Page 23 of Taste of Fate

I said it jokingly, but that was the main thing the council had drummed into our heads when it came to keeping ourselves separate from the vampires. Truly integrating into their society was impossible, because drinking blood was a slippery slope to having our flesh torn away and eaten.

“No.” Bea shook her head, her expression serious. “Vampires understand humans are sentient and self-aware. The vast majority only take blood with consent, whether that’s from a human, fellow vampire, any being with the capacity to give consent.” She took a sip of her blood cocktail. “I won’t deny that it has happened, and that there’s a small minority of vampires who believe it’s their right to treat humans as literal livestock, but vampire society as a whole has come a long way from that. A huge part of it is because of Blood ‘til Dawn. They’ve made sweeping changes over the last few decades.”

My fingers drummed on my beer glass. “We were told that the last blood pet given at the Half-Century Selection was ripped apart in front of everyone. Basically eaten alive by a mob of monsters.”

Bea winced. “That’s awful. You must have been terrified when you were selected.”

I nodded, then chuckled through my next sip of beer. “Cyan was not what I expected, that’s for sure.”

Bea smiled across the table. “Vampires are capable of change. If anything, I think their long lives make them more adaptable to it.”

It was only after our food came out and we ordered our second round of drinks that I dared to ask what burned my curiosity the most.

“So, are you not sober enough to tell me about Kalix?” I crunched down on a chip loaded heavily with ceviche.

“Ha, not nearly.” Bea’s smirk was cheeky, but her eyes were sad. “It hurts to talk about him, if I’m being completely honest.”

Guilt sliced through me. “It’s okay, you don’t have to?—”

“No, no.” She downed the remainder of her first drink and pulled her second one closer. “I should talk about him, even though it hurts. Cyan never brings him up, but Kal deserves to be remembered.” Her eyes flicked up to me. “I know you’re wondering and the answer is yes, he’s the one who turned me.”

I let her words sink in with a long pull of beer. “He saved your life, then.”

She nodded. “I didn’t grow up with Blood ‘til Dawn. As a human, my family and I were employed by another clan. We were the housekeeping staff, and…” She swallowed, nervously rotating the stem of her drinking glass. “That clan did see us as inferior, little more than working animals.”

The protectiveness that I usually reserved for Amy rose up like a tidal wave. “Fuck, I’m so sorry.”

Bea gave a small nod before continuing. “My sister had it okay. She was the pretty, charming one. Once she became of age, she was claimed as a blood pet by the clan’s heir. She’s one of a few, I’ve heard. Rumors say he has a harem of pets. But anyway, once she got that cushy life, she never had much to do with me. Our parents died pretty young, they were so overworked. The clan had a few other staff members, but the bulk of the work fell to me.”

My heart tore open for Bea. Her story made me wish I could have traveled back in time and been there for her. She reminded me of Amy, vulnerable and pushed around for no reason other than existing. It sounded like she really needed a friend back then.

“A little over twenty years ago, Cyan and Kalix started coming by the estate where I worked.” A dreamy smile touched Bea’s lips as she recalled the memory. “I had an instant crush on Kal. Cyan’s cute too, don’t get me wrong. But there was something about Kal that was just magnetic to me.”

“What was he like?” I waited as she took a delicate sip from her drink.

“Tall. Big.” She smirked. “Almost as big as Rhain, but not quite as scary.”

My eyebrows went up. I’d only seen Rhain, Thorne’s second in command, in passing a few times, but that vampire was massive. Tall enough that he had to duck through most doorways and built like a bodybuilder. He also had a permanent scowl that guaranteed most people stayed out of his way.

“There was a warmth to Kal,” Bea continued. “He seemed like a gentle giant type, but he wasn’t soft. He was quiet. Solid. If he wanted to be intimidating, he could be. Maybe I imagined it, but he always seemed to be polite and gentle with me. I answered the door whenever they came and he would say hello with this little smile when he saw me.”

“Sounds like you weren’t the only one with a crush,” I mused.

Bea waved that off with a girlish giggle. “I would lead them through the foyer, offering refreshments and snacks. Cyan jumped to accept but Kal always politely refused. Though he always made small talk with me, asked me how I was doing like he genuinely wanted to know.”

“Returned crush confirmed,” I teased.

“Stop.” Bea waved her hand again but this time, her smile faltered. “I was never present for their meetings with my employer unless I was called in to serve drinks or something. And one day, I…” She paused, taking a slow breath. “I brought in a tray of blood cocktails. They were iced, so there was condensation on the glasses. I picked one up to give to my employer and…my fingers slipped. I dropped it.”

I remained silent during her next pause in the story, not wanting to encourage her to keep talking nor tell her to stop. Whichever she chose to do, this was clearly difficult, and my support would be best given by listening, not trying to sway her either way.

“It spilled all over his desk, on the documents he had out.” Bea’s gaze had fixated on some spot on the table, her voice going low and flat. “He was furious, calling me stupid, useless. I was so scared that I froze like a statue. Then he got even more angry because I wasn’t doing anything to clean it up. He took a letter opener and slashed it across my throat.”

“Oh my God, Bea.”

Without thinking, I reached across the table for her hands. She didn’t return my grip, her slender fingers limp in mine and slightly cold from her chilled drink. The poor woman was somewhere else now, in that horrible memory.

“I didn’t even feel the pain of it, but I could feel myself dying.” Bea swallowed, and I noticed the faint scar across her throat for the first time. “I don’t think the shock ever fully registered. I remember feeling confused like, how can I be dying right now? I was fully alive five seconds ago.”

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