Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

Serenity

A sense of helplessness washed over me, knowing that I couldn't possibly refuse Enzo. I forced a tight smile to my lips. "Of course," I replied, trying to sound reassuring.

"I just wanted to thank you for saving me," he said slowly, his dark eyes searching mine for some kind of acknowledgment.

A small smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. "You're welcome. Honestly? I was surprised I could do it."

"You're very powerful. It's a power that others are desperate to possess."

I stared at his handsome face. His dark eyes reflected the pain still within him. If these people could do this to a vampire, I didn't want to think about what they could do to me. "The people who want this power…Are they the on es that attacked you?" I couldn't keep the fear out of my voice.

He held my gaze. "Just know that you're safer in here than out there. Angelo won't let anything happen to you."

"Really?" I wasn't sure if Enzo knew Angelo had fed on me.

Enzo's eyes flicked to the leather-bound book resting on the table in front of me. "Did Angelo give you that?" His tone was laced with suspicion, and I could tell he was hiding something by the way he changed the subject so quickly.

I nodded, running a hand lightly over the book. It was still humming. "Yes. It's…unique."

He chuckled, his brown eyes lighting up and a smile spreading across his face. "Many of the books in here are magical and strange. You wouldn't believe the lengths Angelo has gone to acquire some of them. He's literally traveled to the farthest corners of the earth for them."

I gazed at the books in fresh wonder. "Really?"

"Yes. And you should feel honored. Angelo is quite secretive about his collection. Very few have been allowed inside this library."

"Why?"

His smile broadened, bringing a warm, infectious glow to his face. "That's a question you'll have to ask him yourself."

There was a knock at the door. Elena poked her nose in and gave me a big smile that was at odds with the weariness in her blue eyes. " Chère , you've been in here for the last few hours. You must be hungry by now. Chef Gaultier has prepared dinner for you." She came up behind Enzo and put her hands on the back of his chair. " S'il te pla?t , you need to eat too, Enzo."

Enzo sighed. "You won't give this up, will you?"

"Never," she said softly.

He put his hands on the table then pushed himself up with shaky arms. "Fine. I'm coming. I'm coming."

She stuck out an elbow, and Enzo reluctantly took it. I followed as they shuffled in front of me. I kept thinking of the fallen angels and the people who wanted me. The real question was: did they want me because they thought my dad was an angel, or because they thought he was a demon?

In the dining room, an array of silver chafing dishes awaited us, each one promising culinary delight.

Gianna was already seated at the table. "I hope I'm not going to be banished to my room to eat, Enzo," she smirked.

"No, no. You're welcome to eat with us," Enzo said as he slid into a dining chair.

I noticed a distinct difference in the way Jacques and Enzo treated Gianna. Jacques deferred to her, but not Enzo. He was definitely the one in control.

I inhaled deeply, the spicy scent of étouffée tantalizing my taste buds.

Elena gestured to the already set table. " S'il vous pla?t , sit."

The crystal decanter on the table was filled with a thick, dark red liquid. When Elena poured it into Enzo and Gianna's glasses, my stomach lurched as I realized it wasn't wine at all—it was blood. Then Elena picked up a different bottle and poured for me. I wrinkled my nose and refused to take a sip, but Elena reassured me with a light touch on my shoulder. "Don't worry, chère . It's just pinot noir."

Pinot noir or not, I was hesitant to drink. After watching Freddie drown himself in alcohol to forget his misfortune, I limited how much I drank. I didn't want to become like him.

With a flourish, Elena lifted the lid off the main silver chafing dish, revealing the étouffée. The steam rose, carrying with it the mouth-watering aroma of succulent shrimp and crawfish simmered in a rich, roux-thickened sauce. The holy trinity of onion, celery, and bell pepper perfumed the air as hints of garlic and thyme, together with a generous splash of Louisiana hot sauce, added layers of complexity and warmth to the soulful New Orleans dish. My stomach rumbled as I eagerly waited for her to fill my plate.

There was a smaller chafing dish of white rice which she added to my plate before spooning the étouffée over it.

The scent of spicy roux and tender seafood wafted from the steaming bowl in front of me, causing my stomach to growl. I eagerly scooped up a spoonful of étouffée and savored the rich flavors bursting in my mouth. Trying to distract myself from the sight of Enzo taking slow sips from his glass of blood, I focused on the intricate design of the tablecloth.

After a few minutes, a soft voice interrupted my thoughts, "Are you enjoying your dinner, Serenity? You're so quiet."

My head snapped up when I heard Gianna's voice.

I blurted. "Yes, I'm just hungry."

Enzo's face had previously still been drained of color, but now it had regained its natural hue, and his once lifeless eyes now sparkled with renewed vitality. The decanter on the table was empty, and I couldn't help but gaze at it.

"To answer your unspoken question, yes, the blood healed him," Gianna said gently.

My heart raced as I silently processed this information, taking an uncharacteristically large gulp of wine in an attempt to steady my nerves.

Enzo's smile grew, a hint of dark amusement playing across his features. "Do you have any questions about vampires?"

"I've already told her about the difference between made and born vampires," Gianna piped up as she pushed her plate away from her.

Enzo tipped his head from side to side. "I think she still has more questions."

Did I ever! I was dying to ask a hundred questions about vampires, angels, and demons. The need to understand my enemy drove me to speak up. I figured if I understood them and discovered any weaknesses, maybe I could find a way to escape. "Does blood always heal you?" I asked hesitantly.

His expression turned guarded, clearly considering how much to reveal. "Most of the time," he finally answered.

My curiosity piqued. "What do you mean by most of the time?"

He fiddled with the stem of his wine glass, avoiding eye contact. "This recent attack on me was particularly brutal, and I needed more than just blood to recover. That's where you came in."

I glanced at Gianna, who nodded .

"It's true," she said. "Whoever did this was determined to kill him, even though he's an ancient vampire."

Since he'd opened the door to satisfy my curiosity, I blurted a question that had been burning in me for a while. "How long have you been a vampire?"

"Since the plague," he replied calmly.

I looked at Gianna. "And you?"

"The same." She poured herself a glass of wine.

A jolt of shock coursed through me as the realization of just how old they were hit me like a ton of bricks. "But that's hundreds of years ago! That's…incomprehensible to me."

A smirk tugged at his lips. "Yes, it can be quite overwhelming to think about."

Suddenly, a thought struck me like lightning. "Was it Angelo who turned you into a vampire?"

Gianna's bitter words sliced through the air. "He turned us both."

Enzo remained silent for a moment. Finally, he gave a small nod. "We were both dying from the plague when he offered us a choice." His simple answer froze my blood.

Gianna's eyes darkened. "You mean he offered you a choice."

"He loved you, Gianna. He couldn't watch his sister die."

A chill rolled down my spine. If he hadn't given Gianna a choice, where did that leave me? I didn't want to become one of the children of the night. Would Angelo take this choice away from me like he had from his sister?

"If you'll excuse me…" Gianna got up from the table and stormed out of the room .

My throat tightened, and I pressed a hand to my chest, feeling the rapid beating of my heart. "What did she mean, you had a choice?"

He merely shrugged. "Just as it sounds. I would have died if I hadn't drunk his blood. And whether Gianna wants to admit it or not, she would have too."

Maybe so, but I had a feeling she would have rather died than become a creature of the night.

"Gianna mentioned that her husband is a born vampire. What does that mean? Are they born in the same way humans are?" I was still trying to wrap my head around the differences between the two.

Enzo's uproarious laughter echoed around the room as he tossed his head back, his fangs glinting in the dim light, his pain momentarily forgotten. "Oh, you mortals. Such wild imaginations," he chuckled, fixing me with his piercing gaze. His otherworldly eyes, an unnatural shade of amber, seemed to see right through me.

I shifted uncomfortably under his scrutiny, feeling a mix of fear and fascination. The rational part of my brain screamed at me to run, but I was rooted to the spot, entranced by his gaze.

"Yes, to answer your question. They are the descendants of Vlad the Impaler and his human mate," Enzo continued, his voice smooth as silk. "They enter this world the same way humans do—squalling babies covered in blood and amniotic fluid."

My breath caught in my throat. "You mean Dracula is real?"

"Not just real—still alive and in the flesh." He leaned across the table, his upper body fluid and predatory. The air between us practically crackled with an unseen energy. "The difference is, even as infants, they possess an innate thirst for blood, a hunger that only grows stronger with time. It's woven into the very fabric of their being."

I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly dry. The reality of the danger I was in sank in. I had to get out of here before I was sprawled out on the dinner table like a prime rib done extra rare.

I thought of all the Dracula movies and how those vampires were always transforming into either a wolf or a bat. "What about bats or wolves? Can you change into those?"

He smiled. "All vampires can change into bats. There are only a select few that can change into wolves like Dracula can. Only those bitten directly by him can do that like Angelo."

"So, Angelo can shift into a wolf? It was Dracula who turned him, right?"

"Yes. Unlike shifters, our vampire magic allows us to change into bats—or a wolf, in Angelo's case—and back into our human form without ripping through our clothes. It also allows us to carry our weapons. Shifters can't do any of that."

I thought of Angelo changing into a bat or a wolf. Since he was the head of the Santi family, I bet he was bigger and scarier than any other bats or wolves. I also bet it would scare me out of my shoes.

I held up my hand and swallowed the dread in my throat. "Wait. Shifters? "

"Wolf and dragon shifters. They tear through their clothes when they shift into their beast."

I rubbed the spot on my neck where Angelo had bitten me. "Can vampires control their blood lust?"

"Newly made vampires struggle to do so because they are ravenous but born vampires and older made vampires can control the hunger."

"How long does it take for an ‘older made vampire' to get control of this blood lust?"

"Depends on the vampire." That's not a freaking answer, Enzo. I was about to give him grief for dancing around the question when I realized he wasn't looking at me but at someone behind me.

I spun around, and my eyes locked with Angelo's. He had emerged from the shadows of the dining room. His pupils were two bright, fiery orbs of red, and my skin prickled with goosebumps at the sight. How long had he been listening to our conversation? My heart raced as I waited for him to say something.

Enzo motioned to Angelo's cheek. "Your scratches. They've disappeared. The stone?"

Angelo shrugged. "It seems it still has some power."

Stone? This was the first I'd heard about any stone. Was it a magical heirloom, like in Lord of the Rings or the Marvel Universe? Definitely something I had to find out more about.

Enzo's expression changed from curious to skeptical as his eyes narrowed. "So how did the meeting go?"

Angelo hesitated, glancing first at me then back to Enzo before answering. "We need to talk." His soft tone indicated that something was off, and I had a sneaky feeling it was about me.

The tension in the room increased; whatever was going on between them was serious. I didn't want to be left out of their conversation, especially if it was about me.

Suddenly a blood-curdling screamed pierced through the house, cutting off my breath.

Enzo jumped up, toppling over his chair. "That was a woman's voice."

My heart plummeted into my stomach as Enzo's words echoed in my head.

Pleasepleasepleaseplease don't let anyone have hurt Elena or Gianna

Angelo's hand gripped my arm tightly, pulling me out of my chair. "Stay close to me," he ordered, his voice firm and commanding.

Like I wanted to wander around here by myself.

"It sounds like it's coming from the courtyard," Enzo said, fear in his voice.

Angelo led us toward the source of the disturbance, his movements swift and purposeful. I was tightly sandwiched between Angelo and Enzo's large forms. Our footsteps rang throughout the once-peaceful corridors, the only sound in the oppressive silence that had descended over the house. My heart pounded in my chest, each beat a deafening reminder of the unknown danger that awaited us.

There was no turning back now. The woman's scream had shattered any illusion of safety, even though Angelo was the head of the Santi family and Crescent Manor should have been unassailable. I glanced at my companions, their faces reflecting the same grim thoughts that I felt in my own heart.

As we drew closer to the courtyard, the temperature seemed to drop, turning my blood ice cold. The walls of the house now felt even more like a cage, trapping us in a labyrinth of fear and uncertainty. My hand trembled as I clutched Angelo's arm.

I held my breath as we headed closer to the courtyard. It stretched out before us, bathed in an eerie, unnatural light. There, in the center of the stone-paved expanse, was the cause of the scream, a sight that made my blood run cold and my bones rattle with a terror I had never known before.

As we reached the doorway to the courtyard, we saw Elena hunched over on the ground, her face buried in her hands as she sobbed uncontrollably.

Gianna was clinging to a striking vampire, his presence both alluring and dangerous. His dark, piercing eyes looked as if they held countless secrets. Unruly, raven-black hair framed his face, giving him an untamed appearance that suggested a rebellious nature. The intensity of his gaze, paired with a mischievous smirk, hinted at the complexity of his soul, and a heart that seemed to teeter between the edge of darkness and the desire for redemption.

That had to be Dimitri.

More of Angelo's guards were gathering around Dimitri, Gianna, and Elena.

In the center of the courtyard, Jacques lay motionless on the ground, a pool of blood seeping out from under his body and growing larger by the second. His head had rolled a few feet away from his body, his lifeless eyes staring up at the midnight sky. Written in blood—his blood, I realized with a wave of sickness—were the words Give up the Nephilim.

He was dead. Not just dead. Headless.

A switch shut off inside me, stopping my lungs and heart. Everything disappeared but the terror swirling in my quivering belly. It boomed like a mushroom cloud, charging up my throat, blocking out every sound around me.

Angelo was saying something to me, but I couldn't hear him. The terror was followed by a piercing scream that erupted out of me.

The next thing I knew, he was whirling me around, his arms enveloping me tightly as if to shield me from the horrors of the outside world. His powerful embrace felt like a cocoon of protection, and I couldn't help but melt into it.

"I'll keep you safe," he promised, his deep voice rumbling like distant thunder.

Keep me safe? How could he say that when he himself had fed on my blood? Who would protect me from him?!

My fists balled in his shirt, tears streaming down my face, trying to forget what I had just seen.

But I never would. The image would remain seared in my brain forever.

I didn't want this life. It was brutal, heartless, ghastly.

But no matter how much I wished to escape this never-ending nightmare, it appeared I was trapped.