16. Corvus

16

CORVUS

As I soar through the night sky in my bat form, the taste of Adelaide's blood still lingers on my tongue. It's intoxicating, unlike anything I've ever experienced before. The moment I caught the scent of her blood, I was drawn to her tower as inevitably as the tide to the shore. I couldn't have stopped myself if I'd tried.

Aiming for my open window, I fly inside my room and transform back into my human form. My mind is racing, trying to process what just happened and that my suspicions were confirmed.

Adelaide Black. A Vesper. Half-vampire, half-human. It explains so much and yet raises even more questions.

Shedding my jacket and loosening my tie, I strip off my shirt. The urge to go back to Adelaide's room, to taste her blood again, is almost overwhelming. But I resist. She will come to me. I know she will. I gave her more than enough to think about, and that was the plan.

The way her blood calls to me, the fierce determination in her eyes, the vulnerability she tries so hard to hide, all forms one allure that I'm finding harder to resist. She's a puzzle I'm desperate to solve.

I pause in front of the ornate mirror hanging on the wall. My reflection stares back at me—a perk of being a pureblood. My blue eyes are bright with an intensity that surprises me. I've always prided myself on my control, on my ability to remain aloof and detached. But Adelaide has shaken that control in a way I never expected. I try to sort through my jumbled thoughts.

The fact that she's a Vesper is significant, of course. Vespers are rare. No wonder Randall Black kept her hidden all these years.

But it's more than that. There's something about Adelaide that draws me in, makes me want to protect her even as I'm tempted to push her to her limits. It's a dangerous combination, one that could lead to trouble if I'm not careful. But then, that's part of the fun.

Turning back to the window, I look out over the moonlit grounds of MistHallow. Adelaide is probably still trying to make sense of her newly discovered healing abilities. I should have stayed and explained more, but the intensity of my reaction to her blood scared me.

My family would be appalled if they knew how badly I've slipped. The Sanguines are one of the oldest and most respected vampire bloodlines. We don't get flustered by pretty girls, no matter how unique their blood might be. We certainly don't make promises to keep secrets or offer help without expecting something in return. Quid pro quo, always.

But I've never been one to follow the family playbook too closely. Growing up in the oppressive grandeur of Sanguine Manor in a deserted area of the Lake District, the endless lessons on vampire history and politics, and the constant pressure to be the perfect pureblood heir were suffocating, and I rebelled against them at every turn.

But Adelaide... I don't want her to care about any of that. I want her to look at me and see past the carefully constructed fa?ade, the charming vampire prince act.

I move to my desk, pulling out my leather-bound journal and flip to the page reserved for Adelaide and add:

- Blood tastes extraordinary

- Self-harm tendencies?

- Growing stronger with her consumption of synthetic blood (was able to resist compulsion)

- Bonds?

I don't know what that means, but there is a bond—a strange one that you have simply by being of the same species, but also more than that. I can't quite figure it out, which is driving me wild.

There's so much more I want to know. What other abilities does she have? How strong is she compared to a full vampire? And most intriguingly, why has she been hidden away all this time?

I close the journal, sliding it back into its hiding place. The smart thing to do would be to keep my distance, observe Adelaide from afar, and gather information without getting personally involved. That's what my family would expect of me.

But since when have I ever done the smart thing?

A grin spreads across my face as I make my decision. I'm going to help Adelaide figure out her abilities and teach her about the vampire world she's been kept away from for so long, and in the process, maybe I'll figure out why she affects me so strongly.

Crossing over to the bookshelf that takes up one wall of my room, I trail my fingers over the spines of ancient tomes and modern texts. I pull out a dusty volume on vampire lore, flipping through it until I find the very short, very brief section on Vesperidae.

The information is sparse, mainly speculation and myth. Vespers are so rare that few have had the chance to study them in depth. This is my chance to extend that knowledge. The idea that I will have this one upmanship on my family gives me a thrill that is hard to deny, and I smile slowly, knowing things are about to change, not just around here, but back at home as well.