Page 60 of Hot Blooded

Satisfied they were alone, Amos explained in a low voice, “About thirty years ago, I was tried for killing two other vampires. They had been turning children.” The disgust in his voice told Tessa everything she needed to know.

“Oh.”

“If found guilty, I would’ve been stripped of all my money and possessions and expelled from the community. The Council eventually decided to dismiss the charges against me, but only because I had evidence that at least three Councilors—possibly more—had been covering up the crimes of the two I’d killed. Those three Councilors were expelled from the Council but, otherwise, they faced no repercussions. They’re still part of the community. They still have all their wealth and comfort and nearly as much power as they always did.”

“Is Ludolf one of those former Councilors?” Tessa asked.

Amos nodded grimly.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

“I’m not the one who deserves your sympathy.” He pulled her close, kissing her forehead. “But I’m glad you’re here. Ludolf had one thing right—I had been pretty clear about never setting foot in the Council chamber again.”

“We didn’t have to come here tonight,” Tessa told him earnestly. “We can leave. I don’t need their approval and neither do you.”

“I promised you a proper courtship—which includes Council approval.” He crooked a smile. “And considering my history, it’s best I don’t flout our laws if I can help it.”

Etta and Fran approached, looking hesitant. “I see smiles,” Etta said. “Everything’s okay?”

Tessa nodded. “Everything’s okay.”

“Well then, it’s time to mingle,” Etta said. “The whole point of bringing you here is to introduce you to the community and to show that Amos isn’t holding you hostage.”

Fran slung a friendly arm around Tessa’s shoulders, wheeling her towards the crowd. “It’s honestly fine. A solid quarter of the people here are human bloodmates. And another quarter are non-weird vampires.”

Tessa frowned. “That means the other half are weird vampires.”

“Yes, but the vast majority of them are scared of Amos. You’ll be fine.” She started walking Tessa into the crowd while Amos and Etta trailed behind them.

“Why are they scared of Amos? Because of the vampires he killed?”

“Sort of. Amos was less than a century old when that happened. He shouldn’t have been able to kill one six-hundred-year-old vampire, let alone two of them. He’s become a little bit of a legend.”

“Fran,” Amos growled. “Don’t start with that.”

“It’s true, though,” Etta sing-songed, clearly enjoying needling him.

Fran’s math worked out pretty precisely. About half the people Tessa met were either human bloodmates or non-weird vampires. The other half were… weird vampires.

“And you… purposely prolong their lives?” a nearly eight-hundred-year-old vampire woman asked after Tessa explained her job. “But, why waste the time and effort?”

“Palliative care is usually more about making their remaining time as comfortable as possible,” Tessa said through gritted teeth. She’d had the same exact sentiment echoed to her by plenty of ordinary humans, but never quite so baldly, and never with such obvious disdain. “But a lot of people in palliative care do recover, and go on to live for many years.”

The vampire, as pale as Tessa had yet seen, with eyes of such a pristine red they were nearly translucent, blinked at that news. “Mortal years?” She laughed. “How much can that be?”

“Tessa!” Fran said brightly, appearing suddenly at her side. “I want to introduce you to someone!” Fran had been shadowing Tessa the entire time while she mingled amongst the other attendees, while Amos and Etta remained at a distance. Part of proving her willingness to the Council was to socialize without her vampire hovering over her, potentially directing her responses and actions.

“Oh thank god,” Tessa whispered as she followed Fran through the crowd. “I couldn’t take another minute of that. Who am I meeting now?”

“Nobody,” Fran said with a laugh. “I just figured I should pull you away from Ælfþryð before you decked her.”

“She’s just so fucking dismissive of human lives! Like we don’t matter because we’re not immortal!”

“I know,” Fran said, serious now. “I get it. She’s one of the old ones I told you about. She’s from before the Black Plague. She’s never had a human bloodmate, and never intends to. I think that’s why the old ones get so weird. Without a human partner, they lose any sense of perspective.”

“You don’t worry that Etta and Amos are going to end up like that?”

“Nah. We won’t let them.”

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