Page 21 of Promised in Blood

“Probably someone he pissed off at some point.” Sienna snags a french fry from Cadence’s plate. “You know he’s like two thousand years old or something? My dad told me.”

“I bet you can upset a lot of people in two thousand years.” Cadence lets out a low whistle. “Vampires are the best at pissing people off too.”

I bristle at that insult. Cadence may be under the false illusion that vampires killed the elementai, and I can’t tell her otherwise, but I’m still not going to listen to her talk crap about them. “They’re not,” I insist.

Sienna nods her agreement. “I think they get a bad rap from the witches. There are good vampires and bad vampires, but that’s the same as any other species.”

If Cadence takes any offense at Sienna’s comment she doesn’t let it show. Instead, she regards my new friend with curiosity. “But you do know that vampires are the only beings who kill humans for food, right?”

I’m about to leap to their defense, but Sienna beats me to it. “They don’t, actually. They feed on them, but there’s no evidence it causes any lasting harm. Vampires haven’t gone around hunting humans for centuries. Not since long before the genocide.”

Searing pain blooms deep inside my chest, and I struggle to catch my breath.

Cadence frowns. “The genocide they were responsible for?”

Before I can stop myself, I blurt, “No they weren’t!”

Cadence’s frown deepens, and Sienna speaks up again. “She’s right.”

“B-but…” She looks at Sienna, then me, then back at Sienna. “It’s fact. Historical fact.”

Sienna tilts her head to the side. “History as recorded by the winning side. Vampires lost the war. They didn’t get to write the history of what happened. They were so decimated by the loss of the elementai that they were too busy seeking revenge or licking their wounds to argue with the story that our ancestors wove.”

Cadence shakes her head. “That makes no sense.”

“It makes all the sense, C. Why would vampires wipe out their other halves? The only species capable of bearing their children? Yes, a handful of vampires did play a part, but it was the witches and the wolves who drove the campaign.”

I stare at Sienna with open admiration. “How do you know all this?”

“My father. He used to have private tutoring with Professor Drakos too.” She arches an eyebrow, her lips quirked at the corner.

Oh god. She knows.

“But all witches are taught something different,” Cadence says, eyes still narrowed with suspicion. “Are you telling me my parents and all my teachers have been lying to me?”

“No.” Sienna shakes her head. “They have simply given you their acceptable version of the truth. It doesn’t mean it’s the right one.”

Cadence sits back in her chair. “Well, I’m not—I don’t buy that. But I do know that vampires are misogynistic and?—”

Sienna snorts, cutting our friend off. “Vampires do not hate women. They revered the elementai.”

Hearing her say that makes me think about my four vampires—all of whom are bonded to me and incapable of harming me. All of whom I realize I could never live without.

Cadence has fallen silent, arms crossed over her chest and her face lined with concentration. I can’t imagine the inner turmoil she must be feeling right now. I wish I knew what to say to make her feel better, but I’m still trying to wrap my head around all of this myself.

“You dated that vampire sophomore year, remember?” Sienna nudges Cadence’s arm playfully. “And Iknowhe loved women. He couldn’t get enough of you if I recall. And you told me he had a tongue that could make you hear choirs of angels.”

Cadence presses her lips together as though she’s stifling a laugh. And then a second later, a giggle bubbles from her lips.

Their laughter washes over me in a warm, comforting wave, making me realize that there is power in every connection. There’s something special about the friendship I’m forming with these two incredible women who are powerful in their own right.

And that’s a type of magic too.

Chapter

Eight

ALEXANDROS

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