closed, lips moving silently. Finally, his big shoulders heaved, then he locked the door and faced me, his expression stone. With his hand at my back, we took off down the hall.

He didn’t take his hands off me the whole time. He was either guiding me by touching my back or had my wrist clamped in his giant hand. Not in a way that made me feel like a marched prisoner, but in a way that made me feel like he was protecting me. Of course, that was his job. If something happened to me, his collateral was gone. It wasn’t that he had an intimate reason for touching me.

Still, I didn’t mind. No one ever looked out for me my whole life. I didn’t know what it was like to have anyone watch my back. Even if it was for reasons meant to get to my father, I’d take it. I was a little ashamed at my desperation.

I wasn’t sure how long we walked, because we turned so many corners and went down so many hallways that I lost my bearings. At one point we walked along an abandoned subway track, the wooden boards cracked and warped.

Sometimes we passed vampires. They ignored me, but would nod at Idris with a sort of reverence. He had said his brother was the king, so Idris must have been somewhat royalty, too.

He took out his phone and texted someone, but I couldn’t see the screen. Were humans like takeout here? He could just order up one like sushi?

Finally, we reached a door and Idris knocked. A large vampire opened the door, a big grin on his face, which faded a bit when he saw me. His eyes widened before he jerked back to Idris. “Fuck, you and your brother. Always bringing humans here. Let me guess, she’s special and I can’t have her.”

“You touch her and I’ll take your head off, Zeb,” Idris growled, his deep voice sending a shiver down my spine.

The other vampire didn’t even flinch. “Yep, figured that.” His gaze went back to me, and when it did, his body locked. His nostrils flared and he stared at me like I was an enemy. How did he know?

I waited a beat for Idris to say something, and when he didn’t, I answered, “I’m Celia.”

Zeb backed away from the door. “Come in. Idris, got your human waiting for you.”

Idris tugged me inside and I immediately spotted a woman on the couch. She had long, blond hair, blue eyes, and wore a short skirt with a tight tank top. She grinned at us. “Hey, I’m Cassie.”

Idris didn’t answer her. He strode toward her, and her eyes shifted from Idris to me, a bit of wariness creeping into her expression. Idris sat down beside her, and she gasped, but before she could say anything else, he passed his wrist in front of her face. Just as her eyes went a little unfocused, he picked up her wrist and bit down.

I squeaked and then covered my mouth. Zeb stepped closer to me and leaned back against the door, arms crossed over his massive chest. Cassie was listing slightly, a small smile on her face, cheeks rosy. She looked…blissful. Aroused. Turned on.

I couldn’t look away. No matter what Idris had told me, or the fact that I’d seen his fangs, nothing prepared me to watch him actually feed from a human. And I was half vampire. Half of me…wanted that?

“Is she okay?” I said out loud, not sure who’d answer me.

“Is she okay?” Zeb repeated. He laughed. “She’s fucking fine. Happy as a clam.”

“So she likes this?”

“What does it look like? Plus, she gets paid, too. So she gets cash to feel good. It’s a win-win.”

I couldn’t argue with him, and if I thought about it, it didn’t feel wrong. None of it did. And that scared the shit out of me. I imagined sitting on that couch, sinking my teeth into that human’s wrist, drinking her warm blood and enjoying the flow of it through my body….

Oh, God. Why didn’t this disgust me? I wanted it to disgust me, but it didn’t. Not at all.

Idris lifted his head, dark eyes blinking slowly. He looked bigger—his hair was shinier, his eyes brighter. He had needed to feed, and that woman’s blood coursing through his veins made him look almost human.

Almost.

Zeb was already pulling Cassie to her feet. “Up you go, girl.”

“Hmmm,” she mumbled. “You wanna come back with me?”

Zeb seemed to consider that. “You know I’d love nothing more than to fuck you, sweet girl. But I got a situation here with my friend and his human, so I gotta deal with that.”

She pouted and for the first time, she seemed to notice me. “Oh, hey! Were you at Bite? I didn’t see you.”

“Bite?” I asked.

“Our club,” Zeb answered. “Humans go there to be fucked and we go there to feed. See? Win-win for everyone.”

Cassie smiled a blinding smile. She sure as shit didn’t look distressed. For a split second, when Zeb opened the door for Cassie, I thought about escaping, just hauling ass out of here and finding a way street-side.

But then I’d never know. I’d never meet my father; I’d never find out why I’d been left at birth. In fact, I’d have to live with so many questions that they might bury me. So I stayed put with a wave to Cassie and watched as Zeb shut the door before turning around with his hands on his hips. “Someone want to explain why you brought the fucking Valarian princess into my fucking apartment?”